Liquor with half the calories, and a “connected” motorbike. Those are two of the potential game changers in this month’s installment of Disruptor Deals & Cool Concepts — a compilation of all the crowdfunding deals that were posted the last four… Read More

Market observers like to refer to companies involved in mature or dying industries as “buggy whip” companies. What is commonly overlooked is that many of these companies, despite their old-fashioned brand image and reliance on dated technology, have been quietly transforming themselves into high-tech, cutting-edge enterprises. And the stocks are usually a bargain. One of my favorite names in this situation is Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI). I’ve written extensively about the company in years past but have been out of the stock for quite a while. It’s time to get back in. Here’s why. The stock has given… Read More

Market observers like to refer to companies involved in mature or dying industries as “buggy whip” companies. What is commonly overlooked is that many of these companies, despite their old-fashioned brand image and reliance on dated technology, have been quietly transforming themselves into high-tech, cutting-edge enterprises. And the stocks are usually a bargain. One of my favorite names in this situation is Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI). I’ve written extensively about the company in years past but have been out of the stock for quite a while. It’s time to get back in. Here’s why. The stock has given back 35% of its value over the past year. The readjustment has created an extremely cheap forward P/E of 7.6 with an attractive dividend yield of 5.60%. But is the stock a value or a value trap? PBI Is Adapting To The Changing Market You don’t have to convince me that physical mail is a declining business. At the same time it’s important to realize that it will still be around in some form or fashion for quite a few years if not decades to come. You can’t send a guitar you sold on eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) via e-mail. Read More

Earnings season is virtually over, and with 99% of the companies in the S&P 500 reporting, results are a little better than expected. About two-thirds of companies beat analysts’ expectations, in line with the long-term average rate. Earnings per share (EPS) came in about 4.9% higher than they were a year ago, the first time we’ve seen year-over-year growth in earnings for two consecutive quarters in two years. It seems as if the earnings outlook should be bullish for the stock market based on the growth in EPS, but many analysts are warning that the market is overvalued. Such warnings… Read More

Earnings season is virtually over, and with 99% of the companies in the S&P 500 reporting, results are a little better than expected. About two-thirds of companies beat analysts’ expectations, in line with the long-term average rate. Earnings per share (EPS) came in about 4.9% higher than they were a year ago, the first time we’ve seen year-over-year growth in earnings for two consecutive quarters in two years. It seems as if the earnings outlook should be bullish for the stock market based on the growth in EPS, but many analysts are warning that the market is overvalued. Such warnings are often based on charts like the one below, which shows the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is higher than average. This chart looks back at the past 10 years. Interestingly, to me, the P/E ratio reached its high in the first quarter of 2010, as the stock market was bottoming. Bears were arguing the market was overvalued when it was at the beginning of what would prove to be an extended bull market. #-ad_banner-#You could argue that the recession was an extraordinary time for the economy and no one could forecast what would happen next. The president, Congress, the… Read More

For American companies, China is a lot like the Holy Grail. With a population of 1.4 billion, more than three times the size of the United States, making a big splash with Chinese consumers is a quick way to pump up the bottom line. #-ad_banner-#But while China offers great opportunity, winning in this far away land requires great skill and experience. Many top-shelf companies have tried and failed. Transportation heavyweight Uber is one recent example. Uber swept across the planet conquering country after country — until it met China. In 2016, the company basically conceded the Chinese market to local… Read More

For American companies, China is a lot like the Holy Grail. With a population of 1.4 billion, more than three times the size of the United States, making a big splash with Chinese consumers is a quick way to pump up the bottom line. #-ad_banner-#But while China offers great opportunity, winning in this far away land requires great skill and experience. Many top-shelf companies have tried and failed. Transportation heavyweight Uber is one recent example. Uber swept across the planet conquering country after country — until it met China. In 2016, the company basically conceded the Chinese market to local players. Today, I want to share an S&P 500 company and global leader that has cracked the code to succeeding in China. In the next five years, this company will open one new location in China every day – a total of more than 2,500. I expect that to produce record revenue and lift shares to a new all-time high. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) is one of the most recognized brands in the world. In most major cities across the world, it’s hard to walk a few blocks without seeing the familiar Starbucks logo pasted across a green awning. That global… Read More

Since last year, a new opportunity to create amazing amounts of wealth has been available to everyday investors. The passage of Regulation CF (crowdfunding) last May gave everyone the right to invest in equity crowdfunding. In short, equity crowdfunding gives you the ability to buy shares of the next Facebook or Snapchat well before they go public through an initial public offering (IPO). This means that you can experience first-hand the fortune-creating growth that these companies undergo in their early stages. Since last October, my team and I at Pre-IPO Millionaire have been analyzing the newest startups to find companies… Read More

