Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

Symbol Keyword

Aug 25, 2020

Intel Plans to Repurchase a Lot of Its Stock
Image Shown: Intel Corporation is having trouble producing the next generation of chips (7-nm and smaller) as its current manufacturing process is having yield issues, which we covered previously. Image Source: Intel Corporation – Architecture Day 2020 Presentation. On July 23, Intel Corp reported second quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended June 27, 2020) that we covered in detail here. For members that have not yet read that note, we strongly encourage them to do so. Please note that delays in Intel’s 7-nm chip production schedule weighed negatively on its medium-term outlook, which sent shares of INTC meaningfully lower after its latest earnings report. Management recently responded by announcing a plan to aggressively buy back Intel’s stock, after previously suspending the company’s share buyback program in March 2020 due to uncertainties created by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic.

Aug 24, 2020

Nvidia Bets Big on Data Centers
Image Source: Nvidia Corporation – 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders Presentation. On August 19, Nvidia Corp reported second quarter fiscal 2021 earnings (period ended July 26, 2020) that beat consensus top-line estimates (on a GAAP basis) and consensus bottom-line estimates (on a non-GAAP basis, as its GAAP earnings were slightly lower than consensus estimates). Nvidia has several things going for it including a pristine balance sheet (meaning a net cash position), a data center business that is growing at a brisk pace (which we will cover in this note), a high quality cash flow profile (relatively low capital expenditure requirements to generate meaningful revenues), and its outlook is supported by secular growth tailwinds, particularly as it relates to demand from cloud computing providers. Shares of NVDA yield a negligible ~0.1% as of this writing.

Aug 21, 2020

Just How Good Have We Been?
Image: We have been absolutely pounding the table on big cap tech and large cap growth for many months now. It has been one of the rare buckets to have done well this year. By well, we mean superb. Source: Zerohedge. After capping off one of the best years in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in 2019, we highlighted broad market put option ideas in late February and early March--right before the COVID-19 crash that shocked the markets. Then, just about right near the bottom, we highlighted 17 of 20 outperforming ideas--strong net-cash-rich, free-cash-flow generating powerhouses with strong secular growth tailwinds. We then went all-in in the newsletter portfolios in late April, just in time for the best 100 trading days in the S&P 500 in history. But perhaps the chart above says even more. You know that we have been absolutely pounding the table on large cap growth, big cap tech, and the NASDAQ, and the bucket of large cap growth is up 23% this year, significantly ahead of any other style. Significantly.

Aug 20, 2020

ALERT: Newsletter Portfolio Changes; Investing Is Simple, Not Easy

Aug 19, 2020

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Race
Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has devasted the global economy (though things are starting to improve) and has fundamentally altered daily human life. According to a draft report from the World Health Organization (‘WHO’), there were 29 COVID-19 vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials as of August 13 along with 138 other candidates undergoing preclinical evaluation. It is a race against the clock. Unfortunately, as of this writing on August 18, there have been ~170,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the US alone according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (‘CDC’). We are optimistic that one of the many “shots on goal” will end up proving successful. The US launched Operation Warp Speed to accelerate the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, which involves providing funding to companies with promising vaccine candidates. Furthermore, please note that major economies around the world have adjusted their rules and procedures to allow for multiple phases of clinical trials to be conducted concurrently. Before getting into some of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates, we hope everyone, their loved ones, and their family members are staying safe out there as we ride out the pandemic.

Aug 17, 2020

CyrusOne Is a High-Quality Data Center REIT
Image Shown: CyrusOne Inc’s financials and near-term growth outlook held up well during the ongoing pandemic, all things considered. Image Source: CyrusOne Inc – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. One of the newest additions to our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio is CyrusOne, a data center real estate investment trust (‘REIT’). Demand for data centers has been extremely strong during the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic as employees are often working from home (driving up demand for productivity programs which in turn is driving up data consumption worldwide) while demand for data-hungry video streaming services has surged. Over the long haul, we like the outlook for the industry, and more broadly, we prefer companies supported by secular growth tailwinds.

Aug 17, 2020

August Best Ideas Newsletter!
Image: The Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. We migrated to weighting ranges at the beginning of 2018. The image above is as of the close April 15. Portfolio concentration among strong-performing equities has been the key to outperformance. Since the last update, we've witnessed some big moves from our top-weighted entities: Berkshire Hathaway (+10.7%), Facebook (+8.7%), and PayPal (+11.2%). These three entities comprise roughly 34% of the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio at the high end of the weighting ranges, more than offsetting the weaker performance from lower-weighted Cisco and Intel during the month. We continue to focus on over-weighting our "best of the best" ideas within a portfolio setting, and we're hoping to get both Apple and Microsoft back near the top when the opportunity presents itself. Apple has advanced +17.6% since the last month's edition.

Aug 7, 2020

Ameresco Targets Green Growth by Offering Customers Cost Savings
Image Source: Ameresco Inc - May 2020 IR Presentation. We are going to cover Ameresco Inc (AMRC) in this article. Given the company’s more novel business strategy, we will start off by going over its operations before digging into its financials. Ameresco’s financials have held up well so far during the first half of 2020 in the face of the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though we caution its financial statements can be a messy read.

Aug 7, 2020

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week August 7
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Aug 6, 2020

Value Trap, Second Edition, Is Here and More!
With an added Appendix and 40+ page Prologue, the second edition of the 2019 Best Indie Book Award (BIBA) winner for the category of Business takes readers through the COVID-19 crisis, building on the key tenets of the first edition. Value Trap received acclaim from the prestigious Next Generation Indie Book Awards, a Finalist in the category of Business. The text was also a Blue Ink Notable Book as well as a Readers' Favorite 5 Stars, named Honorable Mention in the Non-Fiction - General genre. More detail and new commentary, the second edition of Value Trap is a must read for any serious investor. Brian Michael Nelson, CFA, delivers again.