Playing FTSE

Is Steve D having his kitten put down? Which price notification has gone off on both Steves’ brokerage accounts? And what do Amazon and CostCo have in common? Find out on this week’s Playing FTSE Show! The Steves have been seeing prices coming down in markets lately. And that brings some interesting questions. Should we be looking at concentrating our deposits into a few stocks, or spreading them out across the red positions we have (there are plenty of them). And should we be trying to follow the bigger players in the market or looking for things that are too small for them to bother with? Next up it’s Dunelm. Not a stock we’ve looked at before, but we’ve had a request to have a squint at it and we’ve got some thoughts. Numbers look decent, it held up ok during COVID lockdowns, and the price seems reasonable. It’s a homewares retailer, though, so might it be about to struggle the way that Target has been struggling across the pond? Bitcoin’s had a horrible time lately and all the sceptics who think it’s a massive fraud are feeling themselves. We don’t talk about crypto much and Steve W thought this was a bad thing. So he went looking for an expert. None of those was available, though, so he got Steve D to talk about the which, what, and why of his own cryptocurrency investing. After that it’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of US stocks. Steve W is fond of CostCo. We sort of all know it’s a great business, but Steve’s been thinking about why. Is it cheap enough right now? Who knows… Steve D’s rather fond of Twilio — a Motley Fool favourite. It’s also a tricky one to value, but it’s growing like a weed. Worth checking out? You decide… Something else that’s hard to value is Lucid Motors. But that doesn’t leave much room for ambiguity in Steve W’s mind. He doesn’t like it. He thinks it’s an expensive business with a really nice product. But sales aren’t getting there are supply chain issues are getting harder not easier. Then there’s the ugly. Courtesy of Warren Buffett. Charter Communications is Warren Buffett’s 19th biggest holding and there’s a lot to like about it. It also trades at a pretty low P/E of around 16. But there’s something holding the stock back that makes it all seem too good to be true, according to Steve D. In fact, it makes the stock look really ugly. What is it?

How many legs will the latest addition to Steve W’s family have? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE show! This week, it’s a special UK-themed edition. We’ve got interest rate news from the Bank of England, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of FTSE-listed stocks. While the Briscoe is away, the cat will play. Specifically Steve D’s new cat. He’s got himself an adorable new kitten and the to celebrate, he’s tanking the markets. Well, with the help of the FED, anyway. Interest rates have gone up 0.75% to try and fend off inflationary pressure brought on by a list of things that YouTube hates us talking about but we like to list anyway. Should investors be worried by rate hikes? Should they be pleased about them? Should they even pay attention to them at all? The Steves share their views. Then it’s onto some UK stocks. The Steves each have one they think is good, one they think is bad, and one they think is downright ugly. Brace yourselves, because some of them will be unpopular. But remember, this is just what we think. We absolutely might be missing something that you can see, in which case, we’ll be rooting for you. Steve D’s good stock is Ocado. Unlike him to pick a retailer, but it’s got some legitimately impressive tech going on. Its warehouses are harnessing AI, robotics, and all kinds of good things and the business is coming along nicely, too. Steve W, on the other hand, has been looking at Games Workshop. The stock’s been way too high for his liking until lately, but he’s picked up a few shares and likes what he sees. Over to the bad, next. Brace yourselves. For Steve D, it’s Hollywood Bowl. The strengths are pretty well documented by friend of the show TheBossHog (check out his channel below), but to the Steves it all just looks a bit… meh. Steve W has gone for a far more obvious pick with cigarette manufacturing company Imperial Brands. He’s unconvinced by its brands. As well as everything else to do with its business. Lastly, it’s the ugly. Steve D has a homebuilder that has been failing to grow during a housing boom. And Steve W has an airline that’s failing to take off even with surging travel demand. Why don’t they like these stocks? Find out… … only on this week’s PlayingFTSE show! BossHog’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW2TalEoppE_fuWUZPdhOIQ

