Steven Heller

Editor's Choice

• Has the House of Mouse Become the Ultimate Gamer?

  By Steven Heller - November 21, 2012 | Tickers: ATVI, EA, TTWO, DIS, ZNGA |

  As a gaming company, keeping up with the joneses is a difficult task.  A large populous of casual gamers have abandoned their consoles, replacing them with smartphones and tablets.  This sea change has put pressure on gaming companies to recoup lost revenues from mobile platforms.  Subscription based models and new digital endeavors remain crucial to future success.  So far, the results have been mixed. 
  
  Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) has attacked more »

• Why the Club King Won't be Dethroned

  By Steven Heller - November 12, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, COST, DG, TGT, WMT |

  Before investing in a company, it’s a good idea to get a sense of its overall picture.  A great way to accomplish this is with a SWOT analysis.  It examines a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, in a manner that makes it easy to gain perspective.  Once you’ve considered these factors, it’s easier to determine how the growth story factors into the equation. 

  Let’s more »

• Here’s What Google’s SWOT Analysis Revealed

  By Steven Heller - October 31, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, FB, GOOG, IBM, MSFT |

  Before investing in a company, it’s a good idea to get a sense of its overall picture.  A great way to accomplish this is with a SWOT analysis.  It examines a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, in a manner that makes it easy to gain perspective.  Once you’ve considered these factors, it makes it easier to determine how the growth story factors into the equation. 

  Let more »

• Online Video: An Unfolding Megatrend

  By Steven Heller - October 29, 2012 | Tickers: AOL, CMCSA, GOOG, NWSA, DIS |

  More than 100 million Americans watch video content online.  This number has risen 43% from the previous year and there are no signs it’s letting up.  The explosive growth of smartphones and tablets has leaped online video viewership to the next level.  You can thank innovation and science later.  In the meantime, welcome to the exciting world of megatrend investing. 

  A megatrend should be so easy to understand that more »

• Here is the Secret Recovery Stock

  By Steven Heller - October 24, 2012 | Tickers: BASFY.PK, DD, MON, SYT, DOW |

  The current state of the economy isn’t quite ready to spawn the next bull market.  That’s because it’s missing the key ingredient of housing.  Without a healthy appetite for housing, the economy will likely continue puttering along with more signs of anemia.     

  According to the National Association of Realtors, for every two homes sold, one job is created in the US.  Each home sale touches over eighty more »

• Will This Company Turn Things Around?

  By Steven Heller - October 23, 2012 | Tickers: AOL, FB, GOOG, MSFT, YHOO |

  AOL (NYSE: AOL) has been in transition ever since the dot-com bust.  Before then, they had one of the greatest monopolies of all time.  If you were an early surfer of the Internet, chances were high you were an AOL dial-up subscriber.  Chances were even higher you were hit with a busy signal on your first attempt.  But that didn’t matter.  At the time, AOL had an untouchable business more »

• This is the iPhone 5 Supplier to Buy

  By Steven Heller - September 26, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, INTC, MSFT, NUAN |

  Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 5 is shaping up to be a blockbuster.  More than five million were sold in the first weekend, which should bode well for component companies.  However, owning these suppliers hasn’t necessarily been as fruitful as the all mighty King.  Is it possible they’ve been blinded from Apple’s halo? 

  For the strategic investor, this could be an untapped opportunity Mr. Market has overlooked more »

• Five Key Hurdles Before NFC Goes Mainstream

  By Steven Heller - September 4, 2012 | Tickers: GOOG, MA, NXPI, PAY, V |

  In the future, Near Field Communications (NFC) may be part of our lives in a big way.  It has the potential to change our lives by making shopping, public transportation, sharing data, and overall life more convenient. 

  It can act as a gateway to the future by officially placing the smartphone at the center of our daily lives.  No more IDs, credit cards, bus tickets, boarding passes, car keys, house more »

• Tablets: A Giant Step Back for Mankind

  By Steven Heller - August 17, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, AAPL, GOOG, INTC, MSFT |

  “I’ve been against Macintosh Company lately. They’re trying to get everyone to use iPads and when people use iPads they end up just using technology to consume things instead of making things. With a computer you can make things. You can code, you can make things and create things that have never before existed and do things that have never been done before.”

