Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Global Payments Buying EVO Payments as Fintech Industry Consolidates
Image Shown: Global Payments Inc is in the process of acquiring EVO Payments Inc. Image Source: Global Payments Inc – Second Quarter of 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. Global Payments announced it would acquire EVO Payments for $34 per share through an all-cash deal worth ~$4.0 billion by enterprise value. As its name would suggest, Global Payments provides payment technology and software solutions to customers in over 100 countries. By acquiring EVO Payments, which focuses on providing payment technology and services to small and medium-sized businesses in over 50 markets worldwide, Global Payments will extend its reach into new markets (including Chile, Germany, Greece, and Poland) while enhancing its presence in existing markets (including Canada, the US, Mexico, the UK, Ireland, and Spain).

Valuentum's Unmatched Product Suite
We continue to be huge believers in the concept of enterprise valuation, which emphasizes the key cash-based sources of intrinsic value--net cash on the balance sheet and strong and growing future expected free cash flows. Meta Platforms, Inc. and Alphabet Inc. remain two of the most underpriced ideas on the market today, and we remain huge fans of their tremendous long-term investment prospects.

Nelson: I Have Been Wrong About the Prospect of Near-Term Inflationary-Driven Earnings Tailwinds
"Though I have been clearly wrong on my near-term thesis for inflation-driven earnings expansion, we still did great sorting through investment idea considerations. Through late June, for example, the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio has generated 4-5 percentage points of alpha relative to the S&P 500, as measured by the SPY. The simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio is down only modestly this year, also performing better than traditional benchmarks. The simulated High Yield Dividend Newsletter is generating “alpha” against comparable benchmarks, and the Exclusive publication continues to deliver, with both capital appreciation ideas and short idea considerations generating fantastic success rates. ESG and options-idea generation have also been great. With all this being said, in the long run, I believe nominal earnings will expand rapidly from 2021 levels, which is why I remain bullish on stocks. I believe markets tend to overestimate earnings in the near term and underestimate them in the long run. The intelligent investor knows, too, that the most money is made during recessions and bear markets, where steady reinvestment and dollar cost averaging help to better position portfolios for higher returns over the longer run. The newsletter portfolios are well-positioned for continued “outperformance,” in our view, and while we may make a few tweaks to them, we’re not making any material changes at this time."

Taiwan Semi Firing on All Cylinders
Image Source: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company – First Quarter of 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. We are huge fans of Taiwan Semi which offers investors a combination of capital appreciation and income growth upside. Shares of TSM yield ~2.1% as of this writing. Taiwan Semi is included as an idea in our ESG Newsletter portfoliio. The firm is incredibly shareholder friendly with good governance practices, focuses on sustainable manufacturing practices where feasible (placing a great emphasis on effective resource management, limiting pollution, and utilizing green energy), and has a management team that comes from diverse backgrounds (keeping in mind Taiwan Semi is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan).

PayPal and Visa Remain Attractive Long-Term Ideas
Image Source: Visa Inc – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. The payment processing and payment solutions space is attractive. Companies operating in this industry have asset-light business models with relatively modest capital expenditure requirements to maintain a given level of revenues, making free cash flows easier to come by. Additionally, the industry’s growth outlook is incredibly bright and supported by secular tailwinds as the world continues to shift away from cash and towards other payment options (card, mobile apps, QR codes, online payment platforms). Our two favorite companies in this space are PayPal Holdings and Visa, and we include both as ideas in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Online spending levels remain robust even as the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic fades and households resume outdoor activities, while global travel activities are resuming in earnest as the economy opens back up. PayPal and Visa both recently updated investors on their financial standing and outlook, and overall, we liked what we saw.

Visa Remains One of Our Favorite Ideas
Image Shown: Visa Inc, one of our favorite companies, has been growing robustly of late. Image Source: Visa Inc – First Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. On January 27, Visa reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2022 (period ended December 31, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Shares of V shot higher after its results were made public. We include Visa as a “top-weighted” idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and remain huge fans of the company. Our fair value estimate sits at $255 per share of V, well above where Visa is trading at as of this writing, indicating the payment processing giant has ample room to run higher from current levels. Shares of V yield a modest ~0.7% as of this writing.

Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
Image: Erica Nicol. Junk tech should continue to collapse, but the stylistic area of large cap growth and big cap tech should remain resilient. Moderately elevated levels of inflation coupled with interest rates hovering at all-time lows isn’t a terrible combination. In fact, it’s not bad at all. The markets are digesting the huge gains of the past few years so far in 2022, and the excesses in ARKK funds, crypto, SPACs, and meme stocks are being rid from the system. Our best ideas are “outperforming” the very benchmarks that are outperforming everyone else. The BIN portfolio is down 6.4% and the DGN portfolio is down 3.2% year to date. The SPY is down 7.8%, while the average investor may be doing much worse. Our timing to exit some very speculative ideas in the Exclusive publication has been impeccable. Beware of “best-fitted” backtest data regarding sequence of return risks. Research is to help you navigate the future, not the past. We remain bullish on stocks for the long haul and grow more and more excited as our simulated newsletter portfolios continue to hold up very well. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Stick with the largest, strongest growth names. We still like large cap growth and big cap tech, though we are tactical overweight in the largest energy stocks (e.g. XOM, CVX, XLE). The latest short idea in the Exclusive publication has collapsed aggressively since highlight January 9, and we remain encouraged by the resilience of ideas in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio and ESG Newsletter portfolio. Our options idea generation remains ongoing.

The ARKK CRASHED But Large Cap Growth/Tech Is Still Cheap!
“The crash in speculative tech, namely the ARKK, is ongoing and expected to continue. On the other hand, blue chip technology, namely the area of large cap growth, is overflowing with moaty, net cash rich, free cash flow generating, secular growth powerhouses and continues to look attractive. On a weighted average basis, for example, the Schwab U.S. Large Cap Growth ETF (SCHG) has considerable room to run higher based on the high end of our fair value estimate range of its largest holdings. We think large cap growth will continue to deliver in the years ahead, and we like exposure to this area. ” – Brian Nelson, CFA

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.

ICYMI: The PayPal Wave Recedes, We Still Like Shares
Image Source: PayPal. We knew something wasn’t quite lining up at digital-payments provider PayPal when the rumor mill started to turn with reports it was interested in scooping up Pinterest for a pretty penny. PayPal has since put to rest rumors about buying Pinterest, but it left investors with a sour outlook when it issued third-quarter results November 8. Though the market wasn’t happy with the forecast for the fourth quarter of 2021 and into 2022, the company continues to grow revenue at a robust pace, and we expect several key initiatives to drive sustainable top-line expansion for many years to come. Our fair value estimate stands north of $270 per share.