Service Corp (SCI)

[winston]

A PICTURE OF THE BASICS APPROACH AT WORK

New investors often go through a three-step "lifecycle" in their stock selection methods. One, buy some fad shoe retailer or the company that makes the next great medical gadget. Two, lose money. Three, eventually come to this line of thinking... "Forget 'new stuff,' I just want some Warren Buffett investments... boring companies that make soda, disposable razors, and band aids. Let me compound my money safely instead of losing on the next fad."

Last week, Tom Dyson outlined the incredible compounding power of cigarette maker Altria. Rather than try to guess the next consumer fad, Altria just sells millions of cigarettes every single day... just like Coca-Cola sells Coke... and Johnson & Johnson sells Band Aids.

Another example of the boring basics at work: Today's chart of America's largest funeral-home chain, Service Corp (SCI). No "next new thing" here... just a basic service everyone must deal with. SCI just reached a new high and sports one of the smoothest uptrends in the market. We're not saying buy the stock... We're simply pointing out that the "basics" approach works wonders. Everyone learns this principle eventually.


Source: Daily Wealth

[winston]

not vested

The Investing Trend No One Likes to Talk About

by Matthew Carr

Roughly 2.6 million people die in the U.S. each year. This will continue to pick up speed as the country’s population continues to age. By 2040, it’ll be closer to 5 million every year, largely due to baby boomers.

Right now, we’re not only heading into the busiest shopping time of the year... but we’re also entering the busiest dying time of the year.

In 2010, Professor David Phillips published a paper examining 57.5 million death certificates issued between 1979 and 2004. He found that the stretch from Christmas to New Year’s is the most deadly time of the year. And New Year’s Day is the deadliest day on the calendar.

This January Effect means that, on average, 40,000 more people die in January than in September - the month with the fewest average deaths.

The first: Around the holidays, people postpone going to the hospital because they don’t want to miss time with their families.

The second: Hospitals are understaffed this time of year because their staffs want to spend time with their families. That means, in turn, they aren’t able to handle the deluge.

Source: The Oxford Club

http://www.investmentu.com/article/deta ... A1FJOB96M8

[winston]

The Investing Trend No One Likes to Talk About

By Matthew Carr

Roughly 2.6 million people die in the U.S. each year. This will continue to pick up speed as the country’s population continues to age.

By 2040, it’ll be closer to 5 million every year, largely due to baby boomers.

The stretch from Christmas to New Year’s is the most deadly time of the year.

And New Year’s Day is the deadliest day on the calendar.

On average, 40,000 more people die in January than in September – the month with the fewest average deaths.

Service Corp.’s quarterly revenue is almost identical. The third quarter – that July through September period – is the company’s slowest of the year, as deaths fall to seasonal lows. But revenue jumps higher in the fourth and first quarters.

Source: Investment U

http://dailytradealert.com/2016/10/25/t ... alk-about/

[winston]

not vested

ServiceNow Inc (NOW US): Don’t stop me now

ServiceNow Inc’s (NOW) 1Q20 results were a beat on multiple fronts.

Non-GAAP EPS of $1.05 came in ~10% above consensus.

NOW closed 37 deals greater than $1m in 1Q20 (+48% YoY), with most deals actually being closed in the final weeks of March, while April pipelines were up vs. where they were at this point last year.

These in our view point to the need for NOW solutions in powering digital transformation even in this environment, as well as the company’s ability to customize solutions to the current needs of its customers.

FY20 non-GAAP adjusted subscription billings (midpoint) has been moderated from 27% to 24% YoY, which is a far better outcome than expected, in our view.

We acknowledge that a consensus EV/FCF multiple of 47x (1.7 S.D. above the 5-year mean) is not cheap, but NOW’s resilient business model and operational excellence clearly demands a premium over peers, in our view, especially against this macro backdrop.

Following adjustments to our assumptions, we raise our FV slightly from US$397 to US$405. Maintain BUY.

Source: OCBC