Blog
Accenture: Continuing To Deliver A Growth Story
2013-11-12
Accenture (ACN) is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with approximately 275,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. As of the end of fiscal year 2013, the company had revenues just shy of $29 billion and a market capitalization that was roughly double that amount. Additionally, Accenture provides services to […]
How I Explain Amazon’s Stock Performance
2013-11-04
Introduction Amazon (AMZN) is a stock that seems to defy conventional wisdom about how a stock is, or should be, valued. Fundamental investors, like yours truly, recognize and respect the importance of the earnings and price relationship. Moreover, I will be so bold as to emphatically state that in the long run profitability (earnings) will […]
Trying To Beat The Market Is A Fool’s Errand
2013-10-17
Introduction Proponents of indexing as the best investment strategy seemed to take great delight in reporting how the vast majority of professionally managed portfolios (mutual funds, separately managed accounts, hedge funds, ETFs, etc.) fail to outperform the S&P 500. Therefore, they argue, it is best not to even try. Investors should simply invest in index […]
Deere & Co: Short-Term Risks, Long-Term Opportunities
2013-10-15
Nothing runs like a Deere (DE). Well, perhaps with the exception of John Deere’s recent stock price – year-to-date the ownership claims are trading about 5% lower. However, here at F.A.S.T. Graphs™ we find it essential to underscore the difference between temporary price movements and the merits of the underlying business. In other words, Deere’s […]
What Is Due Diligence? Here’s How I Do It
2013-10-08
Introduction The lexicon of the financial world is full of phrases and jargon that are often tossed about without considering that there may be those who are not exactly familiar with the true meaning of the terms. It recently came to my attention that due diligence may be one of those idioms. In my own […]
Darden Restaurants: Popular Food, Unpopular Stock
2013-10-08
Darden Restaurants (DRI) is the world’s largest full service restaurant company, with over 2,100 operations in North America. If you haven’t visited one of their chains, it seems especially likely that you have at least heard about one of the eight brands: Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Season 52, The Capital Grill, […]