Daily Brief United States: Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1, Cardinal Health, Westrock Co, Exxon Mobil, Hawaiian Electric Inds, International Paper Co, Weave Communications Inc, Hologic Inc, Bio Techne Corp, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc and more

• We believe the current AI-driven rally has a long way to run. Market mania tops are characterized by excessive froth, which is not in evidence today.
• In the short run, price momentum in technology stocks is faltering, and these stocks can pull back at any time.
• We would regard any pullback in these stocks as a buying opportunity.

• Cardinal Health has recently announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024.
• CEO Jason Hollar and CFO Aaron Alt expressed satisfaction with the progress the company has made, demonstrating strong profit growth in both segments and expected growth for 7% to 9% in segment profit for fiscal 2024.
• Cardinal Health’s acquisition of Specialty Networks is seen as a key step in enhancing the company’s specialty growth strategy.

• Based on the third fiscal quarter 2023 earnings, it becomes clear that WestRock is focused on improving business outcomes and delivering value to shareholders even in a challenging market environment.
• Net sales for the quarter stood at $5.1 billion, with consolidated adjusted EBITDA at $802 million.
• The company exceeded its guidance owing to strong execution, productivity gains, and moderating input costs.

• Exxon Mobil Corporation concluded its fourth quarter of 2023 with strong results, emphasizing the execution excellence of its business units throughout the year.
• These results were primarily driven by the company’s commitment to its employees’ operation and safety standards alongside significant strides in project building, technology deployment, supply-chain management, and trading.
• 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.

Key points (machine generated)

• Hawaiian Electric is facing potential bankruptcy due to fire liabilities and the need for expensive investments to fire-harden their assets.
• The estimated fire claims exceed the utility’s worth, with total claims including debt exceeding $4.9-7.4 billion.
• Unless the claims are significantly lower, it is unlikely that there will be any equity value for the utility, and the stock price is expected to be negatively impacted.

This article is sourced from an online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• International Paper Company’s financial performance for the fourth quarter of 2023 was largely influenced by challenging market conditions.
• Demand for the company’s products was notably lower throughout the bulk of the year.
• This change in demand was driven by consumers choosing to focus their spending on services and essential goods.

Key points (machine generated)

• Weave Communications is a SaaS business that offers communications software for specific vertical markets like dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, and small medical practices.
• The company has shown impressive growth at a rate of 20% and is on the precipice of becoming profitable.
• Weave is currently undervalued, trading at only 2x sales, despite its promising performance and potential for profitability. 

This article is sourced from an online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• Hologic reported its fiscal Q1 2024 results, demonstrating strong financial performance with total revenue reaching $1.01 billion, above the high end of the company’s guidance.
• In spite of four fewer selling days than in Q1 2023, the firm achieved total organic revenue growth, excluding COVID-19, of 5.2%.
• When adjusted for the fewer selling days, estimated total company organic revenue growth excluding COVID-19 was in the high single digits.

• Bio-Techne, amidst challenging macroeconomic conditions, reported an organic revenue decline of 2% for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2024.
• The healthcare company’s earnings were impacted by various headwinds including a cautious biopharma spending environment, a tougher macroeconomic climate in China, and lowered demand from OEM customers.
• Bio-Techne’s core portfolio, however, continued to drive the company’s long-term growth potential with a 7% average growth rate over the last decade.

• The latest earnings call transcript for Broadridge Financial Solutions reveals steady growth and a positive fiscal year outlook.
• Broadridge achieved impressive Q2 results, with healthy organic growth across both segments aligning with their long-term goals.
• Strong fund position growth and mid-single-digit equity position growth contributed to their financial performance.