Gaming is becoming a bigger part of our lives. Whether it's over our phones while on the subway, on the Xbox on our TV at home, or on Twitch on our PC, more and more of our time is spent playing or watching games. Over the last five years, Activison's stock has risen steadily higher on this gaming wave.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: A Closer Look at CMG's 1Q Results
First and foremost, Chipotle's 1Q was better-than-expected on the two main metrics that matter - comps and restaurant-level margins. With national advertising just now turned on and digital performing strongly, the outlook now looks better than it did before the earnings report, and the stock is up ~3% on the day after.
With that said, the report was not enough to persuade bears to flip sides. Most of the discussion was focused on comps, which was distorted by several factors. And with some deeper digging, one could find enough wrinkles in the quarter to remain bearish on Chipotle's outlook. And that's why the stock has only had a modest gain despite such a strong quarter. You need thesis-changing operational results to drive 10%+ moves, and this wasn't it.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Amazon International and Margin Upside in Focus
It has been some time since I last wrote about Amazon. For a long period of time, between 2014 and 2015, Amazon stock was under heavy scrutiny as investors began to question the underlying profitability of the business. The problem was created primarily by a period of (what appeared to be) bad results, exacerbated by poor financial disclosures.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Chipotle's Recovery Happening Slower Than Expected
As I wrote about ~6 months ago, the key debate on Chipotle was whether the company was going to return to prior restaurant level volumes over time as customers return to the store, or if it was going to see a smaller degree of recovery.
So what are the key debates on CMG today, almost 1 year into its recovery?
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Costco Comps Expected to Accelerate in 2H17, but Will Competition Catch Up?
Costco has largely traded sideways over the last year after a 92% run between April 2012 and December 2015. The stock's upward trajectory slowed as the company's core comps began to slow amid increasing food deflation, the removal of tobacco products, and an increasingly competitive retail environment. Today, the key question revolves around where same store sales will move from here - will they return to COST's historical mid-single-digit growth, or will they continue to remain pressured as competitors increasingly encroach on their territory?
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: FactSet Bear Case Gaining Steam as Pressure on Buy Side Mounts
FactSet is a data provider to financial service firms. If you work at a bank or on the buy-side, you're probably familiar with their products. FactSet's core desktop platform is used widely by analysts to pull data for research purposes or to monitor a portfolio. Sentiment among the Wall Street investors has declined significantly; among the major brokers, there's 1 buy, 10 holds, and 5 sells. The stock has held in relatively well, but has had significant drops around earnings as the company has missed revenue expectations. While the company fundamentals and its stock has performed well on an absolute basis, there is growing evidence supporting the bear-case around the stock.
Read MoreWord On Wall Street: Tesla Model 3 Trade On Track, but Is S/X Demand Slowing?
Tesla reported 1Q deliveries of just over 25,000, of which 13,450 were for the Model S, while 11,550 were for the Model X. The deliveries announcement today will add fuel to the bull thesis, as the company's deliveries were above consensus estimates of ~24,000 units for the quarter, suggesting that the company is on track to meet the high end of their 1H deliveries guidance of 47,000 - 50,000 target. The results were positive overall for the company, and the stock is currently trading up 5% as of this writing.
However, many investors remain skeptical of Tesla. Looking beyond the Model 3 trade, many investors are debating what is happening to underlying demand for Tesla's older models.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Adobe Benefiting from Shift to Cloud, but Is Risk/Reward Favorable?
Adobe has shot through the roof, gaining 279% over the last 5 years. The stock has benefited primarily from the ongoing shift of marketing/media to the internet, as well as Adobe's product shift towards the cloud. As people's eyeballs move towards our screens, advertising and content creation is increasingly following it. In turn, people are increasingly demanding more tools to create, distribute, and analyze/optimize content. Adobe's suite of products are perfectly positioned to address these issues.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: MYL Receives Non-Approval on Advair; What Now?
The company received a CRL (complete response letter), which is essentially a non-approval from the FDA. Mylan stated that they would review the letter and provide an update after reviewing and discussing with the FDA.
What does this mean for the stock?
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Investors Focused on Mylan's Advair Generic, Not EpiPens
Many of us know of Mylan due to the EpiPen controversy, which became the poster child for healthcare and its out-of-control pricing in America. In late August of 2016, the media began reporting on the significant price increases on the EpiPen, which had increased from $100 in 2007 to $609 in mid-2016. Up to that point, the drug had become the primary component of Mylan's earnings, with a significant portion of profitability coming from the business (with some estimates placing it at 40% of its operating profit).
