As a long-term investor, I believe in owning a prudently-diversified portfolio of many stocks. However, if I could own just one stock, I’d want it to be a leader in the important categories of revenue growth, dividend income and financial strength (including profitability, a strong balance sheet and an attractive valuation). Following its new quarterly earnings release this week, this report reviews Microsoft’s business, its strengths (in the categories listed above), the risk factors it currently faces and then concludes with my strong opinion on whether Microsoft would be “the one.”
AGNC: Book Value Down, 12.1% Yield
Mortgage REIT AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC) announced quarterly earnings on Monday, and not surprisingly—book value took a hit (amongst all the interest rate and agency-spread movements). The yield has now mathematically climbed to over 12%, and some investors are left wondering if the shares are worth owning or if the risks are too great. In this report, we review the business, the outlook, valuation and risks, and then conclude with our opinion on investing.
Digital Turbine: Attractive If Acquired, Attractive If Not
The market has sold off hard this year, especially if you are a high-growth technology company. One name that has gotten hammered particularly hard is mobile growth platform, Digital Turbine (APPS). In this report, we give an update on the business, the opportunities, profitability, valuation (as an acquisition target and as a standalone company) and our opinion on investing.
Triton: Big-Dividend Common and Preferred Shares
With dividend yields ranging from 4.4% to 8.2%, shipping container leasing company, Triton International (TRTN), presents some interesting investment opportunities for income-focused investors that also like the potential for share price appreciation. This report reviews the company, its competitive advantages, current market conditions, valuation, risk factors and then concludes with our opinion about investing in the common shares as well as the five series of preferred stock.
Two New Purchases: Income Equity Portfolio
We just made two new purchases in our Income Equity Portfolio, one industrial REIT and one old-school blue-chip tech company. Both offer healthy dividends and attractive share price appreciation potential. As a reminder, the Income Equity Portfolio is outperforming the S&P 500 by double digits this year, and we’re using the broader market wreckage to pick up some low-priced shares.
Intel Is Ugly: So Are AMD, Nvidia and Micron
Top semiconductor businesses (including Intel, Micron, Nvidia and AMD) have a few things in common, such as strong margins and ugly year-to-date performance. However, their underlying businesses and growth rates are very different. This report focuses on Intel, the leader in PC and server chips, and then compares it to competitors Nvidia, AMD and Micron. We conclude with our opinion on investing.
Realty Income: 50 Big-Dividend REITs Compared
Realty Income (known as the monthly dividend company) has been a safe haven this year as markets have declined sharply but Realty Income’s share price has remained roughly flat. However, some investors are left wondering if Realty Income still offers an attractive valuation or if it’s time to shift new investment dollars elsewhere. We offer our opinion on the relative attractiveness of the shares, including a discussion of business strategy, the risks and the current valuation as compared to 50 other big-dividend REITs.
Meta Platforms: Fervently Hated, Money-Printing Value Stock
Other than a Super Bowl watch party, most people hate commercials and advertisements of any kind. They are disruptive, often offensive and increasingly violate privacy. Nonetheless, Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) continues to print and store massive piles of money it derives from advertising across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and others. And despite the fact that growth in traditional markets may be slowing, and its pivot to the Metaverse is wildly unproven, the low valuation (of this once growth now value stock) is hard to ignore. This report reviews the business, valuation, risks and concludes with our opinion on investing.
Honeywell: Growth-Value Debate, Big Dividend Growth
In the “olden days,” it was widely accepted that value stocks outperform growth stocks over the long-term. But as central bankers have gotten increasingly involved in the last few batches of market cycles, growth stocks (supported by easy money) have been dominating—until this year. And if the US Fed’s now increasing interest rate trajectory is any indication, value stocks may again return to extended periods of outperformance. Shares of diversified industrial company, Honeywell (HON), fall into the value stock category, and may be worth considering. This report reviews Honeywell’s business, its valuation and risks, and then concludes with our opinion on investing.
Shopify: Meme Stock, New Market Paradigm
We first purchased Shopify at ~$143 per share in August of 2018. It now trades at ~$333 per share. Not a bad return—until you realize the shares have fallen over 80% in the last 6 months! This report compares Shopify’s business fundamentals (including its business strategy, ongoing revenue growth and margins) to its current valuation, and then examines the question of whether Shopify CEO, Tobias Lütke, continues to imprudently push an easy-money, high-growth business strategy in an increasingly sober new market paradigm—now characterized by higher costs of capital and a starkly less friendly meme stock environment (yes—Shopify is a meme stock). We conclude with our opinion on who might want to invest—or if it’s simply time to sell and move on.
Verizon: 5.2% Yield, 4 Risks Worth Considering
The share price of steady dividend-growth stock, Verizon, is still down more than 11% following its latest earnings release. And the 5.2% dividend yield is increasingly tempting for many income-focused investors (especially in our current volatile market). But the outsized dividend doesn’t come without risks. In this report, we review Verizon’s business, its dividend safety, the current valuation and four big risks the company currently faces. We conclude with our opinion on who might want to consider investing.
