Companies Serving Up Good Earnings Remain a Buy

The market’s selloff in the past few months has largely occurred between earnings seasons. The past few weeks, we’ve seen companies report solid earnings. The market hasn’t been in a position to reward those earnings yet, but could in the weeks ahead as stocks form a base and look to move off their current prices into the end of the year. Picking through today’s earnings winners could lead to solid returns in the months ahead. For investors who are still cautious about ...
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Buy this Industry Leader Rewarding Shareholders Now

Companies can do a lot of things with the profits they make. They could continue to expand the business, but after a certain size, most companies start to pay a dividend or buy back shares to reward shareholders. A handful of great companies are able to continually grow their cash flows, and from there reward shareholders with growing dividend payouts, on top of being able to further grow the business. That’s the case with ExxonMobil (XOM). The energy production company is making ...
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Look for Efficiently-Run Companies to Thrive in Choppy Economic Times

With interest rates at their highest levels in 15 years, companies can’t just rely on cheap debt as an option when making decisions. The companies that will fare best will be those that have strong cash flows and are run efficiently. That should keep profit margins high, and provide the capital to benefit from new opportunities as they emerge. The more efficiently a company can operate, the more resilience it will have in the years ahead. One company that’s been working on ...
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Buy the Earnings, Not the Earnings Report

Earnings season can create some big swings in share prices. And they can create some counterintuitive moves. Companies that beat earnings can sell off. Companies that miss on earnings can see shares rally. And then there come the moves from any forward guidance. Over time, earnings drive a company’s share price. So even if a company misses the mark for some reason in a given quarter, if its earnings are improving, shares will likely trend higher in time. The market punished Alphabet ...
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A Safe Way to Play the Bitcoin ETF Rumors

Bitcoin is having a strong year. Rumors of an ETF approval are helping to push the crypto’s price higher, even if the actual news hasn’t materialized yet. Chances are investors will continue to see big daily volatility in cryptos like bitcoin for some time. Those looking to play the overall rising trend in the space can find less volatile places to play it. That means ignoring companies with heavy bitcoin exposure, such as bitcoin mining companies. Cryptocurrency brokerages could benefit from the ...
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Overlooked Laggards Can Win in a Market Rally

When stocks sell off, good names sell off with bad ones. And companies that have been lagging their industry peers tend to sell off harder. In a turnaround, however, they can have more room to run. Plus, they tend to have lower valuations than industry leaders, which means any upside surprise isn’t priced in. Investors have plenty of options in the tech space going into the end of the year. With stocks likely to see a seasonal rebound, some of the ...
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This Upscale Oligopoly Player Has Long-Term Potential Here

The market’s selloff over the past few months may be nearing a peak. While there could be another leg lower first, the drop has hit great companies to own hard enough to be a buy here. That’s especially true for companies that don’t have many competitors. Most mature industries only have a few companies, and have to cater to customers on other criteria than price. When the economy recovers, as it always does, these companies can move to new highs. In the ...
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Uncertain Times or Not, Cash Flow Matters

Investors tend to focus on earnings and sales. But cash flow is also a critical component of analyzing a company. It shows how money comes in as revenue, is spent on goods and services a company needs to run, and how the remainder ends up on the balance sheet. A company with strong cash flows has enough money coming out at the end to pay a dividend to shareholders, or buy back shares, after investing in maintaining the company’s growth. This earnings ...
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