
Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…
Nvidia’ earnings report after the close on Tuesday, November 21, will be the big event of the short Thanksgiving week.
Nvidia’ earnings report after the close on Tuesday, November 21, will be the big event of the short Thanksgiving week.
Artificial intelligence really is a paradigm-breaking, transformative technology. Right now, investors are so enthusiastic about the sector, especially the obvious leader Nvidia (NVDA), that we’re looking at a potential bubble that will collapse with much gnashing of teeth and I-told-you-so “wisdom” casting doubt on the reality of the entire endeavor. I think a bubble is indeed possible. Nvidia did trade at a trailing twelve-month price-to-earnings ratio of 196 on May 31, after all. But I think you do want to own the sector now–because the breaking of the bubble, if it does break is, in my opinion, two quarters or more away. And you want to own the sector for the long run–say, 10 years or more–because it is such a game changer for so much of the economy. But what to own? I’ve put together a list of the 10 stocks that I think are the best way to participate in the AI gold rush.
I hate to do this. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) is the premier chip manufacturer in the world and I see the company continuing to grow revenue from the increasing demand for smaller and more powerful chips. And I certainly hate to sell a stock that’s down 46% for the year to date as of the close on October 18. Under ordinary circumstances, I would hold on and ride out the current slump in the semiconductor cycle. After all, we’ve been here before, right? Except that the U.S.-China trade war and the possibility that China will look for a confrontation over Taiwan make the current circumstances anything but “ordinary.”
The chip boom is over–or at least coming to an end. Gartner has cut its outlook for revenue growth in 2022 to just 7.4%. That’s down from a forecast of 14% growth for chip revenue three months ago. Garner sees chip revenue falling 2.5% in 2023. And you don’t have to take the word of market watchers at Gartner.
The Chips for America Act looks headed to a cloture vote in the Senate on Thursday. As the $52 billion bill now stands, it includes $39 billion for semiconductor companies to “build, expand, or modernize domestic facilities.” Here are the winners as I see them.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), the world’s largest independent chip producer, expects revenue to grow about 30% in 2022. Sales growth this year should accelerate from 2021’s 24.9% (in dollar terms), Chairman Mark Liu said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, June 8. That’s a bump higher on company guidance in April of growth topping mid- to high-20% in 2022.
On May 31 I made Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) the first pick in my new Special Report: Fundamentals are back, Baby! 5 Fundamental Value Picks. The stock is already a member of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio (where it is up 98.75% from my October 7, 2019 buy as of the close on May 31). On June 1 I will add it to my Millennial Portfolio (for investors with more time than money).
There are bargains in this market. But how do you find them? Not, clearly, by looking to see what is cheaper than it was. The fear that’s stopping so many investors from loading up the truck now on Nvidia or Disney or Microsoft or Johnson Controls–all stocks that I really, really like for the long term–is that today’s “cheap” stocks will be tomorrow’s even “cheaper” stocks. So it’s time to dig into your investor’s toolbox and dust off those tried and true techniques for using company fundamentals to figure out the value of a stock. And for separating the real values in this sell off from those cheap stocks on the road to being cheaper.
In the first section of this Special Report: When will the selling stop? When to buy What to buy” posted back on January 11, I said that I’d look to buy in tiers. And thus stagger my buying to take account of any earnings season selling and any volatility around the Fed’s January 26 meeting. In the first tier, I said, back on January 11, I said I’d look for former momentum and earnings growth favorites, especially in the technology sector, that had taken big hits in the selling from the November 19 high. The three first tier buys were Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and and the first three buys back on January 11 were Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, and Adobe (ADBE). I said I’d name my second tier picks after bank earnings. Which means today.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), the dominant independent chip manufacturer in the world, reported earnings today, October 14, of $1.08 per share for the September quarter. Wall Street analysts hd expected earnings of $1.04 a share. The stock closed up 2.35% today on the news.
Today, September 20, I’m making Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) my second pick in my Special Report: 10 Greatest “Savings Account Stocks.”
You know how a savings account works, right? You deposit money in a bank. The bank uses your deposit to make a loan. Out of its profits, the bank pays you interest. That interest payment is a pittance today. 0.5% if you’re very, very lucky. But the national average is just 0.06%. What I’m calling “savings account stocks” work the same way that a bank savings account does. (Share prices do fluctuate but in the long run I’d argue that these stocks are as safe as a bank savings account.) And they pay an annual return that’s 10X–or much, much more–higher–than the paltry 0.5% now offered by the highest yielding savings accounts. How do these stocks work and why are they so much better than bank savings accounts? You–investors–give the company capital by buying newly issued shares or company bonds. The company invests that cash in making widgets or apps or whatever. And the company returns the bulk of the profits from those investments to the owners of its stock in the form of dividends, stock buybacks, and the appreciation in share price that results from the growth of the company’s business over time. I’m posting the first of my 10 Greatest “Savings Account Stocks” today and my Special Report will name a total of 10 great “savings account stocks” in posts over the next week. Today’s Greatest Savings Account Stock Pick: Microsoft (MSFT). The average annual return on Microsoft shares has been 28% over the last 10 years. Beats that 0.5% on a savings account, no?