Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Nov 16, 2023

Concerns Over Walmart’s Outlook Overblown
Image: Walmart’s free cash flow generation during the first nine months of its fiscal year has shown a nice jump. On November 16, Walmart reported third quarter results for fiscal 2024 that showed revenue growth of 5.2% and adjusted operating income expansion of 3%. Adjusted earnings per share nudged up 2% in the quarter on a year-over-year basis. Operating cash flow during the first nine months of the year came in at $19 billion (up $3.3 billion from the year ago period), while free cash flow came in at $4.3 billion (up $0.7 billion on a year-over-year basis). The big box retailer ended the period with a ~$43.2 billion net debt position and has bought back 8.7 million shares of stock on a year-to-date basis. Walmart raised its outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2024, but its targets came in a bit shy of expectations. With shares trading down following the report, we think the market is overreacting. We won’t be making any changes to our $160 per share fair value estimate.

Oct 22, 2023

There Will Be Volatility
Image: An ETF tracking Russell 1000 "growth" stocks has outperformed an ETF tracking Russell 2000 "value" stocks since the beginning of 2021. To us, the market remains hypersensitive to almost every economic data point that hits the wires, and we’re just not going to play that game. The macro headlines and never-ending news flow are what many quant and algorithmic traders are trading on, and to a very large extent, for investors with a long-term horizon, these macro data points just don’t factor into the equation. When valuing equities, we’re always after mid-cycle expectations, not peak or trough performance, so our valuations implicitly embed a "normal" recession. Warren Buffett didn’t become a billionaire buying and selling on macro data points, and volatility is simply to be expected given the proliferation of price-agnostic trading these days. Instead of panicking over higher interest rates, we think investors should view the Fed’s work thus far as future potential dry powder to stimulate both the economy and the markets. Whenever you feel like stocks are no good, have a read of Warren Buffett’s classic piece written during the Great Financial Crisis, “Buy American. I Am.” To us, we still like stocks for the long run. Happy investing!

Sep 27, 2023

In the News: McDonald’s, Costco, Target
The market is once again worried about a potential government shutdown in the U.S., beginning on Sunday, as Congress works on a budget for fiscal 2024 through the rest of September. This recurring news has been a seasonal part of the market’s jitters every few years or so, however, and we’re not worried about what we would describe as an overhyped risk. A potential government shutdown in the U.S., if it happens, will inevitably be resolved, and while it tends to make for scary media headlines, it just doesn’t factor into the thesis of long-term investors. We don’t think readers should overreact.

Sep 20, 2023

ICYMI: Questions for Valuentum’s Brian Nelson
Valuentum's President Brian Nelson, CFA, answers your questions.

Aug 28, 2023

Stock Report Updates
Check out the latest report updates on the website.

Aug 22, 2023

Theft Becoming a Huge Problem for Retailers
Image Source: Ben Schuman. Theft has always been a problem for retailers, but it has never been as big of a problem as it has been in recent quarters. Emboldened by the lack of police response and employees sometimes getting fired for confronting shoplifters, retail organized crime is on the rise. We’re not talking theft in the millions, or billions, but likely in the tens of billions per year or more across the U.S. Some attribute the rise of organized retail crime to the pandemic, which paved the way for shoplifters to post their loot online in order to make a quick buck. Some retailers are especially feeling the pinch, and recent commentary reveals just how bad retail theft (shrink) has become to their respective businesses.

Aug 3, 2023

Not Expecting Much From Consumer Staples Stocks
Image: Kellogg is representative of many consumer staples stocks that have considerable net debt positions. Image Source: Kellogg’s second-quarter press release. Though consumer staples equities have shown tremendous resilience in the face of adversity and their dividend yields can make sense in certain portfolios, the group is overflowing with net debt positions, meager long-term growth prospects, and free cash flow generation that is largely absorbed by growing per-share dividend liabilities. On the other hand, big cap tech and large cap growth have tremendous net cash positions and substantial future expected free cash flow generation, paving the way for what could be considerable long-term return potential. As with the last decade, we expect cash-based sources of intrinsic value to prevail, and for that, we continue to point to big cap tech and large cap growth as areas for consideration.

Jul 11, 2023

An Important Measure of Leverage for Dividend-Growth and Income-Oriented Shareholders, One That Is Dividend-Adjusted
As more and more investors rely on company dividends for income, dividends, in our view, have become more debt-like commitments in nature, especially from the perspective of dividend-growth or income-oriented shareholders. Years ago, we rolled out a measure of financial leverage that considers both the company’s debt and the present value of its future expected cash dividend obligations, which, in the eyes of die-hard dividend-growth or income-oriented shareholders, may be implicitly assumed to be debt-like commitments in substance. We think this leverage ratio can be used in conjunction with the Dividend Cushion ratio to gain additional insight into the dividend-paying financial health of an entity.

Jul 4, 2023

Walmart's 'Great Value' Brand and Position Across Retail Never Stronger
Image: Walmart’s shares have gotten back on track. We think Walmart’s ‘Great Value’ brand and position across bargain retail has never been stronger, and its share price reflects a company that is at a sweet spot of consumer demand as rivals continue to struggle. The high end of our fair value estimate range of Walmart stands north of $170, and shares yield ~1.4% at the moment. We’re liking what we see at Walmart these days.

Jun 16, 2023

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of June 16
Let's take a look at firms raising/lowering their dividends this week.