Research from Water Tower Research, Water Tower Research

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.

Research from Water Tower Research

Equity Research Firm

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

United states Consumer discretionary / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

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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