Stock Talk With CK

Introduction     As I wrap up my second year of investing, I believe it's beneficial to reflect on my journey and share insights with my audience. While I'm still navigating the early stages of investing, the journey has been filled with invaluable lessons. As seasoned investors often advise, mistakes are essential for growth in this realm. While I started with enthusiasm, some decisions have taught me the importance of caution and thorough analysis. I've become acutely aware of the concept of opportunity cost, especially given the myriad asset classes available in today's market landscape. My intention isn't to flaunt my successes but rather to candidly discuss the challenges I've faced and the patterns I've observed. My aim is to provide clarity on specific topics and events, hoping to enlighten those seeking a deeper understanding. I trust you'll find value in this reflection and glean useful insights from it. My Performance:    To avoid excessive sel...

     Stocks continue to rise as we enter the final month of trading for the year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had another stellar month. Bond yields continue to fall, as interest rates have seemed to reach their peak. Estimates are all over the place when it comes to when cutting will start and how many cuts we will see next year. I added a new mantra to particular companies. I want to add some visual pieces to the post to entice the readers. Hope you guys enjoy the visuals and the excerpts. Stay investing! Monday, November 27, 2023 Zscaler (ZS)-      Zscaler continues to carry its momentum, as the company beat on both the top and bottom lines. The company achieved 40% growth on the top line and saw impressive growth on the bottom line as well. Management raised guidance and are expecting around 30% growth on both the top and bottom line. What is so impressive about this company is that they are achieving high growth and high profitability. This is a feat th...

Stocks continued to rise as investors are optimistic that The Fed is likely done raising rates. The inflation data came in better than expected thanks to lower gasoline prices. It does show that the interest rates are effective in curbing inflation. The yields on bonds have started to fall from peaks, as interest rates look to be paused for a while. There is a lot of optimism that interest rate cuts could start coming a lot sooner than previously anticipated. We look to be entering into a Santa Claus type of rally. However, based on historical data, stocks have performed really well during periods in which The Fed pauses.  Tuesday, November 14, 2023 Home Depot (HD)-      Home Depot saw its stock shoot up after reporting earnings. The company missed on the top line but beat on the bottom line. The revenue and EPS both saw declines from last years numbers. Home Depot has expressed that customer engagement has continued with smaller projects. However, the pressure is co...

We saw another week of solid gains for the indices. Stocks continue to rise as we near the end of the year. It was a busy week for my portfolio, as we saw a number of companies report earnings. I will break down some of the highlights from each of their quarters below.  Monday, November 6, 2023 Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)-     Vertex missed on the top line, but beat estimates on the bottom line. The company saw wonderful results from its CF business, so it decided to raise revenue guidance slightly. This next quarter and beyond is going to be really pivotal for the future of the company. The Exa-cel seeks approval on December 8th and the TDT looks for approval on March 30th of next year. The company is trying to diversify from its CF drugs that they dominate the market in. Hopefully these approvals go as planned and the company will be an attractive company to own. The domestic sales saw a rise of 7% and the overall sales grew at 6%. The sales have definitely seen a slo...

    This week is full of earnings from a variety of companies. The market performed extremely well as rates may not be hiked any further and jobs data came in way better than expected. Keep reading to find some insight on some of these companies earnings reports.  Monday, October 30, 2023 Arista Networks (ANET)-     Arista Networks is trading higher after reporting earnings. The company had a solid beat on both the top and bottom line. The company saw around a 28% increase in revenue and adjusted earnings per share rose 46%. Arista stated that the customer momentum remained strong in both enterprise and AI/cloud sectors. The CFO stated that the company continues to demonstrate strong discipline and are working to normalize the supply chain metrics and deliver improvements to the 2023 outlook. The revenue growth calls for over a 33% increase for 2023 as a whole. The Cloud and AI Titan sectors of the business are supposed to make up over 40% of their total revenue...

