This month, the bull market officially celebrated its five-year “anniversary.”  For some reason people think that’s a big deal. It’s almost as if the rally’s birthday has led analysts to believe it’s finally old enough to get in trouble.  How ridiculous.  There have been 25 major bull markets throughout U.S. history. Each of those runs has lasted about 900 days (2.5 years) on average — with the longest spanning almost 14 years (1987 to 2000). The S&P 500 gained an average of 103% during each of those periods.  #-ad_banner-#The current bull market period ranks fifth on that list in terms… Read More

This month, the bull market officially celebrated its five-year “anniversary.”  For some reason people think that’s a big deal. It’s almost as if the rally’s birthday has led analysts to believe it’s finally old enough to get in trouble.  How ridiculous.  There have been 25 major bull markets throughout U.S. history. Each of those runs has lasted about 900 days (2.5 years) on average — with the longest spanning almost 14 years (1987 to 2000). The S&P 500 gained an average of 103% during each of those periods.  #-ad_banner-#The current bull market period ranks fifth on that list in terms of length, coming in just short of the index’s 5-year rally from 1982 to 1987 — which ran longer than the current rally by a matter of days. But if someone tells you that means something about the market’s future price action, they’re just blowing smoke. Yes, this rally has lasted a long time. But that’s because it’s had to.  Remember, the 2008 financial crisis was the biggest market catastrophe since the Great Depression. It was so bad that people thought asset prices may fall to zero (No joke). While things never reached that point, once it was all said… Read More

Not many public companies ever attain blue-chip status, where they become the types of top-tier investments that can basically be held forever. That’s because blue-chip stocks have high standards to meet, such as a history of market dominance, outstanding financial strength, competitive margins, and reliable dividends. #-ad_banner-#After many years of success — sometimes over a century or more — they’re usually among the biggest, best-known names in their industries… firms like General Electric (NYSE: GE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). While blue-chip stocks are relatively rare, it might be even less common to find a company… Read More

Not many public companies ever attain blue-chip status, where they become the types of top-tier investments that can basically be held forever. That’s because blue-chip stocks have high standards to meet, such as a history of market dominance, outstanding financial strength, competitive margins, and reliable dividends. #-ad_banner-#After many years of success — sometimes over a century or more — they’re usually among the biggest, best-known names in their industries… firms like General Electric (NYSE: GE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). While blue-chip stocks are relatively rare, it might be even less common to find a company that could be on its way to becoming one — but I think I’ve found exactly such a stock. This company can trace its roots back to World War II, when the firm’s founder and some colleagues developed a uranium filtration process crucial for the construction of the first atomic weapons. In the ensuing seven decades, the company has become the world’s largest manufacturer of filtration/purification products. But with a market capitalization just under $10 billion, it hasn’t yet grown into a full-fledged blue chip. (For example, GE is worth around $257 billion.) But I do consider it an excellent… Read More

These days, investors are constantly looking for the next Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) or McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD). #-ad_banner-#Well, the good news is that most won’t have to look too far. It’s not often that investors find a company that owns over 20% of its market, especially in the quick-service restaurant space. It’s even more surprising when that company has only a billion-dollar market cap. A large part of this reason is that before January of this year, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (Nasdaq: PLKI) was known to investors as AFC Enterprises. With the name change, investors now have a better idea… Read More

These days, investors are constantly looking for the next Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) or McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD). #-ad_banner-#Well, the good news is that most won’t have to look too far. It’s not often that investors find a company that owns over 20% of its market, especially in the quick-service restaurant space. It’s even more surprising when that company has only a billion-dollar market cap. A large part of this reason is that before January of this year, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (Nasdaq: PLKI) was known to investors as AFC Enterprises. With the name change, investors now have a better idea of what they are buying. An Impressive Turnaround In 5 Years Over the past five years, Popeyes has undergo an impressive restructuring at the hands of CEO Cheryl Bachelder. For 2007 and 2008, same-store sales declined 2% each year. Same-store sales went positive in 2009 and have been positive every year since. As a matter of fact, the most recent quarter marked the 15th consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales. To accomplish this turnaround, the company implemented a number of initiatives that should continue driving growth. The three main aspects have been improved service, increased advertising, and menu innovations. Read More

Fashion accessories maker Fossil Group (Nasdaq: FOSL) jumped 4.6% Tuesday after a technically important level and on the back of news that the company is working with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) on its new Android-based watches. #-ad_banner-#Considering how long the speculation around a Google (or for that matter, an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)) smartwatch has been building, this news is rather big and likely unexpected for FOSL shareholders. After a weak stretch from November through the end of January, FOSL began to act better in early February ahead of its earnings report. On Feb. 11, after the close of trading, the company… Read More

