Traditionally, data privacy and the safeguarding of digital identity products and services have been lumped within the broader scope of Cybersecurity. Tematica recently launched the Tematica Bita Data Privacy and Digital Identity Index. It is our view that traditional cybersecurity is increasingly focused solely on the protection of large stores of data. Protecting personal privacy and […]

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas readers!  While many are busy couch surfing or braving brick & mortar stores to get ready for the coming holidays and gift-giving season, we continue to be overwhelmed with confirming data points for our investment strategies. That said, this week’s Thematic Signals is likely to be the last one of […]

Hey folks, as you likely suspect we at Tematica do a lot of leg work and deep dives when developing our investment themes and refreshing our thematic mosaic. This means that in addition to scouring financial filings, company presentations, and earnings transcripts, we also chat with company management, thought leaders, and other industry movers and […]

This conversation is provided for informational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Tematica Research was compensated by a third party to conduct this interview. The information described herein is taken from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of […]

While we at Tematica tend not to focus on the precise figures for forecasts that span more than a year or two out, the direction of EV adoption and therefore the need for additional EV charging stations per KPMG’s findings serves as a solid multi-year confirmation point for the Cleaner Transportation aspect our Cleaner Living […]

California’s Clover Sonoma, a family-owned, third-generation, Certified B Corporation business was the first dairy in the United States to receive the American Humane Certified seal some 21 years ago. Now it’s the first dairy to offer a post-consumer recycled (PCR) gallon milk jug with plans to increase the PCR as part of its sustainable packaging […]

Hello and welcome to the 7th volume of Thematic Signals! 2023 has only just started but investors are staring down what is likely to be a challenging December quarter earnings season laced with recession fears, structural changes in the economy, across demographics, technology, and consumer behavior all continue to unfold. While some folks continue to […]

Traditionally, data privacy and the safeguarding of digital identity products and services have been lumped within the broader scope of Cybersecurity. Tematica recently launched the Tematica Bita Data Privacy and Digital Identity Index. It is our view that traditional cybersecurity is increasingly focused solely on the protection of large stores of data. Protecting personal privacy and […]

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas readers!  While many are busy couch surfing or braving brick & mortar stores to get ready for the coming holidays and gift-giving season, we continue to be overwhelmed with confirming data points for our investment strategies. That said, this week’s Thematic Signals is likely to be the last one of […]

Hey folks, as you likely suspect we at Tematica do a lot of leg work and deep dives when developing our investment themes and refreshing our thematic mosaic. This means that in addition to scouring financial filings, company presentations, and earnings transcripts, we also chat with company management, thought leaders, and other industry movers and […]

This conversation is provided for informational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Tematica Research was compensated by a third party to conduct this interview. The information described herein is taken from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of […]

In an attack reminiscent of the Solarwinds hack, The French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI) recently released a report detailing actions taken by Russian hackers “Sandworm” targeting products offered by IT Monitoring system provider Centreon. The company has since responded stating that effected users were using an unsupported freeware version of […]

Hello and welcome to the 7th volume of Thematic Signals! 2023 has only just started but investors are staring down what is likely to be a challenging December quarter earnings season laced with recession fears, structural changes in the economy, across demographics, technology, and consumer behavior all continue to unfold. While some folks continue to […]

Traditionally, data privacy and the safeguarding of digital identity products and services have been lumped within the broader scope of Cybersecurity. Tematica recently launched the Tematica Bita Data Privacy and Digital Identity Index. It is our view that traditional cybersecurity is increasingly focused solely on the protection of large stores of data. Protecting personal privacy and […]

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas readers!  While many are busy couch surfing or braving brick & mortar stores to get ready for the coming holidays and gift-giving season, we continue to be overwhelmed with confirming data points for our investment strategies. That said, this week’s Thematic Signals is likely to be the last one of […]

Hey folks, as you likely suspect we at Tematica do a lot of leg work and deep dives when developing our investment themes and refreshing our thematic mosaic. This means that in addition to scouring financial filings, company presentations, and earnings transcripts, we also chat with company management, thought leaders, and other industry movers and […]

This conversation is provided for informational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Tematica Research was compensated by a third party to conduct this interview. The information described herein is taken from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of […]

In an attack reminiscent of the Solarwinds hack, The French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI) recently released a report detailing actions taken by Russian hackers “Sandworm” targeting products offered by IT Monitoring system provider Centreon. The company has since responded stating that effected users were using an unsupported freeware version of […]

In a targeted phishing attack it appears hackers have manged to deploy two known pieces of malware that have proliferated throughout several state agencies. DHS, FBI and MSFT are investigating. Hackers have launched a sprawling, multifaceted cyber-attack against the state of Washington, according to two people familiar with the matter. Source: Hackers Have Infiltrated Many […]

  The headlines are increasingly dominated by frightening images of people wearing masks or encased in hazmat suits along with words like “pandemic,” not exactly pleasant over morning coffee. We are being told that this virus isn’t all that much worse than the usual flu, yet cities are being quarantined, travel is being restricted or […]

Yesterday US investors were surprised to see the market suddenly drop around midday, the Dow falling almost 400 points at one point, with no one clear, obvious catalyst. The suspected culprit was a report of new coronavirus cases at a Beijing hospital combined with other reports of the outbreak accelerating outside of China. The coronavirus […]

Recently I touched on the several new additions to the S&P Dow Jones Dividend Aristocrats, a group of S&P 500 constituents that have increased their dividends for at least 25 years. Now, I am circling back to the latest dividend payment from an existing Aristocrat: PepsiCo (PEP) . Widely known for its products that include Pepsi, Lays, […]

The main equity indices closed mostly in the green in Asia today after China cut its 1-year loan prime rate (LPR) by ten basis points and its 5-year by five basis points. This move comes after the People’s Bank of China had earlier cut the rate on $28.65 billion worth of 1-year medium-term lending facility […]

The major equity indices in Asia bounced back from their recent slides shrugging off a growing list of companies warning over the impact of the coronavirus as all but the Shanghai composite closed in the green today. By midday, the main European equity indices were also in the green and US equity futures point to […]

Last Friday we noted traders would likely take a cautious stance heading into the long weekend that saw US equity markets closed yesterday in observation of Presidents’ Day and we were correct in our thinking as stocks gave back most of their gains to finish the day little changed. That concern proved to be on […]

One of the time-tested strategies for investors is buying companies with an increasing dividend policy. To say it is one of the most loved and most watched strategies would be something of an understatement given the incremental income it generates for investors and the $6.7 billion in assets held by ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats […]

Love may be the theme for today’s Valentine’s day, but the markets are mostly feeling, “I think I’ll just throw on my comfy sweats, grab a pint of ice cream and go for a Netflix marathon.” Or maybe that’s just us. Yesterday investors continued to reassess risk concerning COVID-19, leaving the major US indices little changed. […]

Stocks continued to shrug off concerns over the coronavirus and kicked into high-gear risk-on mode. The Nasdaq 100 and Nasdaq Composite both hit new all-time highs. The VIX dropped 10% yesterday alone and the yield on the US 10-year rose 7 basis points. Absent from the party were WTI crude, which fell another 1% to […]

Yesterday the major indices reversed a bit of the decline since fears over the coronavirus began. The Nasdaq 100 lead the major US indices, gaining 1.5%, the Nasdaq Composite 1.3%, the S&P 500 0.7% and the Dow 30 0.5% while the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) lost 4.6%. The oil market continues to suffer with estimates that China’s oil […]

First off, after a nail biter of a game heading into half time, the Kansas City Chiefs dominated the fourth quarter to win Super Bowl LIV.  Before the game, the AFC and the NFC were tied for Super Bowl victories at 27 each. The last time both conferences had the same number of wins was […]

As we get ready to close the books on January, gains in equities earlier in the month have come under pressure as the coronavirus continues to expand. Earlier today China’s National Health Commission confirmed there have been 9,692 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 213 deaths, but reports suggest the virus has reached at least […]

In yesterday’s Daily Markets note, your authors shared that as equity markets looked to shrug off the mounting coronavirus news, our suspicion that we had yet to see the real fallout on economic growth and earnings expectations. It would seem we were correct in that thinking. Overnight economists updated their forecasts in an attempt to […]

As your authors commented to each other when discussing yesterday’s market rebound following the coronavirus inspired sell-off on Monday – “that didn’t last long!”  The Nasdaq 100 lead the rebound, gaining 1.6% on the day with the Nasdaq Composite a close second, up 1.4%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.0% and […]

Despite the accelerating velocity for the current earnings season, markets remain focused on the rapidly spreading coronavirus which has surpassed 4,500 cases in China and led China to restrict travel to Hong Kong as the death toll tops 100. Some 60 million are under travel restrictions in China, and select countries, including Indonesia and the […]

Which stocks and sectors could see the most pressure today with Coronavirus spreading? Tematica’s Chris Versace joins Jay Coulter’s The Resilient Advisor Podcast to discuss that and discuss the week ahead’s economic data and earnings reports to watch. Click here to view the episode  

Investors are starting the week off with itchy fingers as they look to assess the growing impact of the coronavirus. As we write today’s Daily Markets note, roughly 2,800 people in China have been infected and 80 killed by the disease, and infections also reported in Europe and the US.  In response, Hong Kong has […]

Despite a rough start yesterday, the major US equity indices managed to close little changed after the World Health Organization (WHO) calmed rising fears around the coronavirus coming out of China. The WHO’s declaration that coronavirus is not a global emergency helped travel stocks such as American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) rebound. In contrast to the WHO, however, yesterday the Centers for […]

Despite a rather volatile session yesterday, stocks ended basically flat but well off their intraday highs. That said, the Nasdaq 100 is up nearly 40% YoY and up nearly 120% over the past four years. While many are comparing today’s markets to those of the late 1990s, your authors included, the Nasdaq 100 rose over 600% […]

The major US equity indices all closed in the red yesterday on the news that the Center for Disease Control identified the first case of coronavirus in the US – a traveler from China was diagnosed in Seattle. Shares of Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) lost 6.2% and 5.3% respectively on concerns that the increasingly global outbreak […]

