Category Archives: Stocks

by | October 27, 2014 · 4:16 pm

Earnings from Social Media stocks this week

This week is a big week for social media stocks. It all starts today, and we will be getting earnings release from Twitter (TWTR) after the bell today. Twitter kicks off the week for social media earnings today, followed by Facebook tomorrow.

twitter chart

(Picture: Twitter chart)

Twitter haven`t met analysts expectations on MAU`s (monthly active users) growth lately. With 271 million MAU`s they are focusing on product improvements to increase the amount of time users spend on their platform.

They launched their brand new Audio Cards this quarter which enables music and podcasts to be played directly on Twitter via Soundcloud.

The company has underperformed the Nasdaq and Facebook (FB), as analysts is disappointed at Twitters growth prospects and engagement levels. So far, they have posted strong sales growth but with disappointing earnings.

Analysts expect strong results from the social media giant after the bell today, and this brings up the big question; Is this a good time to invest in the tweeting giant?

It is expected to se a report revenue of $360 million, and if that is the fact, it will represent about 100% increase in sales vs same time last year.

It`s not easy to value early stage growth companies like Twitter, but investors will focus on earnings and revenue after the bell today. Some people are negative and expect EPS of $-0,27. Other say $0,01.

Last quarter, the stock gained 22% because revenue was $312 million compared to analysts estimate of $282 million. Some say the surge in performance last time was attributed to increased engagement and user activity because of the FIFA World Cup, and analysts belive that Twitter will not be able to follow with a similar performance.

Analysts I have talked to are forecasting earnings of 3 cents per share. Twitter has a great track record of beating the Street`s EPS consensus. Will they beat Wall Street this time?

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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by | October 22, 2014 · 9:41 pm

Yelp revenue up +62%

Yelp are reporting earnings later today, and this one will be interesting to watch. The competition in the ad business is stiff as local ad segments has become more attractive to competitors like Google, TripAdviser and Facebook to name a few.

Yelp logo

They have all increased their focus on local advertising in recent years, but despite that, Yelp reported positive EPS for the first time since its IPO. It`s estimated to see EPS to come in at $0,05 vs Wall Street`s $0,03.

That`s much better than last year, which was lower at -$0,04. Revenue is estimated to be $99,4M vs Wall Street`s slighly lower estimate of $98,9M, and that would be a whopping 62% increase YoY. Not bad for a 5B market cap company.

Yelp had about 68 million mobile unique visitors in the second quarter, and that`s up 51%. The growth factor is in their expansion in Japan, Mexico, Hong Kong, Portugal, Argentina and Chile, which will boost their ad revenue. 40% of all new reviews and more than 50% of Yelp`s total ad impression came from mobile devices. It`s expected to see the trend to continue.

Yelp is challenged by Google`s algorithmic change this summer, but despite that, Yelp`s traffic increased. The international traffic grew 80% YoY last quarter to 31 million unique monthly visitors. Another challenge is Angie`s list. Google is likely to offer them a buyout offer, but Amazon or Home depot is also on the retailers list for a possible acquisition in the future.

Angie`s list`s shares plunged today, reported a bigger than expected quarterly loss and they reported a fewer paid members. They lose market share and subscribers because they charges their customers fees to access reviews and ratings, which is free on Yelp. They have had to slash membership fees over the past few years, and has failed to turn into profit since their IPO in 2011. Angie`s list in founded in 1996, which is one of the tech companies that survived the dot-com bubble in 2000.

Yelp is scheduled to release its earnings results after the bell today.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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by | October 20, 2014 · 11:59 pm

International Business Machines (IBM) Take Advantage of the Drop

IBM dropped significantly today when it reported its earnings, which were significantly less than the consensus analyst estimate. This major earnings failure comes at the same time as investors are beginning to question IBM’s sustainability and power; whether or not Big Blue really has the same ability to grow as it did before.

In actuality, IBM is not nearly the company it was before. The company is currently going through a huge transition from a hardware company to a software company, focusing on high growth areas such as the cloud. The company has already shed off many of their hardware businesses by selling them off, and today has even reported that they will pay GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion to take their semiconductor chip units, a part of the business that has been unprofitable for years.

The main argument against IBM is that their revenues have been falling for years now, and will likely continue into the future. That, however, is misguided, since the most fundamental reason that IBM’s revenues have been falling is because they have been going through this business transition, and need time to re-stabilize their business.

