Daily Brief United States: GRAIL, Texas Instruments, Marvell Technology , Kimberly Clark, Five Below, United Parcel Service Cl B, Mr Cooper Group Inc, Freeport Mcmoran, Iqvia Holdings, Comcast Corp Class A and more

• In June of 2024, GRAIL, a market leader in early cancer detection, spun off from Illumina into an independent publicly traded company.
• Following the spin-off, Illumina retains up to ~15% ownership interest in GRAIL and continues to fund GRAIL’s operations and R&D with disposal funding of ~$974M.
• I view GRAIL as a market leader in the MCED testing market and uniquely positioned to be very effective in detecting some of the most aggressive early-stage cancers.

• The Texas Instruments had a mixed Q2, reporting revenue of $3.8 billion, a 4% sequential increase but 16% YoY decline.
• This contrasted with their optimistic revenue predictions for Q3, forecasting in the range of $3.94 billion to $4.26 billion.
• This could have been due to the decline in Analog revenue by 11% YoY, Embedded Processing by 31%, and its Other segment by 22% from YoY quarter.

• The ‘Financial Viability’ (GAAP earnings) criterion is the main obstacle that keeps companies out of the S&P 500 and overall S&P 1500.
• Uber Technologies (UBER US) and Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD US) are past examples of companies that got added to S&P 500 after passing the GAAP Earnings criterion.
• Marvell Technology (MRVL US) and Snowflake (SNOW US) are currently ineligible for S&P 500 inclusion due to failing the GAAP Earnings eligibility requirement. 

• The updated business analysis of Kimberly-Clark reveals a mixed financial landscape rooted in strategic endeavors and market-specific challenges, which calls for a calculated evaluation for potential investors.
• During the second quarter of 2024, Kimberly-Clark underscored a strategic focus on driving volume and mix-driven gains, particularly evident in significant geographies such as the U.S., China, and the U.K. This initiative aligns with their innovation-led growth strategy aiming at revitalizing their “Powerhouse” categories, which is indicative of their proactive response to market demands and consumer preferences.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

• Introduction (If you hate my story-telling, please scroll to the Background section) A lady once asked me a thought provoking question, “why have children?”
• Redirecting my gentle gaze to the ceiling and stressfully clasping a chunk of hair on the back of my head, I pondered and dug deep, with the intent of conjuring an impressive answer.
• The testosterone in me blurted, “to pass down the huge wealth I would amass some day, my children are my legacy!” and my traditional Eastern roots interrupted, “so someone would take care of me when I’m old and decrepit!”

• United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) returned to volume growth in the U.S. market in the second quarter of 2024, marking a significant shift following nine quarters of decline.
• This achievement was largely a result of the company’s strategic efforts, including its emphasis on small and medium sized business (SMB) sectors and strategic acquisitions like Estafeta, which bolstered its position in Mexico.
• This move is expected to enhance UPS’s logistics orchestration capabilities, particularly as regional manufacturing shifts closer to the United States.

• Mr. Cooper has seen impressive growth in the past 5 years, with shares up around 392%
• The market often misunderstands Mr. Cooper as cyclical, volatile, and rate-sensitive, but the company’s business model is “naturally hedged”
• The current low-rate environment and undersupply of housing in the US present growth opportunities for Mr. Cooper, making it a recommended investment according to the author’s detailed analysis.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• Freeport-McMoRan’s second quarter results underscore both strengths and areas for further improvement within its operations and strategic initiatives.
• As a dominant player in the copper industry, the company continues to benefit from strong global demand for copper, essential for various sectors like electrification and renewable energies.
• Freeport-McMoRan highlights robust EBITDA of $2.7 billion and an impressive $2 billion in operating cash flow, driven by steady production volumes and recovering commodity prices.

• IQVIA’s business fundamentals remain strong, achieving a 5% revenue growth rate and 8.6% growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share in the second quarter of 2024.
• The company’s revenue and earnings growth were driven by robust performances across their business segments, such as Technology & Analytics Solutions (TAS) and the Clinical segment.
• In the TAS segment, IQVIA reported growth of about 3% in the first quarter and 4% in the second quarter, excluding COVID-19 and foreign exchange impacts.

• Comcast’s second quarter earnings call highlighted various areas of performance in the company’s operations.
• On the broadband front, despite the competitive market conditions prevalent in recent quarters, Comcast’s strategy has been consistent, focusing on generating considerable broadband revenue growth through a balance between rate and volume.
• With an established customer base of 32 million subscribers, the company is implementing market segmentation.