October 26, 20160Comments

The Best Acquisition We’ve Seen in 2016

While we’ve taken issue with many of the large acquisitions in 2016, this deal not only passes the economics test, but also creates a combined firm with a strategic focus on the future.

by Kyle Guske II, Senior Investment Analyst, MBA

September 19, 20160Comments

Netflix: Is the Music Slowing Down?

Issues include: unprofitable international expansion, dwindling competitive advantages, and a sky-high stock valuation. For a long time, the market has largely ignored these concerns. When investors finally accept the truth about this company and stock, Netflix (NFLX) could be in for a big sell-off.

by Kyle Guske II, Senior Investment Analyst, MBA

October 16, 20140Comments

The “New Normal” Equals More Downside For Netflix

Slower growth and increasing pressure on margins look to be the new normal for Netflix.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO

May 19, 20140Comments

Danger Zone: DreamWorks Animation (DWA)

Currently, everything is going against this stock. Momentum is negative, the valuation is still high, and profits are on a long-term downward trend.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO

April 22, 20140Comments

Large Cap Blend Style

The Large Cap Blend style ranks first out of the twelve fund styles as detailed in my Style Rankings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO

January 31, 20140Comments

Large Cap Growth Style

The Large Cap Growth style ranks fourth out of the twelve fund styles as detailed in my Style Rankings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. It gets my Neutral rating, which is based on aggregation of ratings of 24 ETFs and 650 mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth style as of January 27, 2014.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO

September 11, 20130Comments

New Stocks For Most Attractive/Dangerous Lists

September sees 16 new stocks make our Most Attractive list and 14 new stocks fall into the Most Dangerous category. Our Most Attractive stocks have high and rising return on invested capital (ROIC) and low price to economic book value ratios. Most Dangerous stocks have misleading earnings and long growth appreciation periods implied in their market valuations.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO

August 21, 20134Comments

Deferred Compensation Assets and Liabilities – Valuation Adjustment

The net amount of deferred compensation is included in shareholder value. If a company has a net liability, future cash flows will be diverted to pay for that obligation. If a company has a net asset, then any future increases in the obligation will not need to be met with new contributions from the company. Instead, the company can return that cash to shareholders.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO

July 22, 20130Comments

Asset Write-Downs – Invested Capital Adjustment

For debt investors, which GAAP was primarily designed for, write-downs are analytically helpful. They provide a more accurate assessment of the liquidation value of a company’s assets. For equity investors, on the other hand, write-downs are not helpful because they distort the return on invested capital (ROIC) of a company.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO

November 27, 20120Comments

Tune Into Viacom’s Stock

As one of the largest media companies in the world, Viacom’s (VIAB) distribution and reach puts the company in a very strong competitive position.

by David Trainer, Founder & CEO