  This quote is from Russell more »

• Is Your Cable Out? Not Anytime Soon

  By Steven Heller - August 1, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, CMCSA, GOOG, NFLX, TWX |

  The internet is both a creative and destructive force.  How that statement is received depends on who you are.  It’s changed how we shop, the way we interact, and how we consume media.  It’s only natural to extrapolate that almost everything will end up on the internet in due time – especially media.  If you are in the cable business, that’s likely a problem. 

  Many have proclaimed the more »

• Starbucks: Still the Premium Beverage King

  By Steven Heller - July 31, 2012 | Tickers: DNKN, GMCR, MCD, PEET, SBUX |

  Third-quarter results are in and it’s clear Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) isn’t going to get much love from shareholders right now.  That’s because we are a difficult bunch to please and often like demanding unrealistic things – sometimes just for the fun of it.  We don’t take kindly to bad surprises and will punish those who dare go there.  What we think is bad is totally up to more »

• IBM: Ignore the Lack of Upside

  By Steven Heller - July 24, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, IBM, MCD, NUAN |

  International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) recently reported second quarter earnings and shares have reacted positively.  The pulse of business at IBM appears stronger than what short-term investors have feared.  Well, not necessarily strong, just more positive than expectations.  “Less than feared = probably good” applies here, although I’m still trying to figure that market mystery out.    

  On the profitability side, IBM beat earnings expectations by $0.09, but revenues were more »

• Dear Intel: It's Not You, It's the Market

  By Steven Heller - July 19, 2012 | Tickers: AMD, ARMH, INTC, QCOM, TSM |

  Dear Intel (NASDAQ: INTC),

  Wall Street is a strange place.  Sometimes they love you and other times they fail to acknowledge your existence.  It’s like the moodiness of high school all over again, except this time there are billions of dollars at stake.  We’ve come such a long way since that youthful period in our lives.        

  I wanted to take the time to congratulate the excellent quarter you more »

• Dear Sony: Less > More

  By Steven Heller - July 9, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, SNE |

  Dear Sony (NYSE: SNE),

  You really put yourself in a pickle this time.  And shareholders hate the taste of pickles.  We are a cold-hearted bunch when it comes to missteps and are first to jump ship when the red surfaces.  Not that this is the first sign of blood or anything.  Should you need a quick reminder, you’ve actually been bleeding for years.  Four years.

  You can’t continue more »

• Facebook: To Buy or Not To Buy?

  By Steven Heller - June 3, 2012 | Tickers: FB, GM, GOOG |

  Now that the cat is out of the bag and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has gone public, more questions than answers have asserted themselves.  Mainly, is Facebook’s business model rock solid for investment?  In this commentary, we will cut through the noise and get right down to business to determine if Facebook is indeed a great business to get involved with. 

  Dollars Per User              

  Taken directly from Facebook’s Key more »

• Windows RT: A Flop for ARM

  By Steven Heller - May 9, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, ARMH, INTC, MSFT |

  Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows on ARM -- aka WoA, aka Windows RT (officially) -- has a high chance of becoming a flop.  The reason: Microsoft has crippled Windows RT from a compatibility standpoint and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is on track to manufacture a comparable, if not better, product to ARM Holdings’ (NASDAQ: ARMH) designs.  By the end of the year, consumers will have the opportunity to compare nearly identical products side more »

• Nvidia's Fatal Flaw

  By Steven Heller - April 27, 2012 | Tickers: AMD, BRCM, NVDA, QCOM, TSM |

  While conducting research on my holdings, I recently uncovered a deep-rooted, fundamental flaw to Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) business model, which led me to sell my entire position.  This development could perhaps explain the recent short-term underperformance and lower valuation bullish writers have been touting.

  It is my belief that Nvidia shares are likely to remain range bound for the foreseeable future, and perhaps as far as 2017.  This major more »