Reflections on 3Q16 Earnings Season

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Happy Halloween! Are you out on the town at a party, taking the kids out for some trick or treating, or maybe your indoors without a second thought about the holiday?  

Either way, it is the last day of October, which means that we have two more months left in 2016. You can still take action this year and invest like a badass.

 

Don’t worry – it’s not too late to make some smart money decisions and invest for your future. I am with you every step of the way. With only two months to go, leave a comment below and state a topic you’d like to hear more about.

 

We are in the midst of third quarter earnings season, and so it’s only appropriate to highlight a few companies that might create opportunities for you or at least get you pumped up about you holding these companies in your portfolio. If want a refresher on why earnings reports matter, check out my video!

 

My 3Q Earnings Highlights

 

With lots of year-end activity, and here are a few stocks that have caught my attention:

  • Apple – Last week, Apple’s stock dropped on earnings results that included its first annual revenue decline in 15 years. What? Yes, I said it. IPhone sales make up a decent chunk of Apple’s full revenues and its 6S model had some sluggish sales. But, Apple released it new iPhone 7 this quarter, and this should bode well for the company going into the holiday season. Are you going to buy another IPhone, or are you considering buying the stock? Leave a comment on my blog and tell me your approach.

  • Microsoft – In recent weeks, the stock finally surpassed the stock price it hit in December of 1999. Yes, that’s a long time ago and the stock is trading at an all-time high after years of being in the dump. The company beat earnings expectations on the growth of its cloud computing software – Azure. For you techies, tell us what you think on my blog. Satya Nadella, a Chicago Booth grad (my fellow alum) is now at the helm, so I’m feeling a lot of school pride right now. Is Microsoft on a full-on new path to growth? Hmmm.

  • Twilio – The stock is up over $70, after IPO’ing at $15 in June, which I discussed. Nothing more needs to be said on how the market is currently valuing this company. Watch my video for a reminder on how IPOs work.

  • Reynolds American – British American Tobacco (BAT) wants to buy this company, which would create the world’s largest tobacco company. Similar in discussion to how stock prices work with Time Warner merger, it’s important to see if the 20% premium BAT offered will last.

 

Do you have any of these stocks in your portfolios? Are you buying more Microsoft products, or continuing to use the services like Uber, whose technology is powered by Twilio? You should be paying attention.

 

How will you take action today?