Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Microsoft, Alphabet Calendar 3Q Reports As Expected; Pressured By Weakening Economy
Image Source: Abi Begum. We continue to be huge fans of large cap growth and big cap tech equities over the long haul, as their equity prices will likely slingshot back on the other side of the current economic malaise. Microsoft and Alphabet continue to generate gobs of free cash flow and their balance sheets are absolutely remarkable, boasting huge levels of net cash. We continue to like Microsoft and Alphabet in the simulated newsletter portfolios. Please note that Meta Platforms was removed from the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio on October 18.

Chip Stocks -- Geopolitical Uncertainty Heightens in China; ASML, QCOM Still Strong Long-Term Considerations, But Expect Near-Term Fundamental Weakness
Image Source: The U.S. Department of Commerce. The global economic environment continues to reel from heightened inflation, which is pressuring consumer discretionary spending, but geopolitical uncertainty remains at a fever pitch. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unsettled investors, but the back-and-forth between the U.S. and China has chipmakers in the crosshairs. On October 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report aimed to restrict China’s ability to attain advanced computer chip technology. We expect a downward revision to our fair value estimates across the chip space, but many of their refreshed fair value estimates will remain within their existing fair value estimate ranges. We expect a downward revision to our fair value estimates across the chip space, but many of their refreshed fair value estimates will remain within their existing fair value estimate ranges. Qualcomm will report fourth-quarter results November 2, 2022, and we’ll have more to say after the report. We recently dove into ASML’s quarterly report for the period ending October 3, which wasn’t too bad. Of note, ASML indicated that the export restrictions won’t be as punitive for them as many believe given its headquarters in the Netherlands. Though our newsletter portfolio "exposure" to the chip space is small, we'll be watching fundamental performance across the group closely.

Get Excited: Dividend Growth Investors Rejoice! – More “Outperformance”
Image: Valuentum’s simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio continues to “outperform” relative to almost any dividend-paying benchmark this year! Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. This is not a real money portfolio. As of the last tally through October 19, the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio is beating the S&P 500 Dividend ETF SPDR (SDY) by roughly ~3.2 percentage points so far in 2022 (-8.4% versus -11.6%), all the while we’ve seen some awesome dividend growth across the board, with Microsoft (MSFT), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Honeywell (HON), and Realty Income (O) recently pushing through some nice dividend increases. What’s ~3.2 percentage points on a million-dollar portfolio? ~$32,000 in capital one doesn’t have to make up when the market’s coming roaring back in the coming years – and that’s relative to a dividend growth benchmark that is “outperforming” the SPY in a big way in 2022.

Announcing Valuentum’s Customer Appreciation Day Winners!
Let's see who won an autographed copy of Value Trap and what they said about Valuentum's research! We applaud all of our members in their quest to preserve and generate long-term wealth. Keep going strong!

Philip Morris Is One of Our Favorite High-Yielding Income Generation Ideas
Image Shown: Philip Morris International Inc expects alternative nicotine products will grow at a robust pace over the coming years, with an eye towards heated tobacco units and oral nicotine products. By capitalizing on those opportunities, the company aims to diversify its revenues away from traditional cigarette sales. Image Source: Philip Morris International Inc – 2021 Investor Day Event Presentation. Philip Morris is a strong cash flow generator with ample pricing power and a bright growth outlook. Underlying demand for its IQOS heated tobacco offerings remains robust and demand for its traditional cigarette offerings is holding up well, even in the face of substantial inflationary pressures weighing negatively on consumer spending power around the global. Philip Morris’ near term guidance indicates that it should remain a strong free cash flow generator in 2022, allowing the firm to stay on top of its payout obligations. Management remains committed to rewarding income seeking shareholders, and we continue to like exposure to shares of Philip Morris in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio.

PepsiCo May Be A Rare Winner in This Inflationary Environment
Image Source: PepsiCo Inc – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2022 Earnings Press Release. PepsiCo is leaning heavily on net pricing increases to offset cost input and foreign currency headwinds, and its strategy is paying off. The consumer staples giant remains a nice free cash flow generator and management is incredibly shareholder friendly, though in our view, we think it would be wise for PepsiCo to pare down its net debt load. We recently added PepsiCo to the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio on October 18, 2022.

BIN Portfolio ALERT: Removing META, Adding to XLE, Adding MCD and PEP
Image Source: Valuentum. This market is not going to get easier, in our view, and we still believe that 2023 may mark the bottom before a return to the path toward new highs again. However, the erratic volatile trading the past few weeks has us thinking that this is not a market focused on fundamentals, and therefore, we have to hedge our bets accordingly. With “alpha” otherwise we would have missed carved out by "raising" cash in late August before the latest swoon, we’ll now approach newsletter portfolio protection with put option considerations going forward. The changes made today will be reflected in the November 15 edition of the Best Ideas Newsletter. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Dividend Growth Idea UnitedHealth Group Outperforming
Image Shown: Shares of dividend growth idea UnitedHealth Group Inc have put up stellar performance so far in 2022. We are huge fans of UnitedHealth Group, and its dividend growth potential remains immense. The top end of our fair value estimate range sits at $599 per share of UnitedHealth Group, indicating that the health care giant also possesses substantial capital appreciation upside as well. UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition of Change Healthcare is intriguing and should generate material synergies going forward. Looking ahead, we expect that UnitedHealth Group will grow its dividend at a robust pace, aided by its strong free cash flow generating abilities and pristine balance sheet.

NextEra Energy Is a Great Income Growth Idea
Image Shown: NextEra Energy Inc is a great income growth idea that complies with ESG investing standards as the company is investing heavily in renewable energy power generation assets and battery storage facilities. Image Source: NextEra Energy Inc – June 2022 IR Presentation. NextEra Energy is an attractive dividend growth idea that also complies with ESG investing standards, given its efforts on the renewable energy front. We appreciate the company’s robust capital investment pipeline as that underpins its bright adjusted EPS, operating cash flow, and dividend per share growth outlook through 2025. The utility is best of breed.

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of October 14
Let's take a look at firms raising/lowering their dividends this week.