Coming off the Martin Luther King holiday for which the US markets were closed yesterday, shares in Hong Kong led losses in Asia after Moody’s cut its rating for the city from Aa2 to Aa3 on Monday; there are also concerns over a new strain of coronavirus in China just as Lunar New Year holiday travel heats up. As we write […]

Many of the major US equity indices hit new all-time highs again yesterday, pretty standard at this point in 2020. After just 11 trading days in the new year, the S&P 500has already hit five all-time highs and yesterday moved past the 3,300 level for the first time, which has the index once again flirting with […]

One day after the US and China inked their phase one trade agreement, Asian equity indices finished on a mixed note, and European equities are also mixed while US equity futures point to a positive open as investors dig into and attempt to digest the eight-part, 96-page agreement. The long and short of it is there […]

Today is the day many have been waiting for as China and the US are expected to officially ink their phase one trade deal later this morning. In a potential “buy the rumor, sell the news moment,” Asian equities finished the day lower, and European equity indices are currently mixed, but little changed as are US equity […]

Today kicks off December quarter earnings season with earnings for the S&P 500 expected to have declined by 2% in the December quarter according to FactSet. If earnings do in fact contract during the December quarter, it will be the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year net income declines for the S&P 500. Despite this, the index managed to […]

This cybersecurity company will likely draw you in with its special $12 dividend, and then keep you for a while. In the last few days, NortonLifeLock (NLOK), the company formerly known as Symantec before selling its enterprise business to Broadcom (AVGO), announced a $12 per share special dividend. Before discussing that eye-popping special dividend, let’s […]

Last Friday stocks gave back all their earlier gains to leave the major US equity indices lower on the day. The major indices took a hit on Friday in response to the December Employment Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed nonfarm payrolls rose just 145k in December, well below expectations for 160k […]

The S&P 500 set a new intraday high and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a record high yesterday as investors breathed a sigh of relief and unclenched following President Trump’s statement that he would tighten sanctions on Iran – which would remain in place “until Iran changes its behavior” — rather than use military […]

Yesterday stocks tried to shake off the stress of the rising conflict between the US-Iran, but all the majority equity indices closed in the red. Early this morning US stock market futures dropped on the news that more than a dozen ballistic missiles were launched from Iran at two military bases in Iraq that host […]

The flight to safety trade reversed mid-day yesterday and is continuing this morning even though Bloomberg is reporting Iran considering thirteen response scenarios to the death of Qassem Soleimani. President Trump yesterday threatened 52 sites for retaliation against Iran, including some of cultural significance, and sanctions on Iraq. Mr. Market is back to being unimpressed. Asian equities closed […]

Who would have guessed back in December that the US-China trade war, which utterly dominated market headlines, would be pushed to the back-burner by threats between the US and Iran lobbed back and forth across Twitter? We are pretty sure Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey did not imagine his creation being used by the President as a […]

The seemingly unstoppable upward movement of equity markets may have met its match last night. Yesterday, the first day of trading in 2020, saw the Nasdaq 100 rise 1.6%, the Nasdaq Composite gain 1.3%, the Dow 1.2%, and the S&P 500 0.8% driven in large part by the news that China’s central bank cut reserve […]

As 5G fires up across the nation and beyond, this chip-maker will likely be called on to let phones connect to new and old generations of networks. As the smartphone market has matured, it has become increasingly tied to replacement demand. Look at these statistics: As of December 2019, there are 5.175 billion unique mobile […]

Welcome to the first day of trading in 2020! Equity markets in Asia finished the day mixed with markets in Japan and New Zealand closed. The major stock indices in Europe were mostly in the green by midday trading except for Switzerland and Russia while US equity futures indicate positive moves at the open. Even […]

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen and Abbott Labs all recently raised their dividends and should prosper amid the aging population. One of my investment themes, as I look for structural changes tied to the evolving economic, demographic, technological and psychographic landscapes, is the Aging of the Population. It’s no secret that several countries are experiencing a demographic […]

The equity markets have now been closing higher for five consecutive days, marking the longest winning streak since… wait for it…  November. This is giving investors the usual Christmas rally after last year’s brutal lump of December coal. While yesterday did technically see a higher close for the major indices, it was only by a smidgen […]

As investors get ready to close the books on 2019, we will, of course, review those stocks that beat the S&P 500’s year-to-date return. Those winning stocks go hand-in-hand with the common investor phrase “generating alpha.” One of those alpha generators is… Read more here

Yesterday major US indices rose to new highs in the fourth day of positive closes, but your authors here remain traumatized after coffee futures rose 7%, the biggest rally for the commodity since 2015. The coffee market panic was driven by an off-cycle crop year in Brazil coupled with strong global demand – perhaps all those late-night […]

Over the weekend we had confirmation of the phase-one trade deal between the US and China, which is putting equity markets is in a risk-on kind of mood as we head into the last full week of trading of 2019. Asian equities closed mixed on the day, while European equities are trading higher. US futures point to […]

This is the last full week of trading in 2019 as the markets will slow considerably after that given the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Following Friday’s developments that have likely taken a meaningful amount of uncertainty out of the market, odds are investors will once again turn to assess the speed of the global […]

Santa came a tad earlier than usual this year, giving investors what they wanted most – a reduction in geopolitical uncertainty and an increase in liquidity – but is it all as it appears? Click here to read more including key economic data for the day and stocks making headlines and other news.

Everybody loves getting a present, be it an expected or unexpected one, and we are certainly in the present-giving time of year. For investors, the unexpected present could be a surge in the share price of one of their holdings, a larger-than-expected dividend increase or, in some very special instances, a special dividend. Special dividends […]

Today is all about the Fed, which, ironically, is expected to do nothing and leave rates unchanged. The major equity markets in Asia closed mixed today without much movement in either direction. By midday trading, the major European equity markets were also mixed and again lacking significant moves. US equity futures are mixed this morning with little movement predicted at […]

Yes, all good things do come to an end and that means an end to the Tematica Investing newsletter.

The Tematica Research Cleaner Living Index, which captures those companies benefitting from the shift to better for you products and services, cleaned up in 3Q 2019 compared to all the major US stock market indices.

Today’s Big Picture US market futures point to a modestly lower open Friday morning. After the disappointing manufacturing and services data this week, all eyes will be on today’s Nonfarm Payrolls report, which is expected to see 145,000 jobs added in September, up from 130,000 in August with the unemployment rate holding at 3.7% and wages gaining […]

Today’s Big Picture Barring any new developments on the trade wars or impeachment inquiry front, investors are focused on the release of September services data for the US and Europe. Has the weakness in manufacturing around the world expanded has into services? Stocks in Asia again were in the red today on news that the US will […]

As we get ready for the September quarter earnings season, we’re taking a look at how the September quarter faired.

In this week’s issue we are adding a new Digital Lifestyle position to the Select List, one that is benefitting from the shift in how consumers pay. We also touch on one of the first 2019 holiday shopping forecasts that is very favorable for this new Select List resident as well as a few other Tematica choices. We’ll also use the pullback in our new Living the Life Thematic Leader to improve the average cost basis.

Get ready for the market day ahead with the latest developments that will impact the economy and the stockmarket.

Last week was a wild ride. We saw everything from oil to dollar liquidity problems and the off-again China trade talks come at as, all while the major equity indices face overhead resistance. In this week’s Context & Perspectives Lenore Hawkins gives the macro perspective on why volatility remains under-priced and the safety plays are becoming more and attractive

As the stock market and investors wait for the Fed’s upcoming monetary policy meeting and any additional US-China trade developments, we’re adding a new Thematic Leader for our Living the Life investing theme. We also share what investors are likely to focus on in the week ahead, and why the August Retail Sales report was rather confirming from a thematic perspective.

On this episode of the Thematic Signals podcast, Tematica’s Chris Versace breaks down the latest trade developments (including why he doesn’t think a two-step deal is likely) and discusses the European Central Bank rate cut before shares his thoughts on the continued plight of brick & mortar retail as Forever 21 is slated to file […]

In this week’s issue we dig into Apple’s 2019 iPhone event (yeah it was largely expected, but there were a few positives too), why we think Elliot Management is wrong about AT&T’s media play, how Volkswagen is about to disrupt the electric vehicle market, why a new California law could wreak havoc on Uber and Lyft, and why it’s likely game over for GameStop.

September’s start gives investors whiplash as geopolitics continue to dominate market movement.

On this episode of the Thematic Signals podcast, host Chris Versace is joined by Peter Tchir, who is the Head of Macro Strategy at Academy Securities who provides his fixed income perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing the current market.

In this week’s issue we recap the August stock market turbulence and share why it is more than likely going to continue in September, which is historically the worst month for the stock market. We establish a cover price for our short position in Veeco Instruments and examine recent Cleaner Living M&A moves by The Hershey Company.

With comments on trade offering a conflicting perspective, investors should continue to focus on the data, which continues to point to a slowing global. While trade related posturing will likely continue, we will look to focus on the details of any would be trade deal. Following D23 2019, we are boosting our price target on DIS shares. Also, here’s what you should be watching during this last week of summer.

From Greenland (what was that all about?) to a serious escalation in the trade war, politics are making for a Magic 8-Ball Market.

In this issue of Thematic Investing, we dig into the July Retail Sales Report as well as the issues that confounded the stock market last week. We examine what to watch in the week ahead during the dog days of summer that brings seasonally low trading volumes. We also examine what happens when a company slashes its dividend, and it’s not good news at all.

On this episode of the Thematic Signals podcast, we’re digging into the July Retail Sales and quarterly earnings results from Walmart as both confirm the hard-blowing tailwinds associated with our Digital Lifestyle, Middle-Class Squeeze, Aging of the Population and Cleaner Living Investing themes.

Each week Team Tematica consumes a voracious amount of content as we look to stay on top of the latest data and mine it for tailwind and headwind signals for our 10 investment themes. Here’s are several notable pieces from the last few days.

As we saw last week, trade and geopolitics are likely to take center stage as the bulk of the June quarter earnings season is in the rear view mirror. While retail earnings are still ahead of us, odds are both trade and geopolitical issues will keep the market rangebound near-term as it contends with a big ball of uncertainty. Our response will be to ferret out thematically well positioned companies with inelastic business models that are dividend payers.

