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

Microsoft Hinted at Trouble in Calendar Q2 But AMD’s Massive $1 Billion Quarterly Q3 Revenue Miss Spells Big Problems for PC Market; Search and News Advertising Revenue Also Likely Weakening Substantially

  Image Source: Fritzchens Fritz By Brian Nelson, CFA Things aren’t going well across the technology (XLK) landscape these days. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) said in mid-July Windows OEM revenue faced pressure in its quarter ended June 30, its fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, and noted that the “PC market…deteriorated in June (slide 15).” On its fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 conference call, the software and gaming giant said that its outlook “has the trends (it) saw in June continu(ing) through Q1 (the quarter ending in September 2022). Continued weakness in the PC market demand and advertising spend (is expected to) impact Windows OEM, Surface, LinkedIn and search and news advertising revenue.” We took note of this weakness at the time, but it … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of September 9

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 9. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week                Atalaya Mining Plc (AYM:CA): now $0.036 per share dividend. Garrett Motion Inc. SERIES A CUMULATIVE CONVERTIBLE PFD STK (GTXAP): now $0.17 per share quarterly dividend. Grindrod Shipping (GRIN): now $0.84 per share interim quarterly dividend, was $0.47. Hammond Power Solutions (HMDPF): now CAD 0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.085. I3 Energy (ITEEF): now GBP 0.1425 per share monthly dividend. Kilroy Reality (KRC): now … Read more

Nelson: Executing the Valuentum Strategy

Video: Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson, CFA, explains why he’s turned bearish on the equity markets after a great bull run. In this 8-minute video, learn about the fantastic returns of the stock market the past three years, and how the Valuentum way has cushioned the market decline in 2022. Watch now to learn about the textbook execution of the Valuentum strategy and more! –——— Tickerized for holdings in the SPY. Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE. Some of the other securities written about in this article may be included in Valuentum’s simulated newsletter portfolios. Contact … Read more

Video: We Expect A Huge Market Flush! Looking to “Raise” Incremental Cash

Video: Valuentum’s Brian Nelson, CFA, breaks down the current market environment, highlighting reasons for the poor market sentiment driven by “tapped out” consumers and investors alike. He expects a big market “flush,” and a challenging next couple years but remains a big fan of stocks for the long haul. Valuentum continues to seek to “raise” incremental cash in the simulated newsletter portfolios as it prepares to weather the storm. Video length: ~10 minutes. –——— Tickerized for holdings in the SPY. Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE. Some of the other securities written about in this … Read more

Valuentum’s Unmatched Product Suite

Hi everyone! — We continue to be huge believers in the concept of enterprise valuation, which emphasizes the key cash-based sources of intrinsic value–net cash on the balance sheet and strong and growing future expected free cash flows. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) remain two of the most underpriced ideas on the market today, and we remain huge fans of their tremendous long-term investment prospects. — There are a couple things worth reminding readers, however. A good relevant rule of thumb I learned early in my career working for my first portfolio manager is that a stock’s return in the near term is driven roughly 40% by the market, 30% by the industry it operates in, and 30% … Read more

Nelson: I Have Been Wrong About the Prospect of Near-Term Inflationary-Driven Earnings Tailwinds

Transcript During the past several weeks, we’ve grown increasingly concerned about the health of consumer-tied entities across not only the consumer staples but also the consumer discretionary spaces. Many consumer staples entities, while raising prices, aren’t raising them fast enough to drive operating-income and bottom-line expansion, while many consumer-discretionary companies are facing higher freight and logistics costs and weaker performance in China, perhaps best revealed by Nike’s most recently-reported quarter, where inventory advanced 23% compared to the prior-year period. The tell-tale sign about the health of the consumer may be Amazon (AMZN) Prime Day, which is coming up on July 12-13, but based on many of the reports we’ve monitored this past earnings season, even if sales are strong on … Read more

AT&T and Warner Bros. Discovery Go Their Separate Ways

Image Shown: AT&T Inc is spending heavily to grow its 5G wireless network while expanding the reach of its broadband footprint. Image Source: AT&T Inc – March 2022 Analyst & Investor Day Event Presentation By Callum Turcan On April 8, AT&T Inc (T) closed the merger of the WarnerMedia business with Discovery to create a powerhouse in the media and entertainment industry after then-Discovery shareholders voted to approve the deal on March 11. The new entity, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (WBD), is home to various streaming services (HBO Max, discovery+, CNN+) along with linear and premium TV channels (Discovery Channel, HBO, TNT, HGTV, CNN, Animal Planet, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network). Warner Bros. Discovery began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Is Firing on All Cylinders; Shares Surging

Image Shown: Shares of best idea Berkshire Hathaway Class B (ticker: BRK.B) have surged higher over the past year with room to run. By Callum Turcan Those of you that have been long-time members of Valuentum (thank you by the way!) know that we are huge fans of Warren Buffett. We include Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B), specifically its Class B shares (ticker: BRK.B), as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Recently, Buffett (CEO and Chairman of Berkshire) released his latest annual letter to shareholders, which included plenty of important information regarding the conglomerate’s financial performance and investing practices at-large. One of the things that stuck out in Buffett’s latest annual letter to shareholders, a topic that he … Read more

AT&T’s WarnerMedia Unit and Discovery Are Close to Finalizing Their Blockbuster Merger

Image Shown: Announced back in May 2021, the blockbuster merger of AT&T Inc’s WarnerMedia unit with Discovery Inc is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022. Image Source: AT&T Inc & Discovery Inc – May 2021 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan The blockbuster merger of WarnerMedia, currently a part of AT&T Inc (T), with Discovery Inc (DISCA) (DISCB) (DISCK) is getting closer to completion. On March 11, Discovery shareholders voted on whether to proceed with the transaction. AT&T does not need to secure shareholder approval through a vote to close the transaction. If everything goes as planned, WarnerMedia and Discovery are set to close their merger during the second quarter of 2022. Let’s dig more into the details … Read more