At trailing and forward P/E ratios of just 10, IBM is exceptionally undervalued. This is a company that has major market share in a rapidly growing part of the tech industry: the cloud.The growth prospects and what IBM could do with their new business position are enormous, yet the market is valuing its growth potential like it’s nothing.

Also, IBM is a dividend aristocrat, meaning that the company has increased their dividends for more than 25 years in a row, adding up to a very nice flow of cash. The company is also a serial re-purchaser of their own stock. Spending billions of dollars in buybacks every year, the company is still speeding up their share repurchases, especially since they think shares are so undervalued now.

The company is also very good at setting goals and achieving them, never straying from the path to success. Management lays out what they call “road maps” every few years, which involve setting an EPS price target for the future years. They easily attained their last road map target a few years back, and are currently on a good track to surpass their 2014 target of $16 per share.

It’s also worth a mention that respected investor Warren Buffett also holds IBM as one of his core “Big Four” holdings. These Big Four stocks are four companies (WFC, KO, AXP, and IBM) that he has held through thick and thin, good and bad. These are companies that he expects to hold forever, and expects them to be extremely lucrative over that time period as well. He recently purchased IBM, but the other three were bought in the 1960s and 1980s, and have now netted him gains in the thousands of percentages and vastly outperformed the market. Also, IBM is a technology company, an industry that Buffett has long declared too hard to understand and changeable. The fact that IBM is one of the only tech companies in his entire portfolio shows that he has probably already done much research on the company and therefore trusts it above all others.

In conclusion, IBM is a great company that is trading at incredibly low valuations in the short term. These valuations should stabilize to an acceptable level in the future, which should most likely also reflect some premiums because of Warren Buffett’s support of the company and it’s shareholder-friendly history. The current bearishness in the company is only an effect of revenues that have dropped in the short-term due to an inevitable company transition into the software business. This issue of revenues will come to pass when the company gets back on track with their business and finishes their transition into the software business. Investors should look to IBM for sustainability, growth, and undervaluation.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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by | October 16, 2014 · 2:22 pm

Netflix revenue up +27%

Netflix will plunge today. Down about 25%. Investors are disappointed because of their subscriber growth. That said, Netflix have always been a volatile stock.

netflix-logo

They reported Q3 EPS of $0,96 and they beat consensus by $0,03. Revenue was up +27% y/y to $1,41 billion, and hit investors estimate. They have a total paid member base of 50,65 million, and that is up +33% y/y. Free cash is down to -$74 million on higher investments.

They failed in Q3 with 3,02 million subscribers and that`s below its estimated 3,69 million. Netflix reported profits of $59,3 million, and that`s better than last years Q3 at $48,4 million.

Investors do not think that Netflix will reach their membership growth goals because they have raised prices for their new members, but earlier this year Netflix said they added 1,7 million members and that`s better than expected.

Netflix says it will add 4 million new members in fourth quarter as they have launched their service in Europe led by Germany and France. They will start streaming of all 10 seasons of Friends, and belive HBO is their biggest competitor, but they have different programs and shows.

A drop like this is a great opportunity.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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by | October 15, 2014 · 4:51 pm

Earnings focus

Investors are waiting for earnings this week and today big earnings announcements are coming from Bank of America, BlackRock, American Express, eBay and Netflix. They will all report after the close later today.

What`s happening in the market is a change. Investors move from one sector to another. Investors are not buying everything like last year any more. Take a look at Best Buy. Tripled in 2013, but plunged over 40% at the beginning of 2014. The stock in down 62% from the top, and struggle to bounce back. Stay away from stocks like that.

I see a new bull market starting right now. That`s why it is very important to jump in now, because it will probably be too late at the end of the year.

Jump out of stock without rock-solid fundamentals and buy high-quality stocks with solid fundamentals. Like that, the money will just rotate. The new bull stocks will not be hammered as hard as the crock stocks. They will rather take off right now.

Money will always be on the move and will always flow towards its best and safest returns. Take a look at the dollar. It`s going straight up. At the same time, the fear have doubled. Other quality blue-chip stocks will report later this week. Stocks are plummeting today. Is it emotions or fundamentals?

I`m very excited about the rest of the year and the beginning of 2015. New bull markets starts right now.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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