Summary Paychex reported strong Q3 results on March 26th and earlier in March it announced an acquisition in Germany which will offer PAYX the opportunity to expand its market penetration in Europe. The balance sheet is pristine and it continues to generate strong free cash flow. PAYX’s stock valuation has retraced from recent highs to [...]
Summary NKE reported Q3 results March 22, 2018 which were better than expected when the one-time ~$2B impact from the Tax Cuts and Job Act is excluded. Despite the tax hit, NKE has indicated the TCJ is slightly favorable in terms of its normalized steady state effective tax rate and because it will provide NKE [...]
Summary FDX reported strong Q3 results on March 20th but the March 22nd announcement by the US government of ~$60B of tariffs on Chinese products hit the US equities hard and FDX’s stock price dropped ~5%. Amazon will be competing head on with FDX. While this can be perceived as a significant risk to FDX, [...]
Summary Alimentation Couche-Tard is the world’s 2nd largest convenience store operator. It operates in a highly fragmented industry. Its growth is being fueled through bolt-on and major acquisitions. The company has a significant presence in North America and certain regions in Europe. Growth opportunities in other densely populated regions of the world are underway. The [...]
Summary Ecolab (ECL) has a track record of two decades of double digit EPS growth. It is a very low capital intensive company with highly consumable products/services thereby resulting in a predictable and highly recurring revenue stream. Bill Gates has held a position in ECL for some time and just recently acquired another ~1.3 million [...]
Summary DIS has offered to acquire certain 21st Century Fox, Inc. assets for $52B to help it expand into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business. The stock is attractively valued based on forward EPS and free cash flow. Despite the attractive valuation, I have several reasons why I will not initiate a position in DIS at [...]
The Big 6 Canadian Banks have certainly rewarded long-term shareholders. If you do not currently have a position in any of these banks, this guest post I wrote for Sure Dividend should help you determine whether these banks are worthy of your consideration as part of a well diversified portfolio. I delve into some of [...]
Summary MKC is a dominant provider of spice and seasoning products to the commercial and industrial markets. It leveraged its balance sheet to acquire Reckitt Benckiser’s Food Division (‘RBFD’) for ~$4.21B in 2017 but management is committed to a significant reduction in debt levels by the end of fiscal 2020. Growth in revenue and margins [...]
Summary SPGI is the largest of the 10 statistical rating organizations recognized by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has undergone a significant transformation over the last few years and is now focused exclusively on the high-growth, high-margin businesses—Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P Capital IQ and Platts. SPGI’s [...]
Summary MCO is one of 10 statistical rating organizations recognized by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It is the 2nd largest publicly traded member of this small group behind S&P Global Inc.. The company’s reputation took a hit when it completely failed to warn investors of the risks which led to the Financial Crisis. [...]