Since last year, a new opportunity to create amazing amounts of wealth has been available to everyday investors. The passage of Regulation CF (crowdfunding) last May gave everyone the right to invest in equity crowdfunding. In short, equity crowdfunding gives you the ability to buy shares of the next Facebook or Snapchat well before they go public through an initial public offering (IPO). This means that you can experience first-hand the fortune-creating growth that these companies undergo in their early stages. Since last October, my team and I at Pre-IPO Millionaire have been analyzing the newest startups to find companies with industry-disrupting potential — then passing those picks on to our subscribers. This involves an attempt to forecast the future success of a company from its earliest days, which is no easy task. But while no two startups are alike, there are common themes that lead to bad pre-IPO investments. In my ten years of working with venture capital and angel investors, I’ve seen three problems resurface time and again that cause investors to invest in bad companies that sink portfolio returns. These failings in startup investing are the reason more than half of angel investments return less than the… Read More

Insurance is the best business in the world. It’s not just one of the best, but the very best. After all, insurance is the only business in the world that routinely enjoys a positive cost of capital. Every other business on earth is required to pay for its capital. And the cost of capital is always a consideration when starting or growing a business. But not for insurance. A good insurance company gets all the capital it needs for free. Not only that, but it is actually paid to take it. Simply put, insurance is in a class of its… Read More

Insurance is the best business in the world. It’s not just one of the best, but the very best. After all, insurance is the only business in the world that routinely enjoys a positive cost of capital. Every other business on earth is required to pay for its capital. And the cost of capital is always a consideration when starting or growing a business. But not for insurance. A good insurance company gets all the capital it needs for free. Not only that, but it is actually paid to take it. Simply put, insurance is in a class of its own. But that doesn’t mean the industry isn’t without risks. After all, insurance contracts are set up such that the insurer keeps the premiums even if no loss occurs. But it also means that losses could exceed the amount of a customer’s premiums. And if too many large losses occur, an insurer could face a financial nightmare. That’s the reason insurers are so heavily regulated by governments around the world. The Key To The Insurance Business Thankfully, the best insurance companies mitigate these risks. They ensure the fees they charge for investing a customer’s capital exceed the risks they… Read More

For the last few years, there’s been lots of talk about how this bull market is getting long in the tooth and is ripe for a major correction. After all, this run began in 2009 — eight long years ago. But the truth is stock-market booms don’t die of old age. And the bull market in the 1990s is proof of this. #-ad_banner-#Stocks went up — without a losing year — for nearly the entire decade of the 1990s. As the bull market got older, it didn’t waver or falter. Instead, it ramped up… the S&P 500 returned 33%, 28%… Read More

For the last few years, there’s been lots of talk about how this bull market is getting long in the tooth and is ripe for a major correction. After all, this run began in 2009 — eight long years ago. But the truth is stock-market booms don’t die of old age. And the bull market in the 1990s is proof of this. #-ad_banner-#Stocks went up — without a losing year — for nearly the entire decade of the 1990s. As the bull market got older, it didn’t waver or falter. Instead, it ramped up… the S&P 500 returned 33%, 28% and 21% in 1997, 1998 and 1999, respectively. The Nasdaq went up 40% in 1998 and then 86% in 1999. If you got out of the market in 1997, or even earlier, on the simple premise that the boom was getting long in the tooth… you missed out on the best profits. I’m sure there are people thinking this bull market is getting old and that it is therefore a good time to start avoiding stocks. Of course, they could be correct. But the simple fact is that there’s always a reason to avoid the stock market. Pick your favorite:… Read More

This is BIG… For the first time since 1933, the SEC is now allowing regular people like you and me to invest in brand-new explosive-growth companies BEFORE THEY GO PUBLIC. Imagine getting in on the next Facebook for 33 cents a share or the next Apple at 78 cents. In StreetAuthority’s Pre-IPO Millionaire, I vet six to eight deals like this one, and offer my exclusive in-depth analysis of a single opportunity that I believe could return 1,000% or more. Click here for more information. — Joseph Hogue, CFA The modern shaving razor hasn’t changed much since American inventor King… Read More

This is BIG… For the first time since 1933, the SEC is now allowing regular people like you and me to invest in brand-new explosive-growth companies BEFORE THEY GO PUBLIC. Imagine getting in on the next Facebook for 33 cents a share or the next Apple at 78 cents. In StreetAuthority’s Pre-IPO Millionaire, I vet six to eight deals like this one, and offer my exclusive in-depth analysis of a single opportunity that I believe could return 1,000% or more. Click here for more information. — Joseph Hogue, CFA The modern shaving razor hasn’t changed much since American inventor King Camp Gillette patented a new type of razor in 1901. That was fine for most people. Shaving is just one of those daily activities you don’t think much about, if you even think about it at all. That changed in 2012 when Dollar Shave Club launched its now legendary viral marketing video. The one-minute promo introduced viewers to a new way of getting their razors. As of mid-2016, the video had been viewed more than 22 million times and helped the company grow to 1.1 million subscribers. #-ad_banner-#Dollar Shave Club raised $163.5 million from early investors and accepted an acquisition… Read More