One of the biggest investment stories of 2013 has surely been the ongoing slump in shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which have fallen 21% this year after falling by a similar amount in the final months of 2012. Surprisingly, Apple doesn’t have much company. Only eight companies in the S&P 500 have by 20% or more in the first half of 2013, which is an unusually small percentage. A rising tide has surely lifted (almost all boats) in this extended… Read More

One of the biggest investment stories of 2013 has surely been the ongoing slump in shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which have fallen 21% this year after falling by a similar amount in the final months of 2012. Surprisingly, Apple doesn’t have much company. Only eight companies in the S&P 500 have by 20% or more in the first half of 2013, which is an unusually small percentage. A rising tide has surely lifted (almost all boats) in this extended bull rally. Still, it’s helpful to focus on companies with broken stock charts, because a few of them have so badly underperformed the broader market, and now sell at such severely low valuations, that they’ve become compelling bargains. Of course they are only compelling bargains if the key drivers are in place to help deliver improving results. I looked at these eight market laggards, and two of them caught… Read More

One of the biggest investment stories of 2013 has surely been the ongoing slump in shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which have fallen 21% this year after falling by a similar amount in the final months of 2012. Surprisingly, Apple doesn’t have much company. Only eight companies in the S&P 500 have by 20% or more in the first half of 2013, which is an unusually small percentage. A rising tide has surely lifted (almost all boats) in this extended… Read More

One of the biggest investment stories of 2013 has surely been the ongoing slump in shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which have fallen 21% this year after falling by a similar amount in the final months of 2012. Surprisingly, Apple doesn’t have much company. Only eight companies in the S&P 500 have by 20% or more in the first half of 2013, which is an unusually small percentage. A rising tide has surely lifted (almost all boats) in this extended bull rally. Still, it’s helpful to focus on companies with broken stock charts, because a few of them have so badly underperformed the broader market, and now sell at such severely low valuations, that they’ve become compelling bargains. Of course they are only compelling bargains if the key drivers are in place to help deliver improving results. I looked at these eight market laggards, and two of them caught… Read More

Of the 11 sectors covered by S&P Capital IQ, only one is on track for lower profits in 2013: technology.  The profit anemia stems from several factors, including: Extremely low levels of government spending due to the current sequester. Depressed sales activity in Europe. The tech sector has more exposure to Europe than any other sector. A lack of any hot new products or trends to trigger interest among buyers. #-ad_banner-#Yet as we’ve… Read More

Of the 11 sectors covered by S&P Capital IQ, only one is on track for lower profits in 2013: technology.  The profit anemia stems from several factors, including: Extremely low levels of government spending due to the current sequester. Depressed sales activity in Europe. The tech sector has more exposure to Europe than any other sector. A lack of any hot new products or trends to trigger interest among buyers. #-ad_banner-#Yet as we’ve noted many times, several tech firms are sitting on stunning levels of cash. Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and others may have a hard time generating organic growth, but they have a long track record of acquisitions to help get the needle moving. Though it’s unwise to buy a stock simply because you suspect it is a buyout candidate, you can’t ignore a company’s appeal in a merger and… Read More

When it comes to analyzing balance sheets, there are retailers, and there is everyone else.  Retail-based businesses need to worry about inventory levels, sales markdowns, cash balances and many other balance sheet items throughout the year, especially as many are profitable only during the holidays.            … Read More

When it comes to analyzing balance sheets, there are retailers, and there is everyone else.  Retail-based businesses need to worry about inventory levels, sales markdowns, cash balances and many other balance sheet items throughout the year, especially as many are profitable only during the holidays.             Edward Altman developed the “Z-Score” methodology in 1968.   That’s why Edward Altman, professor of New York University’s Stern School of Business, devised a broad measure of a retailer’s financial health. Ever since he developed his “Z-Score” methodology in 1968, investors have been using his gauge to see how their own retail investments are stacking up. Read More

Of the 11 sectors covered by S&P Capital IQ, only one is on track for lower profits in 2013: technology.  The profit anemia stems from several factors, including: Extremely low levels of government spending due to the current sequester. Depressed sales activity in Europe. The tech sector has more exposure to Europe than any other sector. A lack of any hot new products or trends to trigger interest among buyers. #-ad_banner-#Yet as we’ve… Read More

Of the 11 sectors covered by S&P Capital IQ, only one is on track for lower profits in 2013: technology.  The profit anemia stems from several factors, including: Extremely low levels of government spending due to the current sequester. Depressed sales activity in Europe. The tech sector has more exposure to Europe than any other sector. A lack of any hot new products or trends to trigger interest among buyers. #-ad_banner-#Yet as we’ve noted many times, several tech firms are sitting on stunning levels of cash. Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and others may have a hard time generating organic growth, but they have a long track record of acquisitions to help get the needle moving. Though it’s unwise to buy a stock simply because you suspect it is a buyout candidate, you can’t ignore a company’s appeal in a merger and… Read More

