Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Apr 11, 2023

Not Worried About Global PC Demand Weakness
Image Source: IDC. On April 9, International Data Corporation (IDC) issued preliminary findings for the first quarter of 2023 for global personal computer (PC) shipments in its Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. The results were a bit surprising, with the firm noting that “weak demand, excess inventory, and a worsening macroeconomic climate were all contributing factors for the precipitous drop in shipments of traditional PCs during the first quarter of 2023.” According to the IDC report, global PC shipments fell 29% to 56.9 million compared to the first quarter of 2022. Apple experienced the biggest year-over-year percentage decline, where shipments fell more than 40%. Dell Technologies, Lenovo and ASUS experienced declines greater than 30%, while HP Inc. and a basket of other PC makers witnessed declines in the mid-20% range. Channel inventory remains elevated, and investors should expect more discounting from the PC makers, as the industry continues to optimize the supply chain amid pre-COVID and post-COVID demand dynamics.

Apr 10, 2023

Taiwan Semiconductor Experiences Revenue Weakness in March
Image: Taiwan Semiconductor’s shares have rallied nicely since the beginning of November of last year. Taiwan Semiconductor reported March revenue on April 10. During the month, net revenue dropped nearly 11% on a sequential basis and more than 15% on a year-over-year basis from March 2022. Though the top-line weakness in the month was somewhat of a surprise, the company’s revenue advanced 3.6% during the first quarter of this year.

Apr 6, 2023

U.S. Economy Likely Weakened During Regional Bank Crisis; Artificial Intelligence the Next Great Platform
Image Source: Trong Khiem Nguyen. SVB Financial’s failure and the ongoing regional banking crisis has likely crimped lending activity and economic growth, a situation further exacerbating any impending effects on the broader economy from the Fed’s contractionary monetary policy, itself. With first-quarter 2023 earnings season around the corner and the potential for another shoe to drop in commercial real estate or the U.S. housing market, we’re still being patient in putting “newly-raised” capital in the newsletter portfolios to work. Our favorite areas, however, remain big cap tech and large cap growth, as we’re huge fans of their cash-based sources of intrinsic value--both net cash on the balance sheet and future expected free cash flow generation. Microsoft, an idea in both the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, is one of our favorite ways to play the rise of artificial intelligence.

Apr 5, 2023

The Difference Between Speculation and Investment
In this edited video transcript, Brian Nelson, President of Investment Research at Valuentum, discusses the difference between speculation and investment.

Mar 31, 2023

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of March 31
Let's take a look at firms raising/lowering their dividends this week.

Mar 30, 2023

Dividends, Dividends, Dividends
Valuentum's President of Investment Research Brian Nelson shares three unique insights on dividends not commonly discussed among investors. The transcript of the video can be found in this article.

Mar 28, 2023

The Real Reason Why Moats Matter
Image Source: Ray in Manila.  Let's sit down with President of Investment Research Brian Nelson for his take on economic moats, and why he still likes the areas of large cap growth and big cap tech.

Mar 23, 2023

The Dividend Cushion Ratio: Unadjusted Is Less Subjective, Adjusted Is More Subjective
Image Source: Mike Lawrence. Question: I'm a subscriber. I'm looking at your Dividend Report for Enterprise Product Partners. It says your Valuentum Adjusted Dividend Cushion ratio for EPD is 1.8 (a ratio that includes future expected proceeds from capital raising endeavors in the coming years), but several lines below it says the Unadjusted Dividend Cushion ratio, which is your regular normal ratio (a ratio that does not include future expected proceeds from capital raising endeavors in the coming years), is 0.22. Please explain the difference between the two ratios, and what is considered a good ratio for the Unadjusted Dividend Cushion ratio, what is an excellent score, what is neutral and what is poor? Also, how much relative importance should I give to each ratio? Also, further down in the section on Unadjusted Dividend Cushion, the chart of EPD has a large negative number in the blue bar, and your text says: "Generally speaking, the greater the 'blue bar' to the right is in the positive, the more durable a company's dividend, and the greater the 'blue bar' to the right is in the negative, the less durable a company's dividend." So that means that EPD's dividend isn't durable, yet your report earlier says that EPD's Dividend Safety rating is GOOD. Can you elaborate?

Mar 21, 2023

The Power of Expectations: How Financial Advisors Can Improve Client Retention
Image Source: Frédéric Glorieux. This could make the difference between a happy client and a lost client.

Mar 16, 2023

The Transaction Log of the Best Ideas Portfolio
Image Source: GotCredit. View the transaction log of the portfolio of the Best Ideas Newsletter in this article. The Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio are not real money portfolios. Results are hypothetical and do not represent actual trading.