Fashion accessories maker Fossil Group (Nasdaq: FOSL) jumped 4.6% Tuesday after a technically important level and on the back of news that the company is working with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) on its new Android-based watches. #-ad_banner-#Considering how long the speculation around a Google (or for that matter, an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)) smartwatch has been building, this news is rather big and likely unexpected for FOSL shareholders. After a weak stretch from November through the end of January, FOSL began to act better in early February ahead of its earnings report. On Feb. 11, after the close of trading, the company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $2.68 versus analyst estimates of $2.44, a 7% increase from the year-ago period. On the top line, FOSL had $1.06 billion in revenue, beating Street estimates of $1.02 billion. Sales were up 12% on a year-over-year basis. What the Google watch will mean for the company’s bottom line is impossible to say, considering that the entire smartwatch industry is barely in its infancy. Google is also working with Asus, HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung, and chipmakers Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM), Imagination, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), MediaTek and Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), so Fossil is far from… Read More

The luxury goods category is a great market to be in. The likes of Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS), Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) and Movado Group (NYSE: MOV) have shown what a great play it can be for investors. All three have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past two months. However, for many investors, the focus is on finding the next great luxury brand for their portfolios — ideally, a company that enjoys high brand recognition and fits into the “affordable luxury” category. This is especially true as the demand for luxury goods continues to be strong from emerging… Read More

The luxury goods category is a great market to be in. The likes of Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS), Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) and Movado Group (NYSE: MOV) have shown what a great play it can be for investors. All three have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past two months. However, for many investors, the focus is on finding the next great luxury brand for their portfolios — ideally, a company that enjoys high brand recognition and fits into the “affordable luxury” category. This is especially true as the demand for luxury goods continues to be strong from emerging markets like China. There’s one company that should be on every investor’s radar: Tumi Holdings (NYSE: TUMI), a maker of luxury travel bags. Shares have been rangebound over the past year and a half, but there could be a breakout above old highs within the next few months. #-ad_banner-#Sales Gains From New Products, Online Tumi just launched its Alpha 2 collection of luggage and travel accessories. To help promote the collection, the company is launching an interactive “digital concierge” marketing campaign to help its customers find the right Tumi product. Later this year, Tumi plans to debut… Read More

Exactly 20 years ago, a trio of Hollywood moguls (Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen) realized that by combining their considerable resources and Rolodexes, they could create the world’s most powerful movie studio. This studio would in effect become the “new Disney,” thanks to a strong emphasis on computer-driven animation. #-ad_banner-#Two decades later, Dreamworks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA) has failed to fulfill its promise. Ironically, an obscure Canadian entertainment company has stolen Dreamworks’ thunder with a savvy strategy that is now reaping huge rewards. Back in 2007, many thought Dreamworks was hitting its stride. After all, it takes more than a decade… Read More

Exactly 20 years ago, a trio of Hollywood moguls (Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen) realized that by combining their considerable resources and Rolodexes, they could create the world’s most powerful movie studio. This studio would in effect become the “new Disney,” thanks to a strong emphasis on computer-driven animation. #-ad_banner-#Two decades later, Dreamworks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA) has failed to fulfill its promise. Ironically, an obscure Canadian entertainment company has stolen Dreamworks’ thunder with a savvy strategy that is now reaping huge rewards. Back in 2007, many thought Dreamworks was hitting its stride. After all, it takes more than a decade to build a new movie studio from the ground up. That year, sales had nearly doubled, to $767 million; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached nearly $300 million — and the future looked bright. Instead of spreading its cash flow among many projects to help lower the risk that any one project might turn out badly, Dreamworks stood by its plan to release five films every two years. There have been some notable blockbusters in that slate, including the Shrek franchise, but also a lot of duds. And the duds are becoming more frequent. The just-released “Mr. Read More

People love lists and rankings. Everything from school districts and neighborhoods to athletes and musicians get ranked on lists. Sometimes these lists are based on real accomplishments, like the medal rankings at the Olympics. Other lists are based on public sentiment and often have nothing to do with objective rankings. For example, consider Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s most admired companies, based on a survey of 3,950 respondents. Fortune’s Top 10 Most Admired Companies #-ad_banner-#It’s hardly a scientific way to discover the world’s best companies — but regardless of its flaws,… Read More

People love lists and rankings. Everything from school districts and neighborhoods to athletes and musicians get ranked on lists. Sometimes these lists are based on real accomplishments, like the medal rankings at the Olympics. Other lists are based on public sentiment and often have nothing to do with objective rankings. For example, consider Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s most admired companies, based on a survey of 3,950 respondents. Fortune’s Top 10 Most Admired Companies #-ad_banner-#It’s hardly a scientific way to discover the world’s best companies — but regardless of its flaws, the list is an excellent starting point for discover rewarding investment opportunities for the coming year. My favorite investment target from this year’s top 50 list is Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Coming in at #24 on Fortune’s list, the software giant is best known for its Windows operating system, which remains the most used operating system on Earth. However, competition from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has shifted the investor spotlight away from Microsoft. This has created an opportunity for investment. Boasting a market cap of $327.8 billion, revenue of $83.4 billion with quarterly growth of 14.3% year over… Read More

