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Turnaround-bet: Is Vodafone’s 10% dividend yield a no-brainer?

The British red telecom giant announced not only a CEO-change, but also a strategic shift (both often come as one). Meanwhile, the share price is advancing its year-long decline, reaching even a fresh quarter-century low (!), as investors seem totally unimpressed. In the past, Vodafone has been a reliable dividend payer, although the payout was cut in 2019 and not raised again since then. The 10.7% yield seems tempting. Can it get worse or is it worth a shot?

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Deep Dive into Offshore Energy Drilling – coming back from the near-dead + new research report

Not only being one of the most cyclical, but also most hated energy sub-sectors, offshore drilling has been a secure investment grave for the last nearly 15 years. There is barely any investment topic where you could have sunk money more reliably. However, there are really interesting developments that make it worthwhile to risk a look into it, again. Especially, as along as it is perceived a no-go area for ESG-promoters – although offshore drilling tends to be the best choice in this regard.

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Could Apple’s Vision Pro be a better investment than Apple’s stock?

Last week, on its yearly Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple finally presented an entirely new device – the Apple Vision Pro. It was the first new product presentation since 2016, when Apple introduced the wireless AirPods. Others say since 2015 (Apple Watch), as the AirPods are “only an accessory” and unusable solely on their own. No matter since when, the question to answer is: Will the Apple Vision Pro propel Apple’s stock into new dimensions? Or is there maybe even an unconventional way to benefit from this new product as an investor?

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Earnings quality the worst in three decades – look at free cash flow!

Operating or net income, adjusted operating or net income, earnings per share (EPS), adjusted EPS and the price to earnings (PE) ratio are commonly used to assess a company’s business results and to value it. They are also often used as headline numbers and proof of performance by the companies themselves. However, there is a rising trend of decreasing “earnings quality” – an indicator that neither the economy is doing pretty well, nor many companies.

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Will MP Materials solve the Western dependency on rare earths from China?

When talking about rare earths, most people likely think of China and its dominant position in this commodity sub-sector. Sometimes you will also hear about a “monopolistic position” of China. As we know, rare earths are critical for our modern lifestyles due to being key ingredients which are needed for high-tech electronics as well as for everything that is being moved physically with high efficiency by electricity. MP Materials is in the midsts of establishing a fully vertically integrated facility in the US. Is this the key to achieve independency from China?

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Why “buy and hold” is nonsense and not the key to successful investing

One of the first major “mindset tips” new investors either directly receive from someone more experienced or stumble upon by themselves is to “buy and hold” stocks. The reasoning seems to make sense, as a longer holding period should level out short term fluctuations and enable a positive investing outcome. However, this concept does not take into account a key component, misleading many investors, often causing avoidable disappointments.

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Will Philip Morris split itself, soon?

Company transformations and separations are not an uncommon occurrence. The goal of so-called spin-offs is to grow by shrinking first. Such special situations can create shareholder value that is uncorrelated to broader markets. Over the past days, I started to think through possible coming spin-offs. The iconic Marlboro maker Philip Morris came to my mind, as it could slowly start to make sense for them to start a divorce to focus on their growing business unit, throwing off ballast and cashing out, soon.

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Is the stock of M&T Bank the best pick among regional US-banks?

After the first wave of banking collapses last March and some subsequent calming down, the last few weeks have again been dominated by fears about who’s next. The California based First Republic Bank was the next to fall. Its assets were sold to JPMorgan. Stocks of other regional banks got hammered by even 50% in single trading days, as if this were nothing unusual. The search for the next victim is running. M&T Bank so far held up rather well (and managed to stay under the radar). Is it worth a closer look?

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The Panic of 1907 – a financial chain reaction

With this Weekly, I am finally writing my first book review. The book I now finished, is about the financial panic of 1907. However, it is not just a short-lived event with a simple crash in stock markets, limited to that particular year, as the title might suggest. Furthermore, it is about a sequence of events that caused a chain reaction of significant relevance, laying the foundation for the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank (although not what you know today).

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Have you missed the best stock of the last 25 years? Here’s a second chance!

Last week, I wrote about missed opportunities and their lasting impact on me. Actually, they hurt me more and stay with me longer than realized losses where I have taken my lessons learnt. Today, I want to discuss one of the most successful – if not even THE most successful – stock(s) of the last quarter-century. Nearly self-explanatory, this was a somewhat surprising business development that many (including me) have missed. Is there maybe a second chance?

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