Call sign Burgundy is away this week, so it’s call sign Growth and call sign Doctor looking after today’s show. We recorded this on Wednesday, which explains why Steve D’s feeling pretty good about his portfolio at the start of the show… Both Steves have more Amazon shares than they had at the start of the week. The stock split 20-for-1 taking Steve W’s holdings between 50 and 100. That’ll have to change. We’ve discussed the stock split before on a midweek, but Steve W has a new idea on how to tell whether you’re an investor or a trader. Next up, we’re going off-script for a chat about rumours that Netflix is interested in buying Roku. There’s a view out there that Netflix needs an ad platform and Roku has one. Steve D also has some interesting info on the history of both companies and the relationship between them. Would this be a good thing for either stock? In the retail world, times are changing. Target announced this week that it has to get rid of significant amounts of inventory. The problems are giving Steve W a new-found appreciation for retailers and why their job isn’t entirely straightforward. Does this mean that the defensive sector isn’t as defensive as we might have thought? Paul really wanted to talk about Apple’s new tech, so we thought we’d do it for him. At the World Developer Conference, Apple announced lots of new updates. Nothing new on the AR/VR side, though… Or was there? Steve D saw something catching his eye a a Matterport shareholder. And with the price of Apple shares coming down since the beginning of the year, Steve W has been taking a closer look. We’re finishing up with two stocks that we actually do want to talk about. First is Endeavour Mining, a FTSE-listed gold miner that Steve W likes the look of. It has a low cost of production, but is the risk of its mines being scattered across Africa just too great? Steve D’s at it again with the picks and shovels around the semiconductor space. This time it’s Cadence Design Systems. With a $42bn market cap and some solid growth numbers, Steve reckons there’s a decent moat here. Could this be the way to get involved in the growing chip market?

Sell in May and go away? Not on the PlayingFTSE show! The Steves are back they’ve got a lot on their minds this week. Our show kicks off with some news about Orca — not the whale, but the investment platform. It’s winding down. Neither Steve has anything much to do with the platform, but this might be a sign that VC cashflows are tightening and both Steves have shares on Monzo to think about. Should they be worried? Next is the news that there’s a hurricane coming. According to Jamie Dimon anyway. The JP Morgan boss thinks just downgraded his forecast for the economic outlook. What’s an investor to do? Keep calm and keep buying great businesses at good prices, of course. Speaking of great businesses, PlayingFTSE favourite Salesforce has been reporting earnings this week. The report was positive and the stock pushed 7% higher on the news. The tech giant (bigger than you might think) had some information on familiar themes — stock based comp, share dilution, and rapid revenue growth. Steve D’s been looking at the comments from the management and Steve W’s been wondering about where this company is in terms of its maturity. On the subject of buying great businesses at good prices, the Steves have their stocks to buy in June. And neither of them is from the US! First up is Steve D, who’s been looking at a European stock. It’s ABB, which is probably one of the most interesting companies you’ve never heard of. It’s got a powerful-looking EV charging business, but it hasn’t made as much money as an activist would like. Find out what Steve thinks of the stock going forward. Steve W has a UK stock that he’s been watching come down in price since the beginning of the year. It’s Experian — one of the three major credit bureaus and the stock is down around 30% since the start of January. Steve reckons the business has one of the best moats in the FTSE 100 and it generates some impressive returns on its fixed assets. What price is he looking at buying it at, though?

With no Paul this week, the Steve’s have a hell of a lot to get through. Stock updates, 13Fs, and an earnings report from Steve D to keep an eye on. We’re kicking off this week with an update on our 5 stock samplers from last July. As we approach the year mark, it’s time for an update. We’ve had some interesting results so far to say the least. One of us has a stock that’s been holding up well against the general stock declines. And one of us has a stock that’s been delisted. What’s going on? Find out first up. Next it’s the news that’s been driving the markets this week. Snap announced that the macroeconomic environment is likely to cause it to miss its earnings forecasts in Q2. The news sent shockwaves through PlayingFTSE favourites Alphabet, Meta, and Pinterest. But the Steves have been looking at this and think they have some interesting ideas about marketing budgets and the difference between brand marketing and performance marketing. As surely as night follows day, earnings season is followed by 13F reporting. That means that the Steves can check in with their favourite investors. Warren Buffett has been adding to his huge Apple stake while Michael Burry is short the stock. Burry has been holding onto Bristol-Myers Squibb, though, while Buffett has been selling out. And the Steves have some thoughts on Stan Druckenmiller, who seems to have been hiding out in commodities lately… Lastly, we’re going to have a look at Intuit. The software company is bigger than you might think — market cap of around $120bn — and has reported earnings recently (earnings season not quite over) and Steve D’s been having a look. The business is growing at a rapid rate, but the stock is down around 31% since the start of the year. But at 10x sales, is there an opportunity here for an investor?