Investors need to be watching the moves in the dollar closely, look for those companies with strong balance sheets and cash flows and consider increasing liquidity. The next few months (at least) are likely to be a bumpy ride.

Dr. Roy Speiser of CWR Environmental Products joins this week to discuss the environmental abuse, industrial greed and governmental neglect that has led to the harsh reality that our water supply is not as clean or as safe as we think it is.

In this week’s earlier than usual issue we sum up what hit the stock market last week and where it means the herd will likely head in the near-term. The good news is, we are already there with a number of Thematic Leader and Tematica Select List holdings. We also touch on the key data to watch this week, as well as call out a confirming article in the latest issue of Bloomberg Businessweek that speaks to the coming streaming video war that could change one of the playing fields associated with our Digital Lifestyle investing theme.

This week is probably the busiest one in some time as we have a seas of corporate earnings and economic data coming at us, not to mention the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting at which it is widely expected to cut rates. And I’ll tell you why I’m not feeling so bad about being stopped out of Netflix shares.

When economies and markets are near a turning point, often the headlines tell a very different story than is revealed by digging deeper into the data – you can’t judge a book by its cover.

We are in the early stages of the June 2019 quarterly earnings season, and yes, there are disappointments to be had. The economic data continues to point to a slowing economy, and expectation related concerns for the second half of 2019 remain. We are boosting our stop loss on Costco Wholesale shares, and Axon Enterprises catches a nice win.

Central bankers around the world are opening the stimulus flood gates, markets celebrate and all is good with the world… or is it?

The domestic stock market stared the September quarter giving back some of the June gains as concerns over Fed interest rate cut prospects and the June quarter earnings season weighed on investors. Heading into that, the Thematic Leaders and Select List positions have several strong performers year to date. In particular, we will continue to hold AT&T and Universal Display shares. Finally, we recap the first half return for the Tematica Research Cleaner Living Index.

Key points inside this issue  June quarter earnings season could reset second half expectations  Introducing the Tematica Research Cleaner Living Index Setting protective stop loss levels for the Select List  We are issuing a Sell rating and removing both AXT Inc. (AXTI) and Energous Corp. (WATT) shares from the Select List  And the data continues […]

There are weeks when sitting down to write this piece is tough because not much worthy of note has happened in the markets or the economy outside of the usual noise. This week, that was most definitely not the case. Thank God it is Friday – we all need a break. New Market Highs and […]

On this episode of the Thematic Signals podcast, Tematica’s Chris Versace is joined by Bob Lang, founder of and Chief Options Trader at Explosive Options, to talk all options and options strategies, including how an investor can use them to protect themselves in an uncertain stock market. While we focus on thematics, Bob focuses on charts and technical analysis to chart his way for both the market and his options trades.

Today we have Fed Wednesday and all eyes will be watching not only what the Fed says but how it says it when it comes to what’s next for monetary policy. Odds are the Fed will wait until it knows the fallout from the G20 summit, but investors are already bracing for an ugly next few weeks. This is prompting us to revisit stop loss levels for the Thematic Leaders.

Sal Gilbertie of Teucrium Trading joins the Thematic Signals Podcast and shares how investors should think about commodities across the 5 to 7-year cycle and why the upcoming G20 summit could serve as another catalyst for commodity prices to move higher.

Near-term bad news is good news for the stock market but we run the risk of the market over pricing in a Fed rate cut in the near-term. The key the Fed will likely be watching will be the upcoming trade meeting. Also, with GDP expectations coming down, we see more risk in EPS expectations that have yet to really follow that move lower. As the streaming video market is poised to get more competitive in the second half of 2019, we are adding a stop loss to Netflix shares.

The markets bet big on Central Bank intervention as labor markets and economic activity overall slows amidst rising geopolitical risks. Plus, we have definitive proof we’ve hit the peak of the economic cycle.

Trade worries continue to escalate stoking uncertainty in the process and raising investor concerns. This has led the major market indices to leak year to date gains, but we have yet to see the trade and tariff impact be factored into earnings and growth expectations for the second half of 2019. As that happens in the coming weeks, the market waters are likely to remain choppy at best. We’ll continue to heed the thematic signals that have guide our thematic investing lens that has allowed the bulk of the thematic leaders to shine so far in 2019.

Welcome to the Thematic Signals podcast, where we look to distill everyday noise into clear investing signals using our thematic lens and our 10 investing themes. Every week we not only discuss key events that are shaping the stock market, but we also look at key sign posts for the changing economic, demographic, psychographic, and […]

With trade and economic uncertainty remaining in focus for the stock market, we are addding a defensive thematic position in AT&T shares to the Select List given the sticky mobile busines, 6.3% dividend yield and the pending valuation transformation to be had with WarnerMedia. Retailers continue to be in headwind hotwater with two of our investing themes, and Gap specific decision puts its dividend at risk. That has us adding a Gap put position at Tematica Options+ this week.

While the markets are obsessing over the latest trade war headlines, few are watching what really matters . . . and it affects everyone.

As expected, US-China trade has once again taken center stage, and with prospects likey stalled in the short-term, it means the market is once again sitting on trade pins and needles. Meanwhile fresh data show the economy is slowing considerably compared to the March quarter, and odds are investors will start to question June quarter EPS expectations and the market’s current valuation. With President Trump dropping the hammer on Chinese telecom company Hauwei, we discuss the impact to the Thematic Leaders and Select List residents.

The market has embraced a new round of uncertainty as US-China trade took a route few were expecting just a few weeks ago. New rounds of tariffs have amped up trade talk tensions while leading investors to once again question growth expectations for the economy and earnings.

While the “experts” claim the economy is booming and the bull market is solid, we see the emperor does not have new clothes.

This week another Art of the Deal salvo from President Trump brought volatility back in the market as US-China trade talk concerns erupted. We suspect this is part of some late stage negotiating strategy by Trump to win extra concessions from China, but we need to see how trade talks progress this week to see what happens next. Also this week, the European Union once again trimmed its 2019 growth prospects and following its March quarter earnings we are removing Del Frisco’s shares from the Thematic Leaders.

As the March quarter earnings season wears on, we’ve got some updates to share on several thematic leaders and select list residents. We also puzzle through the latest economic data, which despite the eye popping initial March quarter GDP print suggest the global economy is on a slowing path. With a choppy earnings market, we’re sitting out from making a new options call this week, waiting for the choppy waters to calm before putting capital to work in either long or short option positions.

This morning we received the first estimate for Q1 2019 GDP, and it looked at first glance to be considerably better than was expected with the economy expanding at a 3.2% annual pace versus consensus expectations for 2.3% and growth of 2.2% in Q4 2018. Just don’t break out the champagne quite yet as right away we see reasons to dig deeper.

This week we go from the frying pan into the earnings season fire with 30% of the S&P 500 companies report their quarterly results. This will offer a number of thematic data points, as we illustrate with the results from Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, Twitter and Verizon. We also chew on the conflicting signals between the Retail Sales and Housing data for March. The answer to that leads us to add a call option position in Home Depot shares at Tematica Options+.

Ahead of the Easter holiday week, we have a jam packed issue as we review some of the latest economic data and breakdown the IMF’s recent downward revision for its 2019 GDP forecast. And yes, earning season is almost upon us. Before that, we have Disney’s annual Investor Day at which it will formally debut its streaming service Disney+. We also visit with Middle Class Squeeze Thematic Leader Costco Wholesale (COST) following blow out March quarter same-store sales. And eMarketer gives us reasons to be positive on Alphabet/Google as well as Thematic King Amazon. At Options+, we will continue to hold our short position in Veeco Instruments as well as our inverse call option position as earnings season gets underway.

As we close the books on the barn burning March quarter for stocks, risks remain as we head into the March quarter earnings season. A number of Thematic Leaders delivered outsized returns during the March quarter, and we recap several positions that have been in the news including Apple, Universal Display and others.

At the intersection of our Connected Society and Disruptive Innovators investing themes sits those companies that will turn the datafication of our lives into actionable information.

Airbnb continues to experience high growth as it benefits from the tailwinds of our Connected Society and Middle-Class Squeeze investment themes.

Geopolitics continue to provide an oversized degree of uncertainty as the C suite is increasingly concerned we will experience a recession before the close of 2020. With so many unknowns, focusing on what we do know reveals significant risks.

We continue to recevie more signs of a slowing global economy that along with other factors looks to be setting up a rocky March quarter earnings season. We continue to think investors should have some downside protection in their holdings for at least the next several weeks.

With the stock market seemingly once again ignoring the growing risks that could lead to a rocky March quarter earnings season, we are making sure subscribers have downside protection amid their holdings.

The early equity market strength in 2019 has many on financial television claiming we are off to the races yet again (shock) but taking a step back and looking at both the internals of the markets and the longer-term economic and geopolitical trends, we see more signs of weakness and rising risks.

The construction and weighting of the indices that power the major market indices as well as ETFs make all the difference as highlighted by Boeing’s current 737 aircraft issues.

The driver for the market so far this week has been retail and Boeing, and we tackle what’s going on with both. We’re adding a new Disruptive Innovator to the Select List and holding steady with Del Frisco shares following good earnings, but not a word on its strategic initiatives.

Last week’s economic data confirms the global economy continues to slow, and for now, the US remains the best economy on the block. Through the first two months of 2019, the domestic stock market has been on fire even as earnings expectations and dividends continue to be cut. As earnings season fades, time to watch insider selling activity to gauge what lies ahead. Following last week’s earnings report and subsequent drop, we’re doubling down on a Digital Infrastructure Thematic Leader.

Equity markets have once again diverged materially from fundamentals as the perception of the central bank put from the world’s biggest economies overrides fundamentals. I’ve been admittedly surprised by how long this has been going on and how wide the divergence has become, but we are seeing now seeing substantial overhead resistance level for the S&P 500 at a time when challenging fundamentals are growing.