Read MoreThe Looming Technology That Could Crash the Auto Part Party
The auto part retailers have long been the darlings of the retail industry with consistent earnings growth, the highest margins in the sector, and protection from online players. And as a result, the stocks have been rewarded with a high valuation and market outperformance. However, there's a looming technology that could disrupt the industry that I don't think is being accounted for by investors.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Pharma Segment Key to JNJ Performance in 2017
Johnson and Johnson stumbled a bit in the second half of 2016. The stock declined slightly 11% from July to late January as investors began to focus in on the Pharmaceutical segment and its growth trajectory. The segment, which represents 47% of sales, has driven much of JNJ's top-line growth over the last four years with over 10% organic growth each year. However, growth in this segment began to slow noticeably to 2% in 4Q16. Additionally, management gave segment guidance that implied growth of just 2-3% in 2017. In turn, street estimates were lowered.
What has been driving the growth moderation and the investor concerns?
Read MoreTesla and the Blind Spots of Wall Street
As part of a shift in my writing, I am going to start talking a bit more about my own views on stocks (and stuff outside of stocks) and on the trades that I've made. I'll start with my latest trades on Tesla, where I bought some shares in late November and early January.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Will Customers Come Back to Chipotle?
A lot has happened to Chipotle since I last wrote on the stock back in October of last year. As is well known, Chipotle faced a number of health-related issues that forced the closure of numerous stores. Many restaurants have faced similar outbreaks in the past, but those restaurants did not have consecutive strings of outbreaks, nor did it happen during a time when social media allowed news to spread quickly. As a result, sales dropped off a cliff and the stock has declined by 45% since the initial reports. For those who hold very strong beliefs on the future of a company, the outbreaks serve as a stark reminder that the future for any company is never certain.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Restoration Hardware One of the Few Exciting Transformations in Retail
Restoration Hardware is currently undergoing a massive real estate transformation. The company is in the early innings of a shift from small, 7,000 foot stores to large, 35,000 - 60,000 square foot "full line design galleries" (FLDGs). The company eventually hopes to triple or quadruple its square footage over time as it adds 70 of these massive stores throughout the country.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: What Investors are Focused on Ahead of FB's 3Q Results
Have you ever seen a company beat consensus EPS estimates, but the stock still goes down? This happens because institutional investors focus on many other line items besides earnings. Here are the key issues (beyond the obvious EPS estimate of $0.52) that investors will be focused on.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Detailing FB's Longer-Term Revenue Drivers and Bear Case
Facebook is a widely loved stock among both the buy-side and sell-side analysts. One of the reasons for the optimism is Facebook's near-term revenue growth drivers in video and Instagram, as I detailed yesterday. Beyond these factors, the company also has a number longer-term sources that hold a significant amount of potential. Specifically, Facebook's messaging apps, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, have an even greater number of users than Instagram and could unlock further growth beyond 2016. Additionally, Facebook's virtual reality company, Oculus, holds potential beyond PC and mobile as the next computing platform.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: Detailing FB's Near-Term Revenue Drivers
The FB bull thesis is made up of a number of revenue drivers that could drive advertising revenue and EPS upside. In the near-term, investors see a number of positives that could benefit sales, including easing comparisons and FX headwinds. Beyond these superficial tailwinds, investors are most bullish on the opportunities from video and Instagram, which are not fully baked into consensus estimates for next year.
Read MoreWord on Wall Street: BBBY Investing to Stay Relevant
Over the last year, Bed Bath & Beyond has declined 12% vs the S&P 500's 5% gain. I detailed the bear case for Bed Bath and Beyond back in mid February, and the bear case has largely played out since that time. Going forward, a key issue will rest on whether BBBY will be able to re-accelerate its top line growth, and how quickly.
Read MoreApple 4Q15 Results Largely As Expected; 1Q16 Guidance Positive
Apple reported fiscal 4Q15 results after market close yesterday, and investors reacted positively (Apple is currently up +1% in the premarket). While the quarter's results were largely in line with investor expectations, investors were generally positive on Apple's 1Q16 guidance for positive iPhone revenue and unit growth. However, many investors remain concerned that growth could decline the rest of the year in fiscal 2016. A key question going forward will be whether Apple will be able to grow iPhone units and revenue in 2016 on top of the highly successful prior year.
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