*** IMPORTANT***  If you don't want to know how "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" ends, don't watch this show...    This week on the Playing FTSE Show, we're talking CRM stocks. The big dog here is Salesforce, but we've got a few others that have been catching our eye.    First up is Wix. Paul is a customer and he's been looking at the company recently. Steve W doesn't own this stock, but he does own a different CRM and he can see a lot to like. Steve D isn't such a massive fan. What do you think? Comment down below...   Next is Monday.com. Steve D likes this one better and he even thinks it has an advantage over Salesforce. But the market doesn't like it very much. High inflation, rising interest rates, and future uncertainty are all driving down the Monday.com market cap. Could this be better than Wix? They have a surprise customer. Also, turns out Deezer is still a thing...   After that, it's time to flog Paul some stocks. Steve W's gone for something out of left field. He's been looking at Aviva -- but not the common equity that Steve D hates. It's the preferred stock with its preferred dividend that Steve W has his eye on. A 6% return that has a preferred status -- will Paul take the bait?    Steve D has other ideas, though. He's thinking that the burgundy investor might be a bit more attracted towards Unity Software. Stock is down 70% since the start of the year, so the heat has very much come out of this one. And Steve has some interesting thoughts to consider. Might Paul be tempted with some unprofitable tech?   Find out on this week's PlayingFTSE!

With Paul away celebrating his 44th birthday, the Steves are running this week’s show… Growth stocks have been coming down lately. Are they a buy? That’s what we’re looking at in this show. Steve W starts us off with the causes of the drop in growth stocks. Inflation, interest rates, and the possibility of a recession are weighing on growth stocks. Steve discusses why and what he’s keeping an eye on. Is the fall overdone? In some stocks, maybe. Steve D has a chart showing where some popular growth stocks have fallen to in terms of their fundamentals. Both Steves talk about what’s been catching their eyes. After that, it’s stocks, stocks, and more stocks. Steve D kicks us off with a growth stock that might be coming back into range… and into fashion! It’s Kering, which we’ve mentioned on the show, but it’s been catching the eye of the PlayingFTSE growth investor lately. Growth stocks have been falling but steadier value stocks have been holding up well. A good example is US bum-cleaning company Kimberly-Clark. Steve looks at the valuation on the steady staples outfit and wonders whether the market might be putting a high premium on a defensive sector. Steve W has a similar idea. He’s been looking at a pair of UK stocks. The first is fallen grower Rightmove. The second is steady defensive stock Diageo. Steve’s a big fan of both stocks, but which one’s trading at the better price at the moment? The PlayingFTSE value enthusiast gives us his view. It’s not just growth selling cheaper than value across the board, though. Steve D thinks that Warren Buffett-backed Snowflake has come crashing down, but still doesn’t look like a bargain. On the other hand, there’s a train company Alstom that looks very steady and dependable and much more attractive… All on this week’s PlayingFTSE! The scatterplot chart we referenced: https://twitter.com/richard_chu97/status/1523398905190178816 

Following Sundays earnings bonanza the guys this week play the noticeably absent game. This one is all about companies meeting analyst expectations, watch Steve D fumble his way through earnings achieving a grand score of...well you'll have to see for yourself!

This week, it’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from the earnings report scene! No game this week, no time for that. This week was the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting. Paul has a bold idea about how Charlie Munger’s feelings about bitcoin might be solved. You don’t want to miss that. But it’s earnings this week. And Teladoc reported. That means it’s time for Steve D to deliver his quarterly sermon on the mount about the virtual health company. Teladoc’s earnings report is a tricky one to get right – there’s a lot that’s a bit different to how it looks at first sight. Fortunately for us, we have someone who can cut through the noise and the misdirection, so let Steve help you figure out what’s going on. Amazon’s next and there’s something similar in the air. The headline result is a strange one – did a company that size actually make a LOSS last quarter? Paul has a question for the Steves: is this the end of Amazon? Or is this just a cyclical company doing cyclical things? Find out what the Steves think, what’s a temporary headwind, and what might be a longer cause for concern. Meta also reported earnings last week, so Steve W’s been taking a look. This one’s interesting in its own way. ARPU down, earnings down, stock up significantly after a big decline following the last earnings report. Could it be that the market is thinking that Facebook (the platform) is back in growth mode as the daily active users returned to increased numbers in the last quarter? Last is AirBnB. The company looks like it’s been going great guns and Steve D has the details. AirBnb is growing at a real rate and its HR division has been generating some significant interest. Why? Steve D has the details. All on this week’s PlayingFTSE!

his week the guys bring you the three new stocks they're most excited about for May 2022! We have housebuilders, streaming services and a Portuguese pseudo fashion tech hybrid - bet you can't tell whose that is!   This one is long so we've timestamped it for you and oh, apologies for the ending we got...sidetracked.   01:15 Steve W's Stock 05:35 Pauls Stock 13:24 Steve D's Stock