In this week’s issue, we dig into the latest shareholder letter from Warren Buffett, examine the growing number of dividend cuts and other factors make the year to date melt up in the stock market something of a head-scratcher. That best performance in 20+ years hinges on a successful trade deal with China, but there are other factors that we need to examine so we don’t fall prey to a “buy the rumor, sell the news” scenario. We recap the sharp move in Universal Display shares following its latest earnings report and touch on favorable news emanating from Mobile World Congress 2019 for Nokia.

Another week of the stock market melting up as December quarter issues continue to fall the wayside. Yet, companies continue to serve up weaker guidance leading earnings expectations to fall. There are fresh concerns over the speed of the domestic economy, which continues to look like the best one on the economic block. We break down recent positive data for Amazon, Google, and Costco Wholesale, and discuss what’s ahead with Universal Display and Mobile World Congress 2019.

  The market is now back in a bullish mood that is driven primarily by the “not gonna happen” news flow hopes. Rate hike? Not gonna happen. Government shutdown repeat? Not gonna happen. China trade war escalation? Not gonna happen. The question is, just how long can the “not gonna happen” hopes keep pumping hot […]

As we approach the halfway market for the current quarter, stocks continued to rally as December quarter concerns appear to melt away. While the market is hopeful, we will continue to focus on the details and nitty-gritty. Several Thematic Leaders continue to trounce the market and upcoming economic data should put some favorable context around Costco Wholesale (COST) shares. With Middle-class Squeeze consumers struggling, we take a look at LendingClub (LC) shares.

We view today’s sharp drop in the shares of USA Technologies (USAT) that comes on the back of what we see as no new developments in the Board’s previously announced accounting investigation as an opportunity to improve our cost basis in teh shares. Not should we not be surprised by the resignation of its auditors, one would have expected it several weeks ago. Moreover, the revenue called into question is a modest amount vs. reported revenue for the quarters in question.

The US stock market rallied in January and continues to move higher in February even as earnings expectations for the market continue to slump. While caution is warranted near-term, opportunities are emerging with Thematic King Amazon being a shining example. A Board additional to Living the Life company Del Frisco’s signals it is seriously evaluating takeover bids.

Over the past few months, the investing markets have considered Federal Reserve Chairman Powell enemy number one. Earlier this week the markets once again showed that America’s central bank drives sentiment more than any other factor, forget trade wars, forget earnings, forget political drama, it is the Fed and only the Fed that matters. Investing is all about finding an inflection point, where the market is wrong – pricing an asset too high or too low, believing a policy to be beneficial when it isn’t or vice versa. Given the ubiquitous nature of the belief that the Fed is the central bank that really matters to the market, what if that supposition is wrong? What if everyone is looking in the wrong direction with the wrong set of expectations?

The market catches a positive breather following Apple’s not as bad as it could have been December quarter earnings report. We still have several hundred reports to go, and the preponderance of companies are issuing weaker than expected guidance. As we navigate upcoming reports and puzzle what they mean for 2019 earnings expectation, the Fed will emerge from its latest monetary policy meeting today, and later this week we should learn how the latest round of US-China trade talks went. Verizon is bulls up on 5G, and that along with issues for China mobile company Huawei as well as bullish earnings report from Ericsson pave the way for a solid one from Disruptive Innovator Leader Nokia.

As earnings expectations get cut for the first half of 2019, we remove Altria (MO) from the Thematic Leaders and discuss takeout speculation on USA Technologies. With earnings season kicking into high gear over the next week, volatility is likely to ensue and that keeps us on the sidelines this week.

As Americans drink less booze adult beverage companies are being forced to get creative with their product offerings.

So far in 2019, we are seeing a reversal of the heavily oversold conditions from the end of 2018. Those stocks that were hit the hardest in 2018 are materially outperforming the broader market in 2019. The fundamentals, however, both domestically and internationally are not giving us reason to think that this bounce is the start of another major bull run. With all the uncertainty out there, despite the market’s recent “feel good” attitude, we expect to see rising volatility in the months to come as these problems are not going to be easily sorted out.

The December quarter earnings season is upon us, and those reports have started on a decidedly mixed front. We’ve gotten more data pointing to a slowing economy, and the government shutdown continues. As we wait for the pace of earnings reports to move into high gear, the second half of 2018 was home to a number of thematically inspired M&A, and odds are more will be had in 2018. We add back USAT shares to the Tematica Select List and review several of the Thematic Leaders.

The thematic tailwinds associated with our 10 investment themes will continue to blow hard in 2019 and we will continue to focus on those companies that are capitalizing on those tailwinds and driving profit growth. In that light, we are using the market pullback to add to Axon Enterprises, the Safety & Security Thematic Leader, which will drop the cost basis considerably.

Last night Apple fired an earnings flare across investor bows calling out the impact of not only the slowing global economy, and China’s in particular, but also the impact of the current US-China trade war. Those factors and several others are likely to weigh on corporate results and guidance to be had in the upcoming December quarter earnings season.

The stock market reacted badly to the Fed’s latest monetary policy statement, but in re-reading it, it looks to be the prudent move after all.

As we get ready for the quiet holiday weeks for the stock market, we recap Costco’s latest earnings report as well as dig into several economic ones. While the November Retail Sales report is positive for several Thematic Leaders and Select List positions, the overall report adds to the growing list of data that points to slower growth ahead. We also share what to watch this week in the markets.

Market dynamics are reflecting the increase in macro/political volatility across much of the world, but the headlines have yet to catch up with the primary drivers underlying the deep changes. In our previous Context & Perspective piece, I discussed how we are seeing a profound decline in the level of liquidity at a time when debt levels are back to record highs. This week is a highlight reel of warning signs in the context of those record levels of debt.

More and more Americans are finding that instead of enjoying their retirement, they are instead supporting their adult children and aging parents at the intersection of our Aging of the Population and Middle-Class Squeeze investing themes.

In this issue, investor anxiety continues and we’ll hang onto our short S&P 500 position. Del Frisco’s shares garner some activity attention, but the fundamentals remain intact. Plus, what we should be focusing on in the week ahead.

We are adding some downside protection to our holdings even as Samsung draws a line in the 5G sand and that has us calling Nokia shares up to the Thematic Leaders from the Select List. We also add shares of Skyworks Solutions to the Contender’s List and address recent cannabis rumors surrounding Altria.

We’ve closed the books on a painful November, and while progress on the US-China trade front is popping the stock market today a number of issues remain that will likely come into focus as the relief rally fades. We recap the Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday holiday shopping, a boon for our Digital Lifestyle investing theme and discuss what investors should be watching this week as we kick off the last month of the trading year.

We are in the midst of major shifts in market dynamics. With risiing debt levels and falling liquidity we are seeing a headwind to EPS generation that investors and the multiples they assign to the stock market will have to contend with.

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the stock market continued to take several gut punches this week, which erased the market’s year to date gains. While we saw this coming, it’s still a tough pill to swallow, but we’ll be patient and prepared as we listen to the confirming data that are our Thematic Signals. Inside this issue, we chart the key items to watch over the coming days, including Black Friday to Cyber Monday, the upcoming Fed minutes and the G20 Summit face-off between the US and China. We also take a look at WATT shares.

The stock market continues to grapple with several headwinds across the geopolitical, economic and economic landscapes. Near-term the changing market mood will be challenging, but we continue to receive favorable signals that confirm our thematic approach.

After a brutal October, the market has managed to regain some of the ground it lost in the early days of November. But it is unusual for the S&P 500 to lose 10% or more twice in any given year. Going back roughly half a century, such double-dipping typically precedes or occurred in conjunction with a recession, (with the exception of 1987 which wasn’t much fun). Is this time different?

While we’re enjoying the post-mid-term election rebound in the market, several concerns remain and that means remaining cautious near-term. We’re also discussing earnings from Axon, Disney and Del Frisco’s as well as sharing what’s on ou radar screen for next week. Hint: Italy.

While Wall Street questions Apple’s earnings, we see its moves as very much in step with our Digital Lifestyle investing theme.

The power of disruptive technology leads to down dog taking down those trusty Levi 501s.

Our disruptive technology investing theme is pervading many aspects of the grocery industry from robotics to autonomous delivery vans, reinventing one of the oldest sectors of the economy.

This week we closed the books on the month of October, and what a month it was for the stock market. In short, the month of October wiped out most the market’s year to date gains as investors digested both September quarter earnings and updated guidance that spurred a re-think in top and bottom line expectations.

Kroger eyeing Amazon as it implements robotics in its warehouses to improve its operations.

As expected economic reality is catching up with the stock market, leading to another volatile week as investors reset expectations. With more of the same likely on tap next week, I’m sitting back and collecting earnings-related data points to update our investing mosaic using our thematic lens as the risk to reward in stock prices becomes more favorable.

For months we have pointed out that US stocks have been outperforming the rest of the world and we warned that this earnings season would likely be a very bumpy ride as earnings would probably be decent, but guidance would not support the market’s multiples. Our concerns have proven warranted.

In a busy as well as volatile week, we continue to receive confirming data points for our investment themes and thematic holdings from a variety of sources including the September Retail Sales report as well as September quarter earnings reports and other events. This week we are scaling once again into our DFRG shares.

What we are currently seeing in the market is a symptom of a whole lot of leverage in equities that had been in rich territory at a time when, even though it is still moving along, signs abound that the economy is slowing. Is this a ‘buy the dip’ opportunity or is it just the […]

Following yesterday’s sharp selloff, we’re explaining the why behind it and what our battle plan will be over the coming days and weeks as corporate reporting for the September quarter kicks into high gear.

In this week’s packed issue of Tematica Investing, we are adding to our positions in Alibaba (BABA) and Del Frisco’s (DFRG), assessing the National Retail Federation’s 2018 Holiday Shopping Forecast, and previewing Costco’s (COST) earnings report that will hit after today’s market close.

Revisions to S&P’s Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) means big changes to mutual fund and ETF holdings that tracks one of several indices, but were these reclassifications outdated before they even launched?

We’ve got a full issue this week as we tackle the findings of the recent flash ISM Report and the Business Roundtable survey, get ready for the Fed’s expected rate hike later today and share one of the bigger changes taking place at S&P that will reverberate through mutual funds and ETFs. All that plus some good news for our AAPL and OLED shares.

