Bard Does Northlake 1Q23 Earnings Updates: Part One – IBM, GOOG, ATVI, META, TMUS, and SONY

Given the excitement surrounding Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) since Microsoft and OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in November, we thought it would be educational, interesting, and fun to let GAI write our regular quarterly earnings updates.  ChatGPT only has data through 2021, so we are using Google’s GAI app, Bard. Kind of fun to […]

4Q22 Earnings Updates:  Part Three – WMT, HD, VICI and NXST

Walmart (WMT): When we purchased WMT as a new long-term investment last June, our thesis was built on the idea that the stock offered both offensive and defensive characteristics.  The defensive characteristics were important with the economy and market in an uncertain period amid high inflation and the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy tightening to slow […]

4Q22 Earnings Updates: Part Two – SONY, META, AAPL, GOOG/GOOGL, ATVI and DIS

SONY Corporation (SONY): SONY reported a good quarter with modest beats on operating income driven by profit margins.  The company passed through a portion of the beat to its full-year operating income forecast.  Often companies that only pass through a portion of an earnings beat are penalized, but that usually does not apply to SONY […]

January’s Market Rally Consistent with Northlake’s Favored Strategies

The stock market is off to a great start in 2023 in line with Northlake’s Market Outlook anticipating more volatility, avoidance of a severe recession, and positive returns in 2023.  We are encouraged that our models, favored themes, and individual stocks are off to a good start. Our Market Cap model favors mid cap again […]

4Q22 Earnings Updates: Part One – IBM, TMUS, and CMCSA Sale

IBM (IBM): IBM reported mixed 4Q22 results that were not good enough to support the stock in the near-term or bad enough to derail Northlake’s bullish long-term thesis.  Revenue came in above expectations, which for us is the key component in the bull case.  IBM has not shown consistent growth for a long time.  The […]

3Q22 Earnings Updates: Part Two – SONY, NXST, DIS, ATVI, WMT, HD, and META Follow-Up

Sony (SONY): SONY had improved results after a couple quarters of modest downward revisions.  2Q22 earnings came in ahead of consensus, and the company raised its guidance for FY22 which ends on 3/31/23.  Importantly, SONY’s games segment showed signs of stability as the post-pandemic shift in behavior that has reduced engagement appears to have runs […]

3Q22 Earnings Updates: Part One – IBM, GOOG, META, CMCSA, TMUS, AAPL, VICI

IBM (IBM): IBM reported good results in a tough macro environment, further increasing our confidence in the transformation underway at the company.  Revenue and EPS exceeded expectations with strength across all segments of the company.  Management raised 2022 revenue guidance and maintained free cash flow guidance.  The only real negative in the quarter and outlook […]

2Q22 Earnings Updates: Part Two – ATVI, NXST, DIS, WMT, and HD

Activision Blizzard (ATVI): ATVI and Microsoft (MSFT) continue to await a regulatory ruling on the proposed acquisition of ATVI for $95 per share.  The companies expect to close the deal in 2023, and Northlake continues to expect approval despite the large discount to the deal price at which ATVI trades.  Recently, the discount has narrowed […]

2Q22 Earnings Updates: Part One – IBM, WMT, GOOG, TMUS, META, CMCSA, VICI, AAPL, SONY

IBM (IBM): IBM reported mostly solid 2Q22 results, but the stock fell victim to its strong performance from earlier this year.  Ahead of the report, the shares were nearly unchanged against a 20-30% decline for major stock market averages.  This strong performance raised expectations for IBM, and a good report with a few small flaws […]

Playing Offense and Defense at Walmart

We added Walmart (WMT) to Northlake’s individual stock portfolio across the client base.  As always, there could be a few exceptions due to account-level constraints. We like WMT on a fundamental basis, but before we explain that part of the thesis, we wanted to mention two other reasons we made the purchase. First, WMT is […]