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RJ Towner

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  • Facebook and LinkedIn Early in Monetization; Neither a Bargain

    By RJ Towner - May 9, 2013 | Tickers: FB, GOOG, LNKD

    During the past week, publicly traded social media giants Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) both reported strong first quarter results. Facebook’s revenue grew 38% year-over-year to $1.46 billion, exceeding consensus estimates, while earnings per share were flat at $0.12. LinkedIn’s revenue surged 72% year-over-year to $325 million driving earnings per share of $0.45—both figures were handily better than consensus expectations.

    Cash flow more »

  • Tony Stark Gives Disney a Boost

    By RJ Towner - May 8, 2013 | Tickers: CBS, DIS

    Media stocks have been on a fantastic run as of late, and the trend looks to continue after CBS (NYSE: CBS) posted great results and Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Iron Man 3 put up a blockbuster debut at the box office internationally and domestically. Let’s take a look at these recent events.

    CBS

    CBS posted strong first quarter results, driven by a 6% year-over-year increase in revenue to $4 more »

  • Caterpillar’s 2013 Doesn’t Look Great

    By RJ Towner - April 26, 2013 | Tickers: BHP, CAT, JOY, RIO

    Global equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) posted weak first quarter results on the back of a decline in global mining capital expenditures. Revenue dropped 17% year-over-year to $13.2 billion, which was slightly below consensus expectations. Earnings tumbled 45% year-over-year to $1.31 per share, which was also worse than consensus estimates.

    The decline during the first quarter wasn’t much of a surprised as the outlook for mining capital more »

  • Yahoo: The Turnaround

    By RJ Towner - April 17, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, JCP, YHOO

    Internet search and content provider Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) reported first quarter results that were relatively mediocre. Revenue ex-TAC (excluding traffic acquisition costs) was flat year-over-year, falling short of consensus estimates. Earnings per share easily exceeded consensus expectations, rising 52% year-over-year to $0.35. Yahoo provided non-GAP earnings per share of $0.38 that excluded $0.38 of stock-based compensation.

    Unfortunately for shareholders, the EPS increase was mostly the result of more »

  • Shares of Baidu Are Just Too Cheap

    By RJ Towner - April 12, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, BIDU, GOOG, QIHU

    Valuations for internet technology companies are literally all over the place. On one end of the spectrum sits LinkedIn and Amazon—fast growing firms with sky-high PE multiples and tremendous credit given to the long run. On the other end, we have Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) generating fantastic amounts of free cash flow, and trading with single-digit forward PE multiples. Chinese search giant Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU)falls closer to Apple, and more »

  • GE Pays Up for Fracking Exposure

    By RJ Towner - April 10, 2013 | Tickers: GE, JOY, LUFK

    The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that GE (NYSE: GE) will acquire oil pump manufacturer Lufkin Industries (NASDAQ: LUFK) for a whopping $3.3 billion, or $88.50 per share in cash. Paramount to any acquisition is the price paid, and we at Valuentum think GE paid a hefty sum to gain exposure to the US hydraulic fracturing market, paying a 20% premium to the high end of more »

  • GE Pays Up For Fracking Exposure

    By RJ Towner - April 8, 2013 | Tickers: GE, JOY, LUFK

    Earlier this morning, The Wall Street Journal reported that GE (NYSE: GE) will acquire oil pump manufacturer Lufkin Industries (NASDAQ: LUFK) for a whopping $3.3 billion, or $88.50 per share in cash. Paramount to any acquisition is the price paid, and we think GE paid a hefty sum to gain exposure to the US hydraulic fracturing market, paying a 20% premium to the high-end of Valuentum's fair more »

  • Will T-Mobile’s iPhone 5 Deal Change the Wireless Industry?

    By RJ Towner - March 27, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, T, S, VZ

    Tuesday afternoon, wireless carrier T-Mobile finally relented and announced that it will begin carrying Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. Bears can attack market share numbers all they want, but we’ve shown plenty of evidence supporting why the iPhone is exceptionally popular. Commscore showed data giving Apple a 37.8% market share in January, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) reported that iPhones accounted for 63% of smartphones during the fourth quarter, and more »

  • The E-Commerce War Between eBay and Amazon Heats Up

    By RJ Towner - March 26, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, EBAY, V

    In order to help drive more sellers on to its platform, Valuentum's Best Ideas Newsletter holding eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) announced new, less complicated fee structures. The firm already charged lower fees than Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), but the new structure gives greater transparency to sellers. Instead of the previous 10%+ take-rates, eBay will now have more basic fees ranging from 4%-10% depending on the seller's size and product more »

  • A Dish/DirecTV Merger Would Be Golden

    By RJ Towner - March 20, 2013 | Tickers: DTV, DISH

    After a potential acquisition target of DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was taken off the market, chatter of a DirecTV-Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) merger has escalated. The big obstacle would be anti-trust hurdles, and given recent trends in US anti-trust regulation, that could be difficult to defeat. However, let’s take a look at what could happen if regulators allow it.

