DANIEL MUELLER | What do Amazon, Buffett and Sydney CBD retail have in common? You know about Amazon and its potential to destroy retailers. While Amazon’s Australian launch last December was somewhat underwhelming, one could consider it a ‘soft’ launch. Whether it’s next year or next decade, odds are Amazon will get its offering right. […]
JASON TEH | The sky is not falling was the message in September 2017. Our message was that the overall market did not show excessive valuations, which generally is a precursor to stock market corrections. However, our market outlook dimmed due to recent ‘risk-on’ rally, where most of the year’s return was delivered in the […]
SAM DYSON | Mining 101: a good mining company makes money at the low end of a steep cost-curve. This is BHP’s strategy and it is working wonders in iron ore. However, in 2011 BHP forgot this simple rule. Deal hungry and with cash flow burning a hole in the pocket after two failed takeovers, […]
DANIEL MUELLER | Want to know the biggest yield trap of 2017? Each year there are dividend plays that turn out to be yield traps. In 2012, it was QBE. During 2012 to 2014, we saw several consumer stocks turn out to be yield traps including Seven West Media, David Jones and Myer. The year […]
DANIEL MUELLER | Did Telstra just have its Trump moment? Prior to Telstra’s FY17 result, media articles abounded speculating the company was going to announce the securitisation of its recurring NBN payments. The media cited various analyst reports that a securitisation of up to $18 billion was about to create a capital management bonanza for […]
DANIEL MUELLER | Woolworths “is a wonderful organisation, with enormous upside.” This was the first thing former CEO Grant O’Brien said about Woolworths in his inaugural address to the market in November 2011, shortly following his appointment. And why not think that? Chart 1: Food, Liquor & Petrol EBIT margins Woolworths had a fantastic […]
SAM DYSON | Looking for assets the accountants can’t see Even well-known companies can have ‘hidden assets’. There could be an undervalued property, for example, or a resilient brand or perhaps an innovative culture. Another, thanks to a somewhat misleading accounting convention, is a company’s research and development (R&D) efforts. Consider two of Australia’s most successful […]