Mark Twain understood the mind of an investor.  The world-renowned author once proclaimed: “A dollar picked up in the road is more satisfaction to us than the 99 which we had to work for, and the money won in the stock market snuggles into our hearts in the same way.”  Twain acknowledged the rush that can accompany earning money without any labor. He understood that the human brain is not wired for clear thinking in regard to money. That’s because the area of the brain that responds to financial reward is the same part that lights up from cocaine.  This… Read More

Mark Twain understood the mind of an investor.  The world-renowned author once proclaimed: “A dollar picked up in the road is more satisfaction to us than the 99 which we had to work for, and the money won in the stock market snuggles into our hearts in the same way.”  Twain acknowledged the rush that can accompany earning money without any labor. He understood that the human brain is not wired for clear thinking in regard to money. That’s because the area of the brain that responds to financial reward is the same part that lights up from cocaine.  This presents a major problem.  Investors become insatiable, searching high and low for the next “big winners.” What they’re really interested in is a get-rich-quick scheme.  That’s a terrific way to lose money — and quickly. #-ad_banner-# However, if you are a regular reader of my Game-Changing Stocks newsletter, then you know that I have been making the habit of finding stocks with the most “big winner” potential into a science for a while.  Take electric car maker Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) for example.  On Dec. 20, 2010, I first profiled and recommended the company to my readers. Since then, it has… Read More

We’ve come a long way from the era of conglomerates. Decades ago, management teams figured that if they can run one business well, they can run any business well. #-ad_banner-#As a result, they’d acquire a collection of unrelated businesses, convincing investors that exposure to a wide range of businesses would help smooth out the impacts of economic cycles. It was a silly notion, and as dubious investors began to apply a “conglomerate discount” to any companies that were too unwieldy to analyze, the long process of de-conglomerating began, These days, fewer conglomerates exist, but when one of them announces a… Read More

We’ve come a long way from the era of conglomerates. Decades ago, management teams figured that if they can run one business well, they can run any business well. #-ad_banner-#As a result, they’d acquire a collection of unrelated businesses, convincing investors that exposure to a wide range of businesses would help smooth out the impacts of economic cycles. It was a silly notion, and as dubious investors began to apply a “conglomerate discount” to any companies that were too unwieldy to analyze, the long process of de-conglomerating began, These days, fewer conglomerates exist, but when one of them announces a plan to sell or spin-off a large division, investors invariably cheer. Just this week, we saw the trend in action: News reports suggest that auto rental firm Hertz Global (NYSE: HTZ) will separate its equipment rental business, which is estimated to be worth around $4.5 billion. Shares rose more than 5% on the news. Frankly, investors have developed a Pavlovian response to spin-offs and asset sales, as they note the amazing returns such a move can generate. The Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF (NYSE: CSD) has risen a stunning 350% over the past five years while the S&P 500 has risen merely… Read More

There’s an old investing maxim that you can never fool the same group of shareholders twice. Once burned, they simply ignore you. #-ad_banner-#The only way to beat that problem is to find an entirely new group of shareholders that may be unaware of your past history. More than two years ago, I cautioned that game seller Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) looked to be a flash in the pan. Still, a few months after its IPO, hype and hope had pushed Zynga’s market value to above that of legendary toy maker Hasbro (NYSE: HAS). We knew that couldn’t last. Indeed, shares of Zynga,… Read More

There’s an old investing maxim that you can never fool the same group of shareholders twice. Once burned, they simply ignore you. #-ad_banner-#The only way to beat that problem is to find an entirely new group of shareholders that may be unaware of your past history. More than two years ago, I cautioned that game seller Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) looked to be a flash in the pan. Still, a few months after its IPO, hype and hope had pushed Zynga’s market value to above that of legendary toy maker Hasbro (NYSE: HAS). We knew that couldn’t last. Indeed, shares of Zynga, which soared into the teens, eventually plunged below $3. The executives at Hasbro had nothing to worry about. Well, a new group of investors believe they have discovered a hot new growth stock. And they suggest Zynga is positioned to become a long-term presence in the online gaming world. History says otherwise. And this stock may soon start to move back toward its multi-year lows. Credit Where It’s Due To be sure, Zynga’s new CEO, Don Mattrick, has stabilized operations since he took the reins last summer. He’s radically cut costs, acknowledging that a game maker with… Read More