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Water Tower Research

Research from Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is a leading equity research firm that provides research on micro, small and mid cap companies.

Water Tower Research was founded by Wall Street veterans after witnessing a fundamental shift in the investment research industry with the result being a declining knowledge base among investors, a lack of awareness and a shrinking pool of fundamental research being conducted on companies across the small-cap and micro-cap spectrum. The same issues are now increasingly occurring in the mid-cap space. This sea change within the investment community is impacting not only the companies themselves but also current shareholders and potential investors. With significantly less active sell-side sponsorship by Wall Street, a substantial information gap has developed between companies and various constituents in the financial community. The net result is fewer channels for insight and information to flow between companies and investors.

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<ul><li>Many of the companies that participated in our recent Consumer Products Virtual Investor Conference have been working hard in righting the ship following the post- pandemic hangover that a lot of consumer names have suffered through.</li><li>There were several new management teams with new strategies, and a lot of talk about inflection points.</li><li>Vera Bradley’s CEO, CFO, and CMO have each been there for less than two years, and the company is about to roll out its Project Restoration strategic initiatives next month, which management believes will take the company into the third <span style="font-size: var(--content-font-size);">major stage of its lifecycle.</span></li></ul>

Many of the companies that participated in our recent Consumer Products Virtual Investor Conference have been working hard in righting the ship following the post- pandemic hangover that a lot of consumer names have suffered through.There were several new management teams with new strategies, and a lot of talk about inflection points.Vera Bradley’s CEO, CFO, and CMO have each been there for less than two years, and the company is about to roll out its Project Restoration strategic initiatives next month, which management believes will take the company into the third major stage of its lifecycle.

Consumer Products Conference Recap - June 20, 2024

<ul><li>Direct selling as a business model has a large global presence.</li><li>According to the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), approximately 77% of global direct sales were conducted outside the US in 2022.</li><li>Therefore, foreign currency exchange rates can have a significant impact on reported earnings and cash flows for the dollar-based direct selling platforms, such as NUS, HLF, USNA, and LFVN.</li></ul>

Direct selling as a business model has a large global presence.According to the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), approximately 77% of global direct sales were conducted outside the US in 2022.Therefore, foreign currency exchange rates can have a significant impact on reported earnings and cash flows for the dollar-based direct selling platforms, such as NUS, HLF, USNA, and LFVN.

Direct Sellers - Currency Outlook Remains Mixed

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<li>Valuations for direct selling stocks remain at or near historical lows following a very difficult year for the group in 2023.</li>
<li>The 12-month prospective relative P/E ratio for our proprietary Direct Selling Index closed 2023 at a 43% discount to the market, having entered the year at a 35% discount to the market.</li>
<li>This relative multiple contraction was despite a slight improvement in the prospective absolute P/E ratio to 11.2x at the end of 2023, up from 10.9x at the beginning of the year, since the multiple expansion for the S&amp;P 500 was much greater, having expanded nearly 3 full multiple points on the year to close out at approximately 19.7x forward earnings.</li>
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Valuations for direct selling stocks remain at or near historical lows following a very difficult year for the group in 2023.
The 12-month prospective relative P/E ratio for our proprietary Direct Selling Index closed 2023 at a 43% discount to the market, having entered the year at a 35% discount to the market.
This relative multiple contraction was despite a slight improvement in the prospective absolute P/E ratio to 11.2x at the end of 2023, up from 10.9x at the beginning of the year, since the multiple expansion for the S&amp;P 500 was much greater, having expanded nearly 3 full multiple points on the year to close out at approximately 19.7x forward earnings.


Direct Sellers Valuation Update - Relative Valuations Remain at Generational Lows

<ul><li>This year marks the fifth year in the most current downcycle for the stocks we monitor in the direct selling channel, with the brief exception of the pandemic-related benefits they reaped in 2H20 and 1H21, as a result of their product focus on health and wellness as well as their direct-to-consumer business models during the widespread lockdowns.</li><li>Even those benefits have been mostly given back in 2022 and 2023 as consumers moved from spending on goods for the home and body to services and experiences as mobility returned to the global marketplace</li><li>Below are the five key trends we are looking for to drive this group in 2024.</li></ul>

This year marks the fifth year in the most current downcycle for the stocks we monitor in the direct selling channel, with the brief exception of the pandemic-related benefits they reaped in 2H20 and 1H21, as a result of their product focus on health and wellness as well as their direct-to-consumer business models during the widespread lockdowns.Even those benefits have been mostly given back in 2022 and 2023 as consumers moved from spending on goods for the home and body to services and experiences as mobility returned to the global marketplaceBelow are the five key trends we are looking for to drive this group in 2024.

2024 Trends for Direct Sellers - Looking for an Inflection Point

United States

Lifevantage Corporation is a health and nutrition company that develops dietary supplements. The Company produces nutritional products that are intended to combat oxidative stress to support brain, eye, and joint function, as well as skin canine products.

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Lifevantage (LFVN US)

Consumer Products Conference Recap - June 20, 2024

Many of the companies that participated in our recent Consumer Products Virtual Investor Conference have been working hard in righting the ship...

Water Tower Research

Direct Sellers - Currency Outlook Remains Mixed

According to the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), approximately 77% of global direct sales were conducted outside the US in...

Water Tower Research

Direct Sellers Valuation Update - Relative Valuations Remain at Generational Lows

The 12-month prospective relative P/E ratio for our proprietary Direct Selling Index closed 2023 at a 43% discount to the market, having entered...

Water Tower Research

2024 Trends for Direct Sellers - Looking for an Inflection Point

This year marks the fifth year in the most current downcycle for the stocks we monitor in the direct selling channel with the brief exception of...

Water Tower Research

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