Following the recasting of our investing themes over the last several, we are introducing The Thematic Leaders, which crystallize and embody their respective thematic tailwinds.

Following several bullish data points from last week, including ones found in the August Retail Sales report, we are adding to our position in Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group (DFRG). The August Retail Sales report was also positive for our Amazon, UPS, Costco Wholesale and McCormick & Co. shares.

In this issue, we finish our thematic recasting as we revisit our Aging of the Population investing theme and introduce AMN Healthcare (AMN) shares to fold.

With the news of delayed 10K filing and an internal investigation into accounting and other issues, we are exiting the shares of USA Technologies.

The right to defend yourself and your property apply in today’s increasingly connected world, just as it did more than 200 years ago. While the public debate and much of the media coverage focus on the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms, the threats we face today are changing, just as the way we interact with people, data and content are changing.

Based on the company’s robust August same-store sales results, which capped its August quarter, we are boosting our price target on COST shares to $250 from $230.

The inelastic nature of the products produced by these guilty pleasure companies has enabled them to weather price increases better than other products and services that are considered to be more of a commodity in nature. One in particular, as unfashionable as it might be, has us adding it to the Tematica Select List this week.

In this missive, we are breaking down the August ISM Manufacturing Report and its components, plus sharing a quick update on Paccar that keeps us bullish on the shares. We also remind subscribers that after tonight’s market close, Costco Wholesale shares its latest same-store-sales report.

Tematica’s Living the Life investing theme looks to capture the global spending on higher-end affordable luxury as well as luxury branded goods and services that from an economic perspective have a high-income elasticity of demand. As people become wealthier, which we are seeing with the Rise of the Middle Class across many emerging economies, especially China, they will buy more luxury goods.

I’ve been keeping a close watch on the shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG. The company was previously part of what we now refer to as our Clean Living investment theme given its use of fresh, high-quality raw ingredients including meats that are raised without the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics or added hormones and none of the ingredients in the food (excluding beverages) in U.S. restaurants contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). 

In this week’s issue, we are closing out our position in Habit Restaurants with a tasty gain, adding a new position in Alibaba as part of Digital Lifestyle investing theme. We also have some updates on our positions in Apple and Universal Display, both of which have been on a tear lately.

As the current bull market is poised to make history, the Tematica Investing Select List continues to deliver above market returns. Ahead of the post Labor Day race to the end of 2018, we’re pruning shares of Paccar, Rockwell Automation and GSV Capital and scaling into shares of Applied Materials and Netflix at current levels.

We saw many confirming data points for Amazon, Costco Wholesale, Habit Restaurant and McCormick & Co. shares in the July Retail Sales report as well as in Walmart’s stellar July quarter results.

  They say too much information is a dangerous thing, but in the case of consumers, access to information is helping reshape how they are living their lives: According to a recent survey from Label Insight, 39% of U.S. consumers say they would switch from the brands they currently buy to others that provide clearer, […]

As we hit the midpoint of the current quarter, we acknowledge our quarter to date winners as well as those that are lagging the market. We also scale deeper into Dycom shares, examine the impact our Middle-Class Squeeze investing theme is having on the housing market and share a Digital Lifestyle company that could be the next Blue Apron.

After last night’s close GSV Capital (GSVC) reported June quarter results — while the financial media headlines reported a mixed quarter in terms of revenue and the bottom line — our view is the quarter was a solid one characterized by the continued increase in its net asset value per share.

With Farmland Partners slashing its 3Q 2018 dividend by 75% and dim prospects for the following dividend payment, we are exiting FPI shares as the investment thesis has changed considerably.

Last night’s July sales report from Costco confirms our thesis as it continues to take consumer wallet share and open additional warehouses that will drive high margin membership fee income.

Much the way a car would be challenging to drive if there were no roads or a radio would only play static if there were no radio stations, there would be no Digital Lifestyle to live if the underlying high-speed data networks, increasing computing power, and falling storage costs that make it possible didn’t exist, which is where our new theme, Digital Infrastructure, comes into play.

Our focus on Disney remains the coming transformative events that are the acquisition of Fox’s TV and movie assets, and the 2019 launch of its Disney streaming service. The former doubles down on the existing content strategy, while the latter could lead to a change in how investors value Disney shares. To me, that is a far greater opportunity than the modest June quarter miss on the top and bottom line.

In this week’s issue, we book a tasty win as we trim back our position in Habit Restaurant (HABT) and share some updates on Costco Wholesale and United Parcel Service.

It’s a big issue this week as we once again boost our Apple price target, talk on the shifting stock market dynamic and provide updates on Nokia, AXT, and Habit Restaurant as we also explain why we remain bullish on Amazon and Costco shares.

Over the last few days, we’ve had quarterly results from two companies that are riding tailwinds associated with our Digital Lifestyle investment theme – Facebook (FB) and Amazon (AMZN). The report from each company, however, and their reception from investors couldn’t have been more different. 

Established businesses tend to focus on improvements to their existing products and services, making iterative changes and adjustments along the way, which allows them to maintain their pole position in their particular category, without rocking the boat too much, safe and steady. Disruptive Innovators on the other hand not only look to rock the boat but often tip it over and completely change the lake. 

This week we are in the throes of an earnings season and trade meetings that could shape the market outlook for stocks in the back half of 2018. Those same drivers will have the market trade day-to-day in the very near-term. We discuss that as well as share updates on Dycom (DY), Nokia (NOK), AXT Inc. (AXTI), Farmland Partners (FPI), Paccar (PCAR) and United Parcel Service (UPS).

As the dust settles on Prime Day 2018, Amazon (AMZN) shares some positive data points that bode well for our United Parcel Service (UPS) shares, while Ericsson offers reaffirming comments on 5G that solidify our view on Dycom (DY), AXT (AXTI) and Nokia (NOK) shares.

As we get ready to drink from the earnings fire hose later this week, we share our thoughts not only the overall market but also on Amazon’s 2018 Prime Day, Netflix 2Q 2018 earnings report, what happened with Farmland Partners last week and how the June Retail Sales Report was a positive for our Habit Restaurant and Costco Wholesale shares.

We’ve recently recasted our Middle Class Squeeze and New Middle Class investing themes, which entailed splitting a few themes apart and reconstituting them to make them clearer and more focused. Today, we’re combining Connected Society, Content is King and Cashless Consumption to form our Digital Lifestyle investing theme, which reflects consumers’ existing and increasingly digital footprint and making a key addition to the Tematica Investing Select List along the way.

As part of constantly revisiting and testing our investing themes, from time to time we will make changes and enhancement to them. As part of that ongoing effort, we recently re-cast part of our Rise & Fall of the Middle Class investing theme. That move left Rise of the New Middle Class, which we’ve shortened to the New Middle Class and focuses on areas around the world, notably China and India, but other emerging markets as well where rising disposable incomes are driving demand for a host of products and services.

The growing number of headwinds from trade and tariffs to slowing growth, higher interest rates and the rebound in the dollar could result in more conservative guidance than the market is expecting. What could it mean if that expected EPS growth in the second half? Well, you’ll just have to listen to the episode to find out.

In this week’s Tematica Investing issue, we recap the 2Q 2018 performance and share why we think the upcoming earnings season is likely to lead to a major reset of earnings expectations vs. levels expected back in January. The reason? Trade, tariffs and uncertainty.

One of the industries that has both adapted to and felt the pain of our Digital Lifestyle investing theme is the music industry, something near and dear to the hearts and souls of team Tematica. Over the decades, we’ve seen the migration from vinyl albums to 8-track to cassettes to CDs followed by the abiltiy […]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been vocal about growing the company’s Services business as way to not only diversify its revenue stream, but in my view also make its iOS and other devices even stickier with consumers. As we have seen before Content is King is a key driver in our Digital Lifestyle investing them […]

This week we moved from signs that tariffs and inflation would play a role in the upcoming earnings season to investors recognizing that is the likely reality following reports from Harley Davidson and Universal Stainless & Alloy Products. With earnings expectations for the S&P 500 yet to factor in this reality, we could be in for a bumpy 2Q 2018 earnings season as expectations for the second half of 2018 get rejiggered. We’re also doing some Select List pruning, cutting GLW, LYTS and OLED shares in the process.

The dust has barely settled on the legal ruling that is paving the way for AT&T (T) to combine with Time Warner (TWX), and we are alread hearing of new products and services to stem from this combination. No surprise as we are seeing a blurring between mobile networks and devices, social media and content […]

From time to time we recast and sometimes streamline our investing themes to ensure they remain both relevant and relatable. This week we are combining our Cash-strap Consumer theme with the Fall in our Rise & Fall of the Middle Class to form the Middle Class Squeeze investing theme.

With trade and tariffs being the market words of the week, we review the positioning and exposure for that on the Tematica Investing Select List. We’re cutting MGM Resorts (MGM) from the Select List, and are recasting our Rise & Fall of the Middle Class theme into two – the New Middle Class and the Middle Class Squeeze.

In this week’s issue we are adding a new company, Farmland Partners, to the Tematica Investing Select List, and sharing some positive updates for Rockwell Automation shares.

Costco’s May sales data shows it continued to gain consumer wallet share in May.

In this week’s issue of Tematica Investing, we bump up our price target for Apple following WWDC 2018. MGM Resorts avoids the Las Vegas strike while Paccar shares catch an upgrade. We also examine the sudden decision by De Beers to accept lab grown diamonds, which has us looking at shares of Charles & Covard.

What can we say other than it’s the latest sign of the woes faced by traditional brick & mortar retailers – the closing of once iconic flagship locations as they are caught between the push-pull of our investment themes. In this case it’s the accelerating shift toward digital shopping that is part of our Connected […]

We continue to hear more and more about chord cutting as consumers increasingly to over the top and streaming vidoe services and they shift how, where and when they consume that content. Given the Content is King perspective that we have, it comes as little surprise to see that consumers are utilizing multiple platforms because […]

In this week’s issue of Tematica Investing, we’re making some moves with the Tematica Investing Select List as we exit Starbucks shares and trim back our position in USA Technologies. We preview Costco’s earnings later this week and offer updates on our holdings in Apple, MGM Resorts, Paccar and Rockwell Automation.

