Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

Symbol Keyword

Best Idea Alphabet Growing Global Cloud Presence
Image Shown: Alphabet Inc Class C shares, a top-weighted idea in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, are up ~65% over the past year. Alphabet has historically focused primarily on growing its digital advertising revenues since the company was founded under the Google name back in 1998. More recently, the technology giant has begun seriously seeking to broaden its revenue base, and we like what we see on this front. We include Alphabet Class C shares as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio given its immense capital appreciation upside potential as a net cash-rich, free cash flow generating powerhouse.

Net Cash Rich Micron Technology Beats Estimates and Issues Favorable Near Term Guidance
Image Shown: An overview of Micron Technology’s outlook for the industry and its own operations for 2022 and beyond. Image Source: Micron Technology – First Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. On December 20, Micron Technology reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2022 (period ended December 2, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Underlying demand for Micron Technology’s DRAM, NAND, and NOR offerings (used as memory solutions in personal computers, automobiles, data centers, smartphones, and various electronics devices) remained robust last fiscal quarter. The company has done a great job navigating supply chain hurdles and semiconductor component and equipment shortages in the wake of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic to continue meeting booming customer demand. Shares of Micron Technology surged higher after it published its latest earnings report December 20 (and they are now trading in the mid-$90s at the time of this writing). In our view, the big share price increase was largely due to the memory solutions provider issuing favorable near term guidance covering the current fiscal quarter, indicating that its strong performance of late is expected to continue in the near term. Though shares may appear cheap on a forward earnings basis, we caution members that the industry Micron Technology operates within is ultra-competitive and exposed to tremendous pricing competition and cyclical swings. Though technically (its chart) looks attractive at this time, long-term investors should be careful.

VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT: 2021 Valuentum Exclusive Call: Inflation Is Good
Valuentum's President Brian Michael Nelson, CFA, explains why investors should not fear inflation, why government agencies such as the Fed and Treasury are prioritizing something other than price discovery, why the 10-year Treasury rate is a must-watch metric, and why Valuentum prefers the moaty constituents in large cap growth due to their net cash rich balance sheets, tremendous free cash flow generating potential, and secular growth tailwinds.

Adobe Signals Near Term Growth Rate Slowing Down, Longer Term Outlook Still Quite Bright
Image Source: Adobe Inc – December 2021 Financial Analysts Meeting IR Presentation. On December 16, Adobe reported fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended December 3, 2021) that modestly beat consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. However, shares of ADBE plummeted in the wake of its latest earnings report as management signaled that the firm’s near term growth rate would slow down in fiscal 2022 versus levels seen in fiscal 2021. Investors were apparently hoping for more, though in our view, Adobe’s longer term growth outlook is still quite bright. Our fair value estimate sits at $576 per share of Adobe.

Oracle Shares Surge!
Image Source: Oracle Corporation – November 2019 IR Presentation. Shares of Oracle Corp surged in the wake of the tech giant reporting its second-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings (period ended November 30, 2021) on December 9, which beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. We include Oracle as an idea in both the Dividend Growth Newsletter and ESG Newsletter portfolios, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the company’s performance of late. Its pivot towards cloud-oriented offerings is playing out quite favorably as Oracle’s growth outlook is now quite bright.

Best Idea Korn Ferry Continues to Fire on All Cylinders
Image Shown: Korn Ferry, an idea in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, reported a strong earnings report on December 8. Image Source: Korn Ferry – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. We added Korn Ferry to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio on January 12, 2021. Since then, shares of KFY have surged higher by ~58% as of this writing before taking dividend considerations into account. As of this writing, shares of KFY yield ~0.6% and its income generation upside offers incremental upside to its stellar capital appreciation potential. The top end of our recently-revised fair value estimate sits at $104 per share. Shares of KFY shifted higher in the wake of its latest earnings report as investors continue to warm up to its promising long-term growth outlook, pristine balance sheet, and resilient business model. We liked what we saw in its latest earnings update.

Meta Platforms (Facebook), One of the Most Underpriced Stocks on the Market
Image Shown: Meta Platforms Inc – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. We are huge fans of Meta Platforms and include shares of FB as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Our fair value estimate for Meta Platforms sits at $507 per share, well above where its shares are trading at as of this writing.

South32 Continues to Improve Its Asset Base
Image Source: South32 – October 2021 Sierra Gorda Acquisition IR Presentation. South32 represents one of our favorite ideas in the mining space, and we include shares of SOUHY as an idea in the new ESG Newsletter portfolio. We view both South32’s capital appreciation and income generation upside quite favorably, keeping in mind the firm has a variable dividend policy that is subject to foreign currency movements. On a scale of 1-100 (with 100 being the best), South32 earns a nice ESG rating of 93 (based on our proprietary ESG rating matrix) as the miner continues to pivot towards commodities that will be essential to making the green energy revolution possible.

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week November 12
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Newmont’s Third Quarter Earnings Disappoints Though Management Remains Very Shareholder Friendly
Image Shown: Though Newmont Corporation’s third quarter earnings disappointed, the gold miner remains very shareholder friendly. Image Source: Newmont Corporation – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. One of our favorite mining plays is the gold miner Newmont Corporation, which has producing assets around the world including in Australia, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Mexico, Peru, Suriname, Canada, and the US. Newmont has a robust development pipeline in those countries via new producing mines and expansion projects (roughly 88% of Newmont’s reserves are in the Americas and Australia), along with potential upside in Japan, Ethiopia, Colombia, and elsewhere. The company’s management team is incredibly shareholder friendly (its quarterly payout has grown from $0.14 per share in 2019 to $0.55 per share currently and the firm is actively buying back its stock), and Newmont’s free cash flow generating abilities are impressive. We like Newmont as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. As of this writing, shares of NEM yield a nice ~4.1%.