      This week was by far the busiest week for earnings. With half of the magnificent seven reporting earnings this week, a lot of stock market moves was dictated on their performance. Stocks continue to tumble as we face a lot of economic uncertainty. It may be a factor of starting to price in the economic downturn that may come upon us over the first half of next year. Surprisingly strong GDP numbers show that the economy is strong and the bad news is that interest rates may stay higher for longer. I expect GDP to not grow as strong as it did this quarter (Q3), in Q4, as we have factors from geopolitical and student loan resumption starting to come in effect. Overall, earnings were not too shabby, in fact it seems companies are starting to return to pre-pandemic ways. I am going to keep it pretty brief when it comes to the companies because there are a lot to get to.  Tuesday, October 24, 2023 General Motors Company (GM)-     General Motors beat on both ...

      Well earnings season is finally among us, so we will start producing more beefier blog posts and cover a lot more companies over these next few weeks. I had one company report last week that I decided to throw into this weeks post, because I felt that it was pointless to make a post with just one boring company. With the inclusion of that company, we will cover 7 companies that report earnings this week and will give your our thoughts and opinions on how they performed during the quarter and the outlook. There is a lot of controversy going on with a war breaking out in Israel and the House of Representatives with out a speaker. This year seems to be the year of how geopolitics affect the market. There seems to be a lot of confusion with the outlook of the market right now, but inflation numbers still look to be fair and the earnings of major companies will be able to tell us a little bit more about where this is headed.  Thursday, October 12, 2023 Walgreens Boo...

     It was a nice little break in the earnings report, but just like that we are back! We are slowly easing our way back into earnings season. However, this week marked the end of Q3 and September. September was a downturn from the rally we saw earlier in the year. There is a lot of stuff looming as the government is set to shut down on October 1st. The Fed is keeping a close eye on inflation but this weeks prints showed some signs of improvement. The average consumer is struggling as savings keep dwindling. In terms of our earnings, we just had two companies that reported this week. One is a warehouse style retailer and the other is a wide range consulting firm.  Tuesday, September 26, 2023 Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)-     Costco beat expectations on both the top and bottom line. The stock saw a decline after the initial earnings report, but by the end of the week it has hit a new 52-week high. The revenue growth was impressive as it grew by a hai...

      This week was shortened by the Labor Day holiday that was celebrated on Monday. September has historically been a bad month for stocks, so it is no surprise to see the market start the month on a decline. At least we saw some sort of recovery with indices finishing higher on Friday. Apple and NVIDIA look to be facing a lot of pressure and have been the talk of stocks this week. In my world, I had 3 companies report earnings. Two of them being technology companies and one retailer that specializes in outdoor equipment. I do not have any companies reporting in the next 14 days, so there will be a break from posts until earnings pick back up again. Tuesday, September 5, 2023 Zscaler Inc. (ZS)-     Zscaler beat earnings expectations on both the top and bottom line. The company also raised guidance after strong Q4 results. The revenue growth was outstanding and the company outperformed its initial guidance. One of the more impressive things that I like is the g...

      We have reached a new month with September starting this week. August saw losses suffered for the overall month as the beginning looked like it was going to be a detrimental month for stocks. The indices recovered, but still were below where they started at the beginning of the month. In terms of earnings, we will take a look at two of my holdings that reported this week. One is a Cybersecurity company that is seeing demand soar. The other is a staple that has been around for what seems like centuries. Keep reading to get thoughts on the quarters and my opinion on what I think of the company's current state.  Wednesday, August 30, 2023 CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD)-     CrowdStrike saw a nice boost in share price as the company beat on both the top and bottom line. The outlook looks solid as it beat expectations as well. The platform strategy is setting the company apart from the competition which is resulting in high win rates. In my eyes, this i...

      Earnings season is officially winding down. This week will be an easy week, as I only have 2 holdings reporting earnings. The 2 companies reside in the technology sector and one of them has been the talk of 2023. It will be interesting to see how these companies do. I will assess the quarters and dive briefly into hot topics printed on the earnings release. Wednesday, August 23, 2023 NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)-     NVIDIA saw a major gain after reporting earnings. This would all fall down on the face of the earth in Thursday's trading session as the stock saw minimal gains. This company was probably the most watched earnings report of the earnings season. NVIDIA saw significant beats on both the top and bottom line in comparison to analysts expectations. The growth is astonishing as the company has seen AI demand take off. The new computing era is beginning with accelerated computing and generative AI platforms. NVIDIA makes a special chip that a lot of com...