    Increased Leverage Over Content Creators

    One of the consistent themes more »

  • Could the Quick-Serve Restaurant Industry be Poised for a Rebound

    By RJ Towner - March 20, 2013 | Tickers: CMG, JACK, MCD, WEN, YUM

    With the US economy seemingly on the mend, one of the sectors Valuentum believes can benefit is the fast-food sector. With more money to spend on higher employment numbers, could the prospects of the quick-serve restaurants be underestimated? Valuentum digs into a few of the industry's major players to see if that is the case.

    Wendy's

    Every time Valuentum looks at the restaurant space, we are surprised to more »

  • Bullish News for the Apple Ecosystem

    By RJ Towner - March 15, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, EBAY, GOOG, SPLS

    Throughout this week, we at Valuentum have encountered a slew of positive data points that support our long thesis for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), one of the holdings in our Best Ideas Newsletter.

    Apple on the Offensive

    Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller provided some interesting thoughts in a Wall Street Journal interview. Since Steve Jobs passed away, we haven’t heard any of the top brass at Apple make negative comments more »

  • As Foot Locker Falls, Are Shares Still Too Expensive?

    By RJ Towner - March 14, 2013 | Tickers: FL, NKE, FINL

    Athletic footwear retailer Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) announced fantastic fourth quarter results last Friday morning, finishing off a tepid 2012. Revenue jumped 14% year-over-year to $1.7 billion thanks to an extra selling week, which was slightly better than consensus estimates. Earnings per share, adjusted for one-time impairment charges, jumped 33% year-over-year to $0.73 per share, slightly above consensus estimates. This did, however, include a $0.09 benefit from more »

  • Lance Armstrong Ruins Dick’s Sporting Goods’ Fourth Quarter

    By RJ Towner - March 14, 2013 | Tickers: DKS, NKE

    Monday morning, sporting goods retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) announced results for its fourth quarter. Revenue fell short of consensus expectations, growing 12% year-over-year to $1.8 billion, even though the firm had an extra selling week. Earnings per share fell well short of expectations, growing 17% year-over-year to $1.03 per share, even though the company had $0.03 added by the extra week of retailing.

    Dick more »

  • House of Cards – A Sign That Netflix Can Become a Content Creator

    By RJ Towner - March 14, 2013 | Tickers: NFLX, DIS

    Since activist investor Carl Icahn took a public stake, shares of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) have been on a tear. Shares really took off after the firm reported strong earnings for its fourth quarter and a bullish outlook for the first quarter of 2013. Shares have nearly doubled in 2013 alone, and it seems the market is getting even more bullish on Netflix.

    We at Valuentum believe this has less to more »

  • FCC Clears the Boeing Battery Solution; Value Is In The Supply-Chain

    By RJ Towner - March 13, 2013 | Tickers: ATRO, EDAC, PCP, BA

    Late yesterday afternoon, airplane manufacturer and designer Boeing (NYSE: BA) received approval for the company’s plan to test and certify batteries for its 787 Dreamliner jet. Boeing’s lithium ion battery issues plagued several of its new jets, including many in Japan, which caused substantial weakness in shares even though orders remained strong, and several industry insiders indicated the problem wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. On January more »

  • Vitamin Shoppe Falls…Is the New GNC Gold Card Program to Blame?

    By RJ Towner - March 7, 2013 | Tickers: GNC, VSI

    Health supplement retailer Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE: VSI) announced fourth quarter results recently. Revenue grew only 2% on a reported basis to $218 million, but the company was lapping a 14 week quarter in the prior year. Therefore, on a comparable basis, we think sales grew closer to 10% year-over-year, though the number was still slightly below expectations. Earnings, excluding certain items including the integration costs of Super Supplements and the more »

  • February Auto Roundup

    By RJ Towner - March 5, 2013 | Tickers: F, GM, HMC, TM

    Let’s take a look at February auto sales, which appear to have come in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate around 15.4 million units.

    Ford

    Valuentum Best Ideas Newsletter holding Ford (NYSE: F) posted a solid February, selling 195,822 vehicles—a 9% increase compared to the same month a year ago. We at Valuentum think the number is even more impressive considering February 2012 had fairly good more »

  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Macy’s, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney

    By RJ Towner - March 2, 2013 | Tickers: JCP, KSS, M

    The fourth quarter is easily the most important quarter for retailers, and we at Valuentum saw winners and losers surface. The fortunes couldn’t have been more different, so let’s take a look at the results of the department stores.

    The Good: Macy’s

    Macy’s (NYSE: M) fourth quarter was among the best of the department stores, if we exclude performance from higher-end Nordstrom. Macy’s took advantage more »

  • With M&A Popping, More Deals Lie Ahead

    By RJ Towner - February 26, 2013 | Tickers: APOL, BBY, DECK, STX, WDC

    Monday morning, Barnes & Noble’s Chairman Leonard Riggio announced that he will finance a bid to take the company’s retail operations private. This comes after the announcement of several other major deals, including the OfficeMax/Office Depot Merger, Berkshire and 3G Capital’s acquisition of Heinz, and Michael Dell’s bid for Dell. Let’s take a look at some potential targets.

    Apollo Group

    Results in the for-profit education more »

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