Roku: Despite Massive Sell Off, False Headwinds Still Exist
Roku (ROKU) shares are down 85%. And while some investors celebrate the bursting of what they believe was an obvious pandemic bubble stock, things could still get worse. For example, the Fed’s hawkishness is driving us into recession, Roku’s earnings are again negative and the shares remain highly shorted right along with many other now infamous “high-growth” stocks. In this report, we review Roku’s business, its growth opportunities, its valuation, the multitude of headwinds that many investors are now increasingly aware of (such as supply chain issues, competitive threats, slowing growth), and then conclude with our opinion on investing.
STAG's 4.4% Yield: 3 Big Risks Drive Price Lower
If you are an income-focused investor, you probably like investing in REITs for their often big, steady, dividend payments. However, you may have noticed that following years of strong outperformance, the industrial REIT sector (including monthly-dividend payor, STAG Industrial (STAG)) has recently sold off hard. This report reviews STAG’s business, including information on the 3 big risk factors contributing to its relatively lower valuation multiple—as compared to industry peers (especially following the recent big Industrial REIT sector sell off), and then concludes with our opinion on investing.
CrowdStrike: This “Ain’t” Their First Rodeo
CrowdStrike founder and CEO, George Kurtz, has founded and led multiple successful cybersecurity businesses, and he knows the drill. Specifically, CrowdStrike is a high-margin Software-as-a-Service company with highly attractive recurring revenues that continue to grow rapidly in a large (and expanding) total addressable market (cybersecurity). What’s more, despite the continuing rapid growth, the valuation has come down, thereby making the shares even more compelling to some investors. In this report we share our opinion on whether CrowdStrike is worth considering for investment at these levels (valuation), or if it’s just another overhyped growth stock that is being valued too much on a euphoric narrative and not enough on its underlying fundamentals.
Owl Rock’s 9.1% Yield: Credit Spread Risks, Rewards
Business Development Companies, or BDCs, make the loans that big banks generally will not (or cannot, due to regulatory rules). However, like big banks, BDC bottom lines usually come down to simply net interest margins (i.e. the margin between the rate they borrow at and the rate they lend at), assuming they can survive any macroeconomic turmoil, considering they have much higher sensitivity than do the big banks. Interest rates are trending sharply higher (as the Fed fights inflation), and this can be very good (or very bad) for big-dividend BDCs (like Owl Rock). In this report, we share our opinion on whether Owl Rock’s big 9.1% dividend yield is attractive and worth considering, or whether the risks are simply too great and if investors should avoid the shares.
This Steady Growth Juggernaut is a Gift from the Market
There is a lot to like about the highly-profitable business we review in this report, including its high margins, powerful revenue growth, large total addressable market opportunity, impressive history of dividend growth (10+ years) and its compelling valuation. The company helps consumers and small businesses make short work of their financial responsibilities and challenges. And the shares have absurdly lost nearly 50% of their value since November as they’ve gotten caught up in the recent market-wide high-growth selloff. Yet, yesterday’s earnings announcement makes clear this business is still quite healthy (they again exceeded expectations) and on track to do even better (perhaps dramatically so) in the years ahead.
Attractive 7.1% Yield BDC: Monthly Dividend, Compelling Valuation
The well-managed, blue-chip, Business Development Company (“BDC”) we review in this report currently trades at a compelling price, it offers a healthy dividend, and it sits at an attractive spot in the current business cycle. But is it worth investing? This report reviews all the details and then concludes with our opinion on investing.
CEF Rover: Bond CEFs Are Ugly--Could Get Uglier
This quick note shares data on over 100 big-yield (7% to 14%+) bond Closed-End Funds (“CEFs”), including discounts/premiums, recent returns, amount of leverage, and more. Returns have been ugly this year (as interest rates have risen), and they could get uglier considering the Fed is set to keep raising, losses will be magnified by the use of leverage, and forced “fire sales” could make matters worse as the funds mathematically bump up against regulatory leverage limits. Caveat Emptor.
Disciplined Growth Portfolio: 6 New Buys!
I don’t trade often (because I believe in long-term investing), but recent market dislocation has created some very attractive buying opportunities. Year-to-date, growth stocks have been hammered, and as counterintuitive as that may seem—that can often be the best time to buy. In this report, we review the new buys, the new “buy under” prices, and the aggregate portfolio details. has all the details.
Albemarle to Benefit from Inflation, EV Lithium Demand
The basic materials stock we review in this report has increased its dividend for 28-years in a row. It also has newfound growth opportunities related to dramatically increasing lithium demand and pricing (courtesy of exploding demand for lithium-based batteries in electric vehicles, for example). Not to mention, the basic materials sector can continue to be a highly attractive inflation hedge. In this report, we review the details and then conclude with our opinion on investing.