On the news that Apple plans to fully transition its iPhone lineup to organic light emitting diode displays, we are adding back shares of Disruptive Technology company Universal Display (OLED) to the Tematica Investing Select List.

As the market flip flops on trade negotiations with China and North Korea, we are adding back a specialty contractor that is poised to prosper from the pending 5G network buildout. We also share why we’re sticking with Applied Materials shares and dig through LendingClub shares as part of our Cash-strapped Consumer investing theme.

While we applaud Coca-Cola (KO) for embracing technology to connect with consumers while enabling them to customize their soda beverage of choice, the larger question to us is how does this fit with the shifting consumer preference for healthy food, snacks and drinks? In many ways it appears that Coca-Cola is looking to extend the […]

Tematica Chief Macro Strategist joined Neil Cavuto and Charlie Gasparino to dig into the latest on a Delaware court ruling in favor of National Amusement’s Shari Redstone and what its impact could be on various classes of stock shares

Tematica Research co-founder Chris Versace says the Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates four times this year, but investors should stay in the market. Click Below to Watch the Video  

The April Retail Sales report offered a number of confirming data points for several of our investment themes and a number of positions on the Tematica Investing Select List. We also preview what we’ll be listening for in upcoming earnings from Applied Materials (AMAT), and share what Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook had to say about original content and Apple.

Disney’s March quarter earnings confirmed the power of our Content is King investing theme as well as the benefits to be had with lower tax rates and share buyback programs. Operating results were favorable as was cash generation, and with prospects of more to come Disney is moving down the path with its own direct to consumer streaming services. If those services are successful, it could cause a major re-think in how peopel value DIS shares.

This week we are adding shares of a quick-service restaurant chain as part of our Guilty Pleasure investing theme , while also boosting our price target on a recently added name to the Tematica Investing Select List following robust margin performance in the March quarter and strong prospects for more realized synergies.

We are turning a rare mistake into a long-term opporutnity as we formally add shares of AXT (AXTI) back to the Tematica Investing Select List.

Live from the floor of the NYSE, Tematica CIO Chris Versace shares his insights into the latest earnings release by Apple (AAPL) and Snap (SNAP) and explains that while Apple is much more than a cell phone company, SNAP is really just a feature, not a sustainable business model as it stands now.

During a busy week of earnings and start of the month economic data, Apple once again put the doomsayers in their place with another quarterly beat and an upsized capital return program that supports our $200 price target. Let’s talk the Fed ahead of today’s latest monetary policy press release, and we’re using the robust pullbacks in AXTI and LYTS to scale into these positions on the Tematica Investing Select List.

While the current administration has been looking to keep this economic cycle going much longer and even accelerating, the Federal Reserve is concerned that the cycle may be getting overextended and overheated, putting the central bank in a tough spot as it attempts to apply some interest rate brakes while fiscal policy lays on the accelerator.

  Literally from “the street”, Tematica Chief Investment Officer joined Olivia Voznenko of Modern Wall Street from just outside the New York Stock Exchange to discuss what we were looking to see from Apple’s quarterly earnings announcement:   As a bonus question, Olivia asked Chris the question we always like to hear: “what industries are […]

Without a press conference with this Fed Meeting, TD Ameritrade turned to Tematica Chief Macro Strategist Lenore Hawkins for some insights into what we might see with regards to interest rate hikes.

The first quarter GDP report revealed that the level of government investment in infrastructure remains historical lows, reducing productivity, thus lowering potential economic growth. The disregard for this vital part of the economy cannot continue indefinitely, which makes for a potential boon for those companies poised to benefit from the upcoming investment cycle.

We’re seeing an earnings season develop that far from what was expected. The S&P 500 group of companies were expected to deliver 17%-18% EPS growth year over year in 1Q 2018 and reaffirm the outlook that would equate to at least 18% EPS growth in 2018 vs. 2017. The commentary that we’ve gotten over the last week, raises some questions about those growth expectation.

Earnings season for 1Q 2018 is underway, and while we’ve gotten off to a promising start, the season is only just getting started. We’ll continue to watch all the data as it comes in for 1Q 2018 to size up what we’re likely to hear in the coming weeks. We’ve got some bullish results from a competitor of Applied Materials, and we’re putting Habit Restaurant shares under the microscope.

As the stock market continues to see-saw back and forth based on the latest headlines emanating on the geopolitical front, we’re adding back shares in this Cashless Consumer company to the Tematica Investing Select List, and checking in on several other Select List positions. With 1Q 2108 earnings season kicking off next week, we’re likely to see the uncertainty of the last few weeks play out in corporate guidance, making the market volatility to continue. Our perspective should be it’s a chance to scoop up well thematically positioned companies at better prices.

Amid all of the market gyrations, we continue to focus on the medium to longer-term opportunities associated with our thematic signals. That has us issuing a Buy rating and to the Tematica Investing Select List for a company with an Asset Lite investment theme angle.

As we digest this tit for tat tariff action between the Trump Administration and the Chinese government, our growing concern at Tematica Research is what this means for the guidance to be had in the upcoming 1Q 2018 earnings season.

As we close the books on 1Q 2018, we are starting the new quarter off on very different footing than we have in some time – one that has investors filled with questions, concerns and a good dash of uncertainty. This is likely to make for a challenging 1Q 2018 earnings season that is right around the corner.

One of the key tenants for investing is to not fall in love with your investments, and that has putting the near-term prospects of Facebook shares under the microscope after a week-long public relations storm for the company. There is certainly going to be a short-term disruption underway in where and how companies will advertise. In the medium to longer-term, advertisers will still want to reach consumer where they are and the question is will that be Facebok?

Brookdale Senior Living is a company that is positioned to benefit from our Aging of the Population investment theme. But we must determine whether those thematic tailwinds are enough for its stock to earn a buy rating at this point in time.

Here is our quick analysis of the Fed’s monetary policy statement exiting the March 2018 meeting, and we find it rather Goldilocks in nature with risks to the upside in terms of what is to be had from tax legislation.

As we wait for the results of the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting later today, we’ll put an Aging of the Population company under the microscope and share some thought on what renewed privacy concerns are likely to bring about.

While it is rather clear to us why Toys R Us is filing bankruptcy and even Star Wars themed toy sales weren’t enough to help Mattel (MAT) this past holiday season, in-app purchases for the new iOS version of Fortnite are rather revealing. The recently launched gaming app, which sits at the center of our […]

Shares of social media platform and Connected Society hub, Facebook, are being hit over renewed privacy concerns spinning out of more revelations concerning the 2016 presidential election. With the company already refocusing on quality interactions among its users, we expect it will answer the call for greater privacy safeguards as it expands its reach into video related content.

With headwinds mounting for Universal Display shares, we’re exiting the position on the Tematica Investing Select List and collecting the long-term gains to be had since first adding the shares in October 2016. Given the long-term prospects of organic light emitting diode displays, we’re adding OLED shares to the Tematica Investing Contender List, looking to call them back to active duty when the industry begins adding fresh capacity.

Amid DC-centric uncertainty back in vogue, we are seeing renewed uncertainty in the market this week. We’ll stick to our thematic knitting, which should Trump-proof the Tematica Investing Select List. We also game out the pending bankruptcy for Toys R Us, the latest but certainly not the last company to fall victim to our Connected Society investing theme.

  While U.S. Consumer credit increased less than expected in January, we are concerned with what we are seeing in consumer loans and debt in general across the world. Auto Loans With our Cash-Strapped Consumer investing theme, the average amount financed and the duration of new auto loans continues to rise – same car, bigger […]

Even though Costco missed EPS by a modest amount, the underlying strategy remains very much intact and that has us continuing to hold this Cash-Strapped Consumer company that is embracing aspects of our Connected Society theme.

As the market vacillates back and forth based on the latest concerning proposed steel and aluminum tariffs, we share our sobering perspective and continue to share updates for positions on the Tematica Investing Select List.

I continue to think Trump is following the negotiating strategies he laid out in his 1987 book, Art of the Deal, should Trump actually enact the trade tariffs on steel and aluminum, then what? As an investor, we have to game out the potential outcomes so we can assess the potential risk and position ourselves accordingly, which is what we’ve done here today.

The results of the election last weekend in Italy continue the international trend of angry and frustrated voters dumping those in power, desperate for change.

The latest entrant into the meal kitting business continues our bearish call on Blue Apron (APRN) shares, and we take a look at an Aging of the Population company that looks to get a lifeline from China for its balance sheet and its business.

The February heavy truck order data is in, and it confirms the current upswing in demand that led us to add this Economic Acceleration/Deceleration position on the Tematica Investing Select List.

We have to question whether President Trump will go ahead with his proposed tariffs or is it a negotiating tactic at a time when NAFTA negotiations remain underway? We’ve seen the president pull this tactic from his book, Art of the Deal, several times over the last year and given the potential consequence of a trade war to the domestic economy as well as the stock market, there are several reasons we can’t rule this possibility out.

In this week’s review of the Tematica Investing Select List, I’ll highlight some of strong returns we’ve seen recently as well as share some of my current thoughts on its holdings. 

The increasingly short-term focused nature of the stock market has battered shares of Universal Display (OLED) as the industry takes a normal pause to digest added capacity over the last 12-24 months. We’ve seen this before, and it’s likely a bump in the road as end demand continues to rise. We will use this recent pain to our long-term advantage and scale into the position at current prices. As we do this, we are suspending our stop loss.

The stock market will pivot and roll based on the latest data point similar to what we saw between the January Employment Report and the January CPI Report. Said another way, volatility is back and will be with us at least for the next several weeks. As I’ve said before, volatility is not a bad thing – it can offer us an opportunity if we’re prepared, and given our Contender List, I would argue that we are just that.

We’ve got a shortened week for the stock market, but there will still be some economic data that will bring some clarity on inflation, the recent scourge of the stock market. We also have two holdings on the Tematica Investing Select List reporting earnings this week, and we share what’s expected and what we’re looking for.

