Tag Archives: debt

Posted on by

Consumer Tectonics: Why branded FMCG Stocks have lost their edge + new research report

This is a topic I have already written many weeklies about. I haven’t counted them, but it might be the one with the most publications — very likely when adding my twitter posts and comments. Directly about certain struggling, popular consumer stocks and on a higher, aggregated level about the sector as such. I do not get tired of pointing towards what went wrong, but especially cautioning my readers to not fall for seemingly “cheap” consumer stocks. There are deep structural shifts that better not be ignored. Today, I am expanding on this topic, after having studied two eye-opening third-party consumer reports that manifest my negative view about these value traps.

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Have popular consumer stocks fallen enough? + new research report

For several years now, investors have been wondering when consumer stocks will finally bottom. Once foundational safeguards across many portfolios and mainly bought for their dividends, and not their share price appreciation (though welcome), defensive consumer stocks have created strong headaches for those who bought at high multiples, ignoring the big fundamental shift that happened (Financial Engineering readers have been warned about). Naturally, at some point, there will be a bottom, though. Are we there yet?

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Flight into mergers: the solution for “defensive” consumer companies?

One of my favorite topics (and targets for criticism) for quite some time have been consumer companies. Especially those with a seemingly defensive business model that in the past offered stability in times of market stress. This recipe does not seem to work anymore, though. First and foremost, food companies have experienced an unprecedented bear market that caught many risk-averse investors on the wrong foot. When stocks have fallen significantly, takeover interest arises. Is this a sign that shares of consumer staples have fallen enough?

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Planet Fitness: Beneficiary of the weight-loss boom?

One of the booming (and at the same time a bit annoying) themes at the moment is weight-loss. Practically no day without such headlines. What in the past was a combination of a relatively clean diet paired with frequent activity to stay in shape, today seems to have shifted towards wonder drugs to do the job. Of course genetics also play a role, but broadly speaking this was the formula. In my view going to “the gym” is unlikely to be replaced by weight-loss drugs, no matter how much space they occupy in the news. To the contrary, Planet Fitness is an interesting case to have an eye on.

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Safe 20% with Kenvue?

The case of the world’s biggest pure-play consumer care company, Kenvue, is a special one. What makes it interesting is that despite being the primus inter pares, it fetched a 48.7 billion USD bid in November 2025. However, there’s a notable gap of around 20% between the takeover price and where shares currently trade. Could this be an idea, entirely uncorrelated to the broader market, for 2026 for “safe” 20%, if the deal closes?

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Conagra Brands: A “defensive” consumer stock with an aggressive balance sheet

One or the other time, I have published a weekly about consumer stocks. My general view has been for years that these names should be avoided, being it food, beverage, or alcohol stocks, partly also household and cleaning producers (except one name I published a research report about, it’s up +22% over the last five months). Investors who bought blindly solely based on past performance have suffered big losses. While hopes for a turnaround to finally arrive continue to be high, there’s little reason to be overly optimistic. These stocks have lost their status as “defensive” core positions not for one, but for several reasons. The case study of Conagra Brands.

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Nine lost years — Bottom in sight for Nestlé?

Since its peak at around 130 CHF per share and a market cap of almost 400 billion CHF, consumer staples heavyweight Nestlé has highly disappointed its fan base of predominantly defensively oriented investors. Who’d have thought that THE core investment in the consumer staples sector (besides Coca-Cola) could see its stock price get almost cut in half? Although I have not written a weekly about Nestlé so far, my readers know that Nestlé has not been interesting all the time. Is it now worth a look?

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Has Big Pharma destroyed Shareholder Value (as expected)?

In March 2023, I published a controversial weekly, warning about investments in Big Pharma stocks. This group, often popular among retail investors for their dividends and pretend safety (size, diversification, proven, etc.), was already back then clearly facing a huge wall of painful patent expirations. As I had expected, many of the biggest — and most popular — names have seen their stocks painfully breaking apart while broader markets rose. Time for an update.

Continue reading →
Posted on by

The Oracle in the AI coal mine?

Over the last months, I have written two Weeklies, criticizing the from my view not sustainable AI investment frenzy, featuring Meta’s stock as my main target. Maybe this was because Meta is a mainstream darling that on top has delivered a stellar return over the last three years. However, little did I know that there is an even more interesting case in the second row. With some interesting developments in the recent past, is this the Oracle in the AI coal mine for what to expect?

Continue reading →
Posted on by

Investing in stocks of bankrupt companies + new research report

Investing in stocks of companies that went bankrupt, seriously? Seriously! What at first sounds like a recipe for disaster, indeed can be a lucrative endeavor. A bankrupt company is not the same as the ceasing of operations. Indeed, often it is even the case that companies go into bankruptcy restructuring while everyday operations continue. This area can be a great treasure trove to fish for potential multi-baggers where others don’t bother due to negative associations. A premier on Financial Engineering: My Premium PLUS members receive my latest stock idea – a pick that recently emerged from bankruptcy – with the potential to multi-bag.

Continue reading →