When it comes to analyzing balance sheets, there are retailers, and there is everyone else.  Retail-based businesses need to worry about inventory levels, sales markdowns, cash balances and many other balance sheet items throughout the year, especially as many are profitable only during the holidays.            … Read More

When it comes to analyzing balance sheets, there are retailers, and there is everyone else.  Retail-based businesses need to worry about inventory levels, sales markdowns, cash balances and many other balance sheet items throughout the year, especially as many are profitable only during the holidays.             Edward Altman developed the “Z-Score” methodology in 1968.   That’s why Edward Altman, professor of New York University’s Stern School of Business, devised a broad measure of a retailer’s financial health. Ever since he developed his “Z-Score” methodology in 1968, investors have been using his gauge to see how their own retail investments are stacking up. Read More

As many companies have spent the past few years rebuilding their sales and profits after a deep slide in 2008 and 2009, a handful of companies are still struggling to regain altitude. Their own income statements were decimated… Read More

Sometimes, the best advertising a company can hope for is nothing it could ever actually create for itself. Rather, the most potent marketing tool in the world is inspiring consumers to use that company’s name as a verb — one that is synonymous with what that company does.  For example, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) knew it had made it when people started to say “Google it” as a succinct way of referring to a Web search. But every now and then, your company’s name becoming shorthand for a routine function can turn against you. Case in point: Xerox (NYSE: XRX). Read More

Sometimes, the best advertising a company can hope for is nothing it could ever actually create for itself. Rather, the most potent marketing tool in the world is inspiring consumers to use that company’s name as a verb — one that is synonymous with what that company does.  For example, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) knew it had made it when people started to say “Google it” as a succinct way of referring to a Web search. But every now and then, your company’s name becoming shorthand for a routine function can turn against you. Case in point: Xerox (NYSE: XRX). Back in the 1980s, before computers were common (or crucial) in corporate offices, photocopiers were the centerpiece of recording and sharing company information. That’s when the phrase “Xerox it” surfaced, slang for the act of photocopying. The advents of PCs and cloud storage have significantly quelled the need for high-end photocopiers, and Xerox has fallen from relevancy. Investors have also noticed the demise of Xerox’s stature, dismissing the company as yesteryear’s investment. That’s a mistake. Xerox has done a poor job of telling its story, but the company is far more relevant —… Read More

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke managed to spook the markets yet again last week. Like many investors, I watched his press conference and then witnessed the market‘s reaction as stocks slid south, trailing red. Investors and analysts are concerned that rising interest rates threaten to curtail the housing boom that’s helped drive the economic rebound. This $5 trillion segment of the U.S. Read More

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke managed to spook the markets yet again last week. Like many investors, I watched his press conference and then witnessed the market‘s reaction as stocks slid south, trailing red. Investors and analysts are concerned that rising interest rates threaten to curtail the housing boom that’s helped drive the economic rebound. This $5 trillion segment of the U.S. economy is often considered a bellwether for the economy as a whole. In the following chart tracking the S&P 500 Homebuilding Sub-Industry Index, you can see the market’s reaction after Bernanke’s statements on June 19:   But while homebuilders have seen big drops in share price over the past few days, some home-improvement businesses have remained relatively unscathed. In fact, the home-improvement company I’m going to tell you about has… Read More

Sometimes, the best advertising a company can hope for is nothing it could ever actually create for itself. Rather, the most potent marketing tool in the world is inspiring consumers to use that company’s name as a verb — one that is synonymous with what that company does.  For example, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) knew it had made it when people started to say “Google it” as a succinct way of referring to a Web search. But every now and then, your company’s name becoming shorthand for a routine function can turn against you. Case in point: Xerox (NYSE: XRX). Read More

Sometimes, the best advertising a company can hope for is nothing it could ever actually create for itself. Rather, the most potent marketing tool in the world is inspiring consumers to use that company’s name as a verb — one that is synonymous with what that company does.  For example, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) knew it had made it when people started to say “Google it” as a succinct way of referring to a Web search. But every now and then, your company’s name becoming shorthand for a routine function can turn against you. Case in point: Xerox (NYSE: XRX). Back in the 1980s, before computers were common (or crucial) in corporate offices, photocopiers were the centerpiece of recording and sharing company information. That’s when the phrase “Xerox it” surfaced, slang for the act of photocopying. The advents of PCs and cloud storage have significantly quelled the need for high-end photocopiers, and Xerox has fallen from relevancy. Investors have also noticed the demise of Xerox’s stature, dismissing the company as yesteryear’s investment. That’s a mistake. Xerox has done a poor job of telling its story, but the company is far more relevant —… Read More