The bottom line is whether you’re a fan of super hero films or not, Disney’s The Black Panther is a well-crafted story that expands as well as enhances the Marvel tapestry, and the post-credit scenes advance the inter connected storyline that Marvel has carefully put in place over the last 10 years. It’s great fun, and I recommend seeing it.

Thursday’s report on retail sales reasonably should have given the market at least some pause, but the market ignored the disappointing numbers and kept moving on up. The coming months and year are likely to be more challenging for investors than 2017, which is all the more reason to have solid investment strategies based on long-term themes.

The bottom line for the week is equities appear to have shrugged off the concerns from earlier in the month, 3-4 Fed hikes are increasingly likely and wage growth for much of the country remains stubbornly elusive despite the tightening labor market. We believe we have a decent grasp on what is behind the wage conundrum, but that is a topic for another day. As for what to expect from the markets in the coming weeks, we suspect that we are not out of the woods and that another retest of the recent lows is likely before moving on to make new highs.

Applied Materials delivered another spectacular quarter as chips continue to become the new fabric of our digital lives and OLED demand continues to not only grow but widen out as well. The cherry on top was the boosted dividend, which adds support to the upside with our price target, and upsized buyback authorization that should cushion potential downside in AMAT shares.

Earlier this morning we received the January Consumer Price Index (CPI), one of the closely watched measures of that now dirty word – inflation. As a quick reminder, the market swings over the last two weeks were ignited by the headline wage data in the January Employment Report, as well as other signs, such as rising freight costs. This topic of resetting inflation expectations and what it may mean for the Fed and interest rates has been a topic of conversation amongst all investors this week.

Inflation rising while hourly earnings have fallen in 5 of the past 6 months. The Fed will find it is under further pressure to hike and/or taper, which applies the brakes to any economic acceleration from tax cuts and more government spending.

You’ve probably noticed that retailers are doing all they can to clear out winter-related items as they prepare for the spring season. It means sales, sales, sales, and in some cases compressed margins. Walk through almost any mall, and you’ll see signs for buy one get one free, buy one get the next one 50% […]

Fiscal policy is hitting the accelerator pedal while central bankers are hitting the breaks in a market in which many participants have never experienced a major pullback. This is going to get interesting!

With the market’s volatility over the last several days, a number of stocks are revisiting levels that are 5%, 10%, 15% lower than they stood at end of January. And while investors have been thunderstruck by the market gyrations, the day to day data from the December quarter earnings season as well as recent economic data, has continued to confirm certain opportunities. One of the recurring drum beats this earnings season has been companies talking about rising freight costs and the impact on earnings, due to the national shortage in available trucks.

The recent reset for domestic stocks following a rapid ascent over the last few month has removed some of the froth from the market. Of course, as valuations levels have drifted back to earth from the rare air they recently inhabited there are opportunities this new market dynamic bring, but there have also been several casualties.

As we all know, yesterday’s market drop saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall 1,175 points, marking its worst closing point decline on record. As we like to say, context is key, and that drop of more than 1,100 points, however, equated to a percentage decline of 4.6% — understandably unsettling, but nowhere near as sharp a punch to the gut one would expect by relying on just the absolute point drop.

Well, this week was something different! Richly priced equities took it on the chin. The culprit? Rising interest rates, which increase borrowing costs in an economy that is once again heavily indebted across the board at a time when the Fed is reducing its balance sheet, thus hitting the bond market from both sides – weaker demand and extra supply. Add in record high corporate debt and ballooning consumer credit card debt and you have yourself one painful debt-fueled headwind.

After yesterday’s mixed earnings blitzkrieg that featured results from Apple, Amazon, Alphabet/Google and United Parcel Services, we’re boost several price targets and trimming one.

Shares of this Disruptive Technology company are soaring after an upbeat long-term outlook

With tax reform changes poised to spur capital spending on factories and productivity improvements, we’re adding this Tooling & Re-tooling company to the Tematica Investing Select List.

While the herd is caught up in changes to Facebook that may lead to a dip in average usage, we see the surge in average revenue per user as the real drive in earnings. With advertising rates climbing and the company focused on monetizing the majority of its platforms, we see it continuing to win overall advertising spend dollars in the coming quarters.

The market’s current “priced to perfection” status has brought about some jumpiness the last few days. Such volatility is not a bad thing as it allows us to take advantage of potential disconnects between businesses and stock prices. Case in point, is the opportunity we are seeing with Universal Display and Apple.

This morning this Disruptive Technologies company delivered better than expected December quarter results, but with the market priced to perfection, investors will be drilling into its smartphone comments to determine the near-term direction of the shares. We’ll be buyers on weakness given the long-term prospects for the adoption of the company’s products.

As earnings season for the Tematica Investing Select List heats up, in this post we break down what we’ll be watching in reports from six holdings in the coming days. In particular, given the recent melt-up in the market that has been fueled in part by favorable fundamentals and 2018 tax rate adjustments, we detail what we’ll be hoping to hear from these key companies and their forecasts for the coming quarter and beyond.

The fourth quarter 2017 GDP growth rate came in weaker than expected and was utterly dependent on consumer spending despite weak wage growth.

Shares of this Disruptive Technology company have been hard hit in the short-term, but it’s the long game that matters most.

Following an earning beat and clarity on tax reform benefits, we are boosting our price target on this non-residential construction play.

As we wrap up an exciting week at the Inside ETFs Conference, we share our thoughts on several earnings announcements out this week that either includes or directly impact several names on our Tematica Select List, in particular, some chatter around iPhone chatter around sales.

Winter weather could hamper construction activity for this company on the Select List, but the underlying need to rebuild remains.

While some focus on the short-term, Apple remains a long-term story and a core Connected Society holding.

As we assess potential tax related benefits to be had, we’re adding this pharmacy turnaround, Aging of the Population company to the Contender List

As we move deeper into 4Q 2017 earnings season, we are seeing the Wall Street herd once again come around and upgrade companies that we’ve been bullish on and reside on the Tematica Investing Select List due to the strong thematic tailwinds propelling their businesses.

Not all retailers are riding the digital shopping tailwind that is part of our Connected Society investing theme.

Parental responsibilities are nothing new when it comes to technology, but Apple already intends to tackle this renewed concern.

Adding two infrastructure rebuilding plays to the Contender List, and watching a third as well.

2018 is off to a solid start and several positions on the Tematica Investing Select List are benefitting — as expected — from the announcements at CES 2018

The economic data isn’t showing signs of rolling over, but the markets have priced in a whole lot of perfection while the consumer is giving very classic late cycle signals. With volatility remaining incredibly low, portfolio protection is cheap while warning signs are aplenty.

Two pieces of construction related data add to our bullish outlook on this Tematica Investing Select List holding.

AT&T throws its hat into the 5G ring, and it’s good news for these two Select List holdings.

As we enter 2018, let’s recap key moves on the Tematica Investing Select List in 2017 as we boost several price targets, trim one position back and see what’s on tap in January.

New gaming data from Macau confirms our cautious stance with this Guilty Pleasure holding.

Amazon was certainly the largest thematic disruptor of 2017, and by every indication it’s looking like it could be putting on a repeat performance for 2018. Of course, there are several other thematic disruptors we see on the horizon as we take out our crystal ball a peek ahead to the coming year in this special issue of Tematica Investing.

We continue to see signs of modest economic improvement, but when it comes to households in the U.S., improvements are not broadly shared. We are seeing signs of inflationary pressures in producer prices, but little in terms of wage price pressures. On the consumer side, the great deflationary force that is online and mobile consumer shopping continues to overpower any potential inflationary pressures. The push-pull of these dynamics bodes well for companies that are riding the tailwind of our Connected Society investing theme, while addressing pain points being felt by Cash-Strapped Consumers.

With consumers increasing shifting their content consumption to streaming services, be it online or via mobile, we are seeing a number of moves by companies to position themselves accordingly. AT&T (T) is looking to buy Time Warner (TWX), Alphabet (GOOGL) is expanding the reach of YouTubeTV and Apple (AAPL) is hiring programming talent. Amid all […]

There are several thematic aspects that make the Disney acquisition of Fox a good one.

The better than expected November Retail Sales report had several early holiday presents for the Tematica Investing Select List. We discuss!

Beneath the as expected December Fed meeting, signs emerge the stock market isn’t buying all of what Yellen had to say.

We’ve spent our fair share of time looking into the future of autonomous vehicles — the technology behind them, the players that are making it happen and the implications this new technology could have on everything from the car manufacturers to parking systems to rental car companies. One comment, in particular, stands out from our special […]

In this week’s issue, we share some larger Select List thoughts as well as what we’ll be focusing on as the Fed exits its latest FOMC meeting. We also lay the groundwork for Thursday’s earnings from Costco.

Consumer debt (excluding mortgages) have reached record highs as a percent of disposable income and as for that income, gains there remain elusive. So just how is the consumer expect to accelerate spending?

I have written quite a few posts this week about our investing theme of the Cash-Strapped Consumer, sharing data that explains why so many are still struggling and how this economic pain point creates investing opportunities. Yesterday I showed how the growth in income since the financial crisis has been well below historical norms, which […]

Why if the economy is going so strong, are so many still struggling and what does that mean for investors.

We cover a lot of ground in this week’s issue, shedding a name vulnerable to California wildfires as we discuss mobile gaming and body camera stocks and offer favorable iPhone X findings for our Apple shares.

In 2017 the intersection of our Connected Society and Content is King investing themes saw Digital Kill the TV Ad.

One of the key aspects of thematic investing is looking for companies that are successfully addressing major pain points in the economy. Dollar General is bucking the trend in brick & mortar retail by doing just that.

As the economic data continues to point to an economy that is doing good, not great, we are seeing indications that the 2017 global acceleration may be weakening. Nothing to get overly stressed about just yet, but it is on our radar.

The adoption of social media by companies to reach customers, share its wares, drive revenues and build its brands continues. Amid the battle between Facebook and LinkedIn, we are seeing businesses embrace Instagram, in some cases as its only web presence, to reach customers. Even as we peruse Instagram, we are seeing more companies have […]

Despite the advantages offered by Cashless Consumption, may in the Eurozone continue to pay with cash, even more than they admit. Is this a permanent headwind for our Cashless Consumption investing theme or a tailwind in disguise?

