Something New!

Hi everyone: To stay true to our mission, you’ll find something new regarding our methodology. In the coming weeks, you’ll see this table in our work going forward. We just wanted to let you know. We appreciate your membership very much!   ——————————————— About Our Name But how, you will ask, does one decide what [stocks are] “attractive”? Most analysts feel they must choose between two approaches customarily thought to be in opposition: “value” and “growth,”…We view that as fuzzy thinking…Growth is always a component of value [and] the very term “value investing” is redundant.                          — Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway annual report, 1992 At Valuentum, we take Buffett’s thoughts one step further. We think the best opportunities arise from an understanding of … Read more

Announcing Valuentum’s Customer Appreciation Day Winners!

In no particular order — the five winners… As a Chief Investment Strategist that oversees a significant amount of assets, it is vital to have unbiased research that we can lean on for decision making. Brian and the Valuentum team help provide a disciplined and fundamental approach to stock analysis without the typical Wall Street bias or conflicts of interest. The value we get on a monthly basis for having this detailed thought analysis and wise long-term thinking greatly outweighs the cost. We are very happy to have them on our short list of management we trust.  – Stephen H. (October 2022) —– I’d like you to know what my takeaways are from your research: 1) Be wary of capital … Read more

New Payment Option! Valuentum Research Update!

Hi everyone: — We’re excited to say that we’re adding additional payment flexibility at Valuentum. — Many members have expressed interest in paying via other providers, and we have added Square to the mix. You can use credit or debit card or bank (ACH) to pay via invoice. — With all of the goings-on in the financial technology and payments space, we wanted to continue to provide members options to pay their memberships how they want and through who they want. You can always reach out to us at info@valuentum.com. — You’ll notice that we’ve also tightened our focus at Valuentum during the past 12-24 months in advance of what has certainly become a more difficult 2022 than even some … Read more

Lockheed Martin Facing Near Term Headwinds; Longer Term Outlook Remains Bright

Image Source: Lockheed Martin Corporation – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) reported earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 (period ended June 26, 2022) that missed consensus top- and bottom-line estimates, largely due to delays in securing another domestic F-35 contract and supply chain hurdles. In our view, these are near term headwinds that are resolvable. Reportedly, Lockheed Martin is nearing a deal worth ~$30 billion with the US Department of Defense (‘DoD’) covering orders for around 375 F-35 aircraft. As it concerns supply chain hurdles, the resumption of normal economic activities (as the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is put behind the world economy) should steadily allow industrial … Read more

Dividend Growth Idea Lockheed Martin Doing Its Best to Arm Western Allies

Image Shown: Dividend growth idea Lockheed Martin Corporation is very shareholder friendly. The defense contractor is doing its best to arm Ukraine and other Western allies during these difficult times. Image Source: Lockheed Martin Corporation – First Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and simmering geopolitical tensions in East Asia between Western aligned nations and China over Taiwan and other issues have created a backdrop that is conducive to significant increases in national defense spending. Though we hope peace prevails soon, the realities on the ground in Ukraine and elsewhere call for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (‘NATO’) member nations and other Western aligned nations to ramp up their … Read more

Exxon Breaks Out! Oil Prices Might Rip Higher Still!

Image: A pretty technical breakout at Exxon Mobil. By Brian Nelson, CFA The simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio continues to fire on all cylinders, as we outlined in our most recent email correspondence, which can be accessed here. With Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and the Energy Select SPDR (XLE) as key “holdings,” we asked Valuentum’s Callum Turcan what his thoughts were on whether energy resource prices could run higher, and here is what he had to say: The tight supply-demand dynamics for oil & natural gas combined with rising geopolitical tensions (West-Russia over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports of potential terror attacks on Northern Iraqi/Kurdish oil infrastructure, West-Iran over Iran’s nuclear program and nuclear deal talks reportedly … Read more

Lockheed Martin On the Road to Recovery, Improved Free Cash Flow Visibility

  Image: Heath Cajandig By Brian Nelson, CFA It was late October 2021 when Lockheed Martin (LMT) took a “big bath” of a third quarter. Back then, Lockheed Martin said it expected 2022 net sales to fall from 2021 levels, to ~$66 billion. At the time, we had been expecting revenue to advance to north of $70 billion during 2022, so the change in trajectory was quite pronounced. Its backlog fell to $134.8 billion from $147.1 billion on a year-over-year basis in the quarter, too. To say that the market was surprised in October would be an understatement because LMT’s stock fell double-digits following the news. Fast forward a few months, and Lockheed Martin is working to get things back … Read more

Lockheed Martin Shocks the Market

Image: After years of backlog growth at Lockheed Martin, the third quarter of 2021 revealed a sharp year-over-year decline to the tune of ~8.3%. The company’s outlook also left a lot to be desired. By Brian Nelson, CFA Lockheed Martin (LMT) reported mixed third-quarter 2021 results Tuesday, October 26, but “mixed” might be too gracious of a word. Though it did beat the consensus number for third-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share, revenue didn’t just miss marginally, but by more than a $1 billion, with the top line falling 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Clearly, Lockheed had promised more than it could deliver, and we had been taken in by the optimism. We expect to lower our fair value estimate. There’s … Read more

Dividend Growth Idea Lockheed Martin Has Ample Space Upside

Image Source: Lockheed Martin Corporation – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan  The commercial and military opportunities in the realm of space have been growing at a brisk pace of late, and in our view, the growth runway in this area is immense. Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT) is a giant defense contractor with a sizable space business that caters to national defense, governmental, and commercial needs. We include Lockheed Martin as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, and shares of LMT yield ~3.1% as of this writing. The company has four core business operating segments and ‘Space’ is one of those segments, which generates a sizable amount of its annual sales as you … Read more

Rounding Up the 2Q Earnings Reports of Some of America’s Most Recognizable Brands: Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Ford, Boeing, and Procter & Gamble

Image Source: Valuentum By Brian Nelson, CFA The world is bouncing back in a big way from the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, and some of America’s top brands have put up impressive calendar second-quarter results. Ford’s performance may have been the most interesting from an investor perspective, and we continue to warn against Boeing in light of its weak cash-based fundamentals and the tremendous flexibility that program accounting can have with respect to GAAP financials. Though the following five companies are not included in the newsletter portfolios, they should be on your radar, especially as it relates to market-moving trends and economic information. Our favorite ideas remain in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, which have been … Read more