Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Jul 23, 2024

Coca-Cola’s Organic Growth Surprises to the Upside
Image: Coca-Cola’s shares are trading near all-time highs. Coca-Cola reported solid second quarter results on July 23, with net revenues up 3% and organic non-GAAP revenues advancing an impressive and better-than-expected 15% thanks to a 9% increase in price/mix and 6% growth in concentrate sales. Looking to the full year 2024, Coca-Cola expects to generate organic non-GAAP revenue growth in the range of 9%-10%. For 2024, Management is targeting comparable non-GAAP earnings per share growth of 5%-6% relative to $2.69 per share in 2023, while it expects to deliver comparable currency-neutral non-GAAP earnings per share growth of 13%-15% on the year. Free cash flow is expected to be $9.2 billion for the year. Shares of Coca-Cola yield 3% at the time of this writing.

Jul 11, 2024

PepsiCo Adjusts Organic Revenue Growth Guidance
Image: PepsiCo’s shares have been choppy since the beginning of 2022. We’re not reading too much into PepsiCo's modest downward organic revenue growth guidance revision for 2024 (approximated 4% versus at least 4%), as the firm's underlying profitability remains strong, with expectations for at least 8% core constant currency expansion in 2024. Total cash returns to shareholders is targeted at $8.2 billion for 2024, consisting of dividends of $7.2 billion and share repurchases of $1 billion. For the 24 weeks ended June 15, PepsiCo had negative free cash flow, while it retained a hefty net debt position on the balance sheet. Though PepsiCo is not a net-cash-rich, free cash flow generating powerhouse, we like the diversification benefits it provides in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Jun 10, 2024

Update: Frequently Asked Questions About Valuentum Securities, Inc.
Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports and dividend reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information. We address a number of questions from both subscribers and visitors to our site.

May 17, 2024

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

Mar 11, 2024

You Already Own Whatever Your Investment Will Pay You in Dividends
Image Source: Images Money. Stocks are generally valued on the present value of all their future free cash flows, which already include future dividend payments. A company’s dividend policy may impact an investor’s eagerness to pay a higher price for shares on the basis of a higher yield, but the dividend is a symptom of future free cash flows (and therefore intrinsic value), not the driver behind it.

Feb 27, 2024

Berkshire Hathaway Caps Off Strong Year of Operating Earnings Growth
Image: Berkshire’s operating earnings experienced a strong advance during 2023 from last year’s levels. On February 24, Berkshire Hathaway reported strong fourth-quarter results that capped off a year where operating earnings advanced 21% on a year-over-year basis. Warren Buffett tipped his hat to his long-time partner Charlie Munger, who passed away in November of last year, crediting him as the architect of Berkshire and himself merely in charge of the “construction crew.” There weren’t many surprises in the annual report, and Buffett made several references to areas that he has long talked about in the past, including pointing investors to operating earnings, as opposed to net income, which includes unrealized capital gains that can make reported results seem more volatile. All things considered, we liked Berkshire’s update, and we continue to like the firm as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Feb 26, 2024

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

Feb 25, 2024

We Remain Bullish; Is This 1995 – The Beginning of a Huge Stock Market Run?
Image: Large cap growth stocks have trounced the performance of the S&P 500, REITs, and bonds since the beginning of 2023. We expect continued outperformance in this area of the market. We’re now roughly four years past the depths of the COVID-19 meltdown, where equities collapsed in February and March of 2020. As the markets began to recover through 2020, our long-term conviction in equities only grew stronger. We think the biggest risk for long-term investors remains staying out of the market on the basis of what could be considered stretched valuation multiples. As we outlined heavily in the book Value Trap, valuation multiples hardly tell the complete story about a company and often omit key long-term earnings growth, cash flow dynamics, and balance sheet health considerations. We remain bullish on equities for the long haul, and we think the next couple years will be incredibly strong. Our best ideas can be found in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, ESG Newsletter portfolio, and via the Exclusive publication as well as options idea generation.

Feb 16, 2024

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

Feb 14, 2024

Coca Cola’s Pricing Strength Continues to Power Results
Image: Coca-Cola’s pace of price/mix expansion continues to drive strong performance. On February 13, Coca-Cola reported strong fourth quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The standout metric in the quarter was organic revenue growth, which advanced an impressive 12% in the quarter thanks to a solid 9 percentage-point increase in price/mix and 3 percentage-point expansion in concentrate sales. The company’s outlook for 2024 was strong as well, with the company targeting organic revenue expansion of 6%-7% for the year, and we like the momentum behind Coca-Cola’s performance. The Dividend King continues to deliver for investors, and while shares are trading above our fair value estimate, investors can do a lot worse than investing in Coca-Cola, in our view.