What does it mean if we tax reform but it adds to the ballooning national debt? What if we don’t, how will the markets react?

In this week’s issue, we once again boost our Amazon (AMZN) price target and offer several updates alongside yet another annual dividend increase from McCormick & Company

Mobile phones are making our Connected Society ever more connected as we become increasingly obsessed with that precious device. It is the first thing many of us look at in the morning and the last thing at night, but there is ample opportunity for a lot more folks around the world to join us addicts!

Smartphones making it easier for our Cash-Strapped Consumer to access wages almost in real-time. Will this help or hurt piggybanks at a time when the savings rate is at a 10-year low?

The holiday weekend shopping data confirms our view on several Connected Society positions on the Tematica Select List, and the data is prompting us to book a hefty call option win for Tematica Options+ subscribers.

In this holiday week issue of Tematica Investing, we’re trimming back another profitable position and setting the stage for the upcoming holiday shopping season that kicks off later this week.

As we head into the last several months of 2017, we’re harvesting some big gains with these two thematic positions and optimizing 2017 capital gains by shedding two positions on the Select List.

Robust demand drivers discussed on last night’s earnings call has us once again boosting price targets for these two Disruptive Technology positions on the Tematica Investing Select List.

E-sports has a growing fandom that is garnering corporate endorsement deals and seeing competitive leagues debut. Today we share an overview of this aspect of our Content is King investing theme.

After months of speculation over tax reform, we now have competing proposals on how to reduce corporate taxes and put more capital in the hands of individual taxpayers. From an investing perspective, there has been much buildup over what this could mean for both the U.S. economy as well as corporate profits and earnings per share as early as 2018. If you’re thinking this sounds like expectations are likely ahead of themselves, we’re right there with you.

NIRP, the European Central Bank’s Negative Interest Rate Policy, can block wealth creation for those that can’t reach directly into the ECB’s printing press. Here’s one way you probably hadn’t considered and it may be hurting your portfolio without you even knowing it.

Our Rise and Fall of The Middle Class investing theme was front and center as Alibaba’s Singles Day blew away Black Friday in the U.S., with about 90% of those sales done via mobile, illustrating the power of our Connected Society investing theme.

To start the week off, we are scaling into one position, exiting another, boosting some price targets and sharing other Select List updates. This is all part of our process of cleaning up the Select List as we come down to the final stretch of 2017 and begin to prepare for 2018.

Here’s our strategy for this Connected Society-Content is King company following last night’s earnings

Over the last several trading days, we’ve had a number of companies on the Tematica Select List report their quarterly earnings. This has us focusing today’s issue on recapping what was said, and sharing our views as well as making any price target adjustments.

We are adding a position in this digital advertising platform company that is riding the shift toward digital ads.

As we move into the 101st month of the current economic expansion, the respective stock market indices have continued their climb further into nosebleed territory. On Thursday the S&P 500 avoided its first back to back daily declines in about a month after a rally into the close pushed it back into positive territory for the day, while today the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a new all-time high. The headlines are all about ebullience in the markets, but in this week’s wrap up we’ll point out that there are plenty of yellow flags waving.

Being a smart investor means knowing when to avoid a troubled stock like this one.

Amid a busy week that has the latest from the Fed and the first look at the proposed tax reform bill, we several earnings reports from companies on the Tematica Investing Select List

Apple reports 3Q 2017 results this week. The focus will be on the company’s guidance not only on iPhone production commentary, but the timing around these models being launched in other markets. We see the Apple story far from over and are using this opportunity to make a move on the shares with an aggressive price target.

The bottom line for the week is the economic picture looks better today than it did a few months ago. Earnings so far have been in general stronger than was expected, but we are still dealing with an equity market that is in over bought territory and valuations remain in the top 0.7% of all time with volatility depressed to an unprecedented degree. While we clearly prefer to see the market go up rather than down, we remain wary of such elevated valuations and exceptional conditions.

We are taking advantage of the missed perception in yesterday’s 3Q 2017 earnings report to scale into the shares of this Disruptive Technology company on the Tematica Investing Select List.

We are boosting our price target on AMZN shares after Amazon crushed expectations, led by its increasingly profitable Amazon Web Services business, which we see as a key differentiator vs. brick & mortar retailers.

With earnings season underway, here are our thoughts on results from AXTI, NOK, and UPS as well as comments on BETR shares.

As the pace of 3Q 2017 reports increases, we are seeing the market swing back and forth based on whatever the news is of the day —‚ good and bad. As the market goes through its daily gyrations, we’ll continue to use our thematic lens to guide us through the earnings onslaught. In particular, we take a look at recently added Corning and its first earnings announcement since being added to the Tematica Select List.

Is now the time to pick off Blue Apron, one of the more widely publicized IPO’s of 2017? In this post we dig into why this busted IPO isn’t cheap even at current levels, and it has a lot to do with the 800-pound gorilla that has entered the space, Amazon.

The investing herd continues to catch up to us, and here’s what’s on tap this for earnings on the Tematica Investing Select List

While we do not see signs that a recession is around the corner, the economic data rolling in continues to indicate that we are well past the 7th inning of this business cycle. At some point, the markets will have to pay the piper for their extended period of record high valuations and record low volatility, but we are not currently seeing the kind of euphoric sentiment that typically occurs in the run-up to a crash-worthy peak. In fact, the chorus calling for a crash in October was rather large, making a crash this month highly unlikely as the market is infamous for making fools out of as many people as possible.

Given the growing number of cord-cutters in the U.S. as more shift from broadcast TV to a variety of streaming services, Nielsen (NLSN) is pivoting its business model to ride this Connected Society tailwind. Give the enormous pool of advertising dollars that are at stake given the shift in viewer consumption habits it makes perfect […]

As semiconductor capital equipment company Lam Research (LRC) reported quarterly earnings that topped expectations and guided the current quarter above expectations, we are boosting our price target on AMAT shares.

This week the roller coaster that is 3Q17 earnings season is reaching full speed. As we stand at the crosswinds of the thematic tailwinds and headwinds that are being revealed through all of the earnings reports and conference calls, there are several key items that we are learning from Netflix and CSX that are crucial for investors to understand.

Source: Rent the Runway seeks to broaden appeal with new monthly service |Chain Store Age   Yesterday, apparel Rent the Runway company announced a new, lower-priced service to broaden its target audience: The New York-based company on Monday announced a less costly membership option that allows women to rent four items from its website, choosing […]

Tematica’s investing strategy focuses not only on those long-term forces that generate formidable tailwinds or headwinds but also on major pain points, as solutions can generate serious value to entrepreneurs and investors alike. The problem of Social Security numbers for definitive identification is one such pain point.

Peltz’s play for P&G highlights it is not focused on true product innovation.

We continue to have a market priced at levels that are in the upper atmosphere of historical norms in an economy that continues to be “meh,” with income levels rising about as fast as a tortoise through molasses. We know full well that stock prices can get even headier from here, but beware of “reversion to the mean” for volatility and the reality of upside potential versus downside risk from such heights.

The publishing industry has been one of the early victims of the internet as readers shifted to online articles and publications, which altered the dynamics of the all-important advertising revenue stream and subscription dynamics. As we approach nearly two decades of internet related creative destruction, the rise of mobile usage is another thorn in the […]

As it’s transformation continues, we’re adding one of the early pioneers in the “smartphone” space to the Tematica Contender List.

While we like to focus on the out-performers we tend to spend as much if not more time on the ones that are underperforming.

Upside potential continues to shrink in the market, while downside risks rise. This is making for a market that requires emphasis on those areas that are benefiting from headwinds that can withstand, over the long-term, ebbs and flows of the economic cycle all that much more important.

This week we’re pouring over earnings results and beginning of the month data looking for sign posts for our investing themes, including several items impacting our Foods with Integrity investment theme, as well as the Connected Society. Additionally, we look at the weather-related impact on retail sales and what it might mean for several of the stocks on the Tematica Select List with retail exposure.

We’re upping our price target on this Connected Society derivative company as we get ready for holiday shopping 2017.

Fewer people are moving today than at any point in recent history and while inventories are tight, sellers are having to cut asking prices…

Surprise surprise! More reports on the growing frequency of cyber attacks – painful for companies and consumers, but great for this position on the Tematica Investing Select List.

A shooting in Las Vegas is pressuring casino stocks, but we’ll remain patient with the one of the Tematica Investing Select List.

The economy is a mixed bag right now, with manufacturing showing some strength, (which has been helped by a weak dollar trend that may be reversing) and the weakness in the consumer side is what we’d expect at this late stage in the business cycle. That said, the market fundamentals such as breadth, as well as index and sector movement trends show no signs of an imminent market pullback. These pricey stocks are likely to get even more expensive.

As we discussed earlier, heading into the third quarter earnings season, we have above average level of positive guidance in terms of both top line sales and earnings as well as lower-than-average negative earnings guidance. We  pointed out yesterday, however, that an uncomfortable portion of that guidance is driven by gains from a weak dollar […]

      If forward guidance is any indicator, the third quarter earnings season, (How can it be the third quarter already!?) will deliver solid results. So far 54 companies in the S&P 500 have issued positive revenue guidance, which is more than double the 5-year average of 25, while 43 companies have issued positive […]

Applied Materials served up a stronger than expected multi-year outlook, which reaffirms our long-term view in its business as well as another.

As we close out Q317, Nike’s earnings results reinforce several as our investment themes as well as our recent comments on the dollar.

Consumer Confidence for September declined a bit more than expected, falling to 119.8 from 120.4, versus expectations for a decline to 120. While that doesn’t sound all that meaningful as it is still well above the long-term average of 93.9, we see something occurring beneath the headlines that warrants further attention and is particularly concerning […]

Apple shares have slipped since the company’s lackluster September special event as investors question iPhone 8 model demand ahead of the early November launch of the iPhone X. That slip in Apple shares has overflowed and resulted in the same downward pressure on our Universal Display (OLED) shares, but there is potential upside still to be had.

Apple’s shift to glass will likely drive incremental glass demand, much the way its shift to organic light emitting diode displays with the iPhone X is spurring demand for those products