☁️ Salesforce Is Building An Empire

1) ☁️ Salesforce Delivers A Strong Quarter 2) 🐐 A Legend’s Final Portfolio, 3) 🧨 Is IPO Season Back?, and more!

Happy Friday!

I hope you all had a great week. October's inflation eased to 3%, down from 3.4%, with core inflation at 3.5%. This demonstrates that inflation is continuing to fall, releasing some pressure on the Fed. However, this is still above the Fed’s 2% target, which means we are likely to stay at a restrictive level for the foreseeable future.

Some key data bites from this week that you should know: 

  • In Q3, U.S. GDP growth was revised to a higher 5.2% annualized rate, up from the initial 4.9%, indicating robust economic performance.

  • Elliott Management has taken a $1B stake in Phillips 66 $PSX and is pressing for a board revamp.

  • General Motors $GM initiated a $10B share buyback, increased their dividend, and revised financial guidance for 2023.

  • Cyber Monday saw U.S. consumers spend $12.4B online, a 9.6% increase from the previous year.

In today’s newsletter:

  • ☁️ Salesforce Delivers A Strong Quarter

  • 🐐 A Legend’s Final Portfolio

  • 🧨 Is IPO Season Back?

Let’s dive right in!

Not subscribed yet? Sign up today!

☁️ Salesforce Delivers A Strong Quarter

The Numbers:

  • Earnings: 🟢 $2.11 Beats $2.06 Est.

  • Revenue: ⚪️ $8.72B Meets $8.72B Est.

The Quarter:

Salesforce exceeded analysts' expectations in its fiscal third-quarter earnings, reporting an 11% increase in revenue to $8.7B, despite a slowdown in growth due to economic uncertainties and high interest rates. The company saw current remaining performance obligation of $23.9B, up 14% year over year.

The company enhanced profits through expense reductions, including a 10% job cut and office space reduction.

Future Guidance:

Looking ahead, Salesforce raised its fiscal 2024 operating cash flow growth forecast to 30 - 33% and estimates fiscal fourth-quarter revenue between $9.18 - $9.23B, up 10% year over year. This outlook is in line with analysts' expectations.

Mike Spencer, the executive VP for investor relations, stated that while there is early adoption of the company's new data-cloud and AI application features, AI's contribution to this year's revenue is not significant and will take time to become a major revenue driver.

🐐 A Legend’s Final Portfolio

On Tuesday, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's long-time partner and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, passed away at 99.

Munger was instrumental in shaping the company's long-term investment strategy, leading to significant growth and success.

Known for preaching a concentrated approach to investing, Munger actively managed the Daily Journal Corporation’s securities portfolio, which as of Q3 was roughly valued at $159M.

Charlie’s final portfolio was comprised of just 4 stocks: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Alibaba, and U.S. Bancorp.

🧨 Is IPO Season Back?

IPO season may be cooking up again. On Monday, Shein, the Chinese fast-fashion company valued at $66B, confidently filed for a U.S. IPO. The company, which has grown rapidly over the last few years, is looking to expand its global footprint and change perception about its business practices.

Reddit is also in discussions for a potential IPO as early as Q1 2024. The company was previously working with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs on the listing in 2021, and was considering a valuation of up to $15B. However, the plans never materialized, and this year, Fidelity slashed its valuation to $5.5B.

Finally, Kim Kardashian's Skims, valued at $4B, also has an IPO on its horizon. Co-founder Jens Grede indicated that, “Skims deserves to be a public company - when the time is right.”

While it might be exciting to see a lot of companies looking to IPO, it’s important to remember that nothing is final until the company files a public S-1.

📉 Rate Cuts Bet. Billionaire Bill Ackman is predicting the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates sooner than expected, possibly as early as Q1 - BB

🍎 Partnership End. Apple $AAPL is ending its credit-card partnership with Goldman Sachs $GS, a significant reversal for Goldman's expansion into consumer lending - WSJ

🛻 CyberTruck Launch. Tesla's $TSLA unveiled the delayed Cybertruck, starting at $60,990, which offers a unique design and high performance - R

Notable Companies Reporting Earnings Next Week:

  • Monday:

    • GitLab $GTLB

  • Tuesday:

    • AutoZone $AZO, Ferguson $FERG, MongoDB $MDB, Nio $NIO, SentinelOne $S, Asana $ASAN

  • Wednesday:

    • Brown Forman $BF.A, Veeva Systems $VEEV, Chewy $CHWY, GameStop $GME, C3 AI $AI

  • Thursday:

    • Broadcom $AVGO, Lululemon $LULU, Dollar General $DG, DocuSign $DOCU

  • Friday:

    • Hello Group $MOMO

All of the companies that are reporting earnings next week can be viewed here.

Major Trades Published 11/24 - 11/30

Buys

  • Exelixis ($EXEL)

    • Insider: David Johnson (Director)

      • # of Shares Purchased: 120,409

      • $ Amount: $2,602,038

      • SEC Forms: [1]

  • Qorvo ($QRVO)

    • Insider: Walden Rhines (Director)

      • # of Shares Purchased: 5,000

      • $ Amount: $465,950

      • SEC Forms: [1]

Sells

  • Walmart ($WMT)

    • Insider: Robson Walton (Director)

      • # of Shares Sold: 1,255,931

      • $ Amount: $196,030,952

      • SEC Forms: [1], [2]

  • Meta Platforms ($META)

    • Insider: Mark Zuckerberg ($CEO)

      • # of Shares Sold: 112,036

      • $ Amount: $37,705,526

      • SEC Forms: [1], [2], [3], [4]

  • Airbnb

    • Insider: Brian Chesky (CEO)

      • # of Shares Sold: 202,596

      • $ Amount: $25,794,701

      • SEC Forms: [1]

    • Insider: Joseph Gebbia (Director)

      • # of Shares Sold: 174,478

      • $ Amount: $22,228,529

      • SEC Forms: [1]

How was today's newsletter?

We value all of feedback we receive. Let us know how we did so we can continue to make this the best investing newsletter available!

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

🤝 Review of the Week

Disclaimer: The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. All statements and expressions herein are the sole opinion of the author.

Carbon Finance is a publisher of financial information, not an investment or financial advisor. We do not provide personalized or individualized investment advice or information that is tailored to the needs of any particular recipient.

The information contained on this website/newsletter has been crafted with the assistance of an AI language model to enhance the content of this newsletter. We have made efforts to ensure the quality and reliability of the information presented, but we cannot guarantee its absolute accuracy. Therefore, readers are advised to exercise their own judgment and seek additional sources if necessary.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE/NEWSLETTER IS NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS INVESTMENT ADVICE, AND DOES NOT PURPORT TO BE AND DOES NOT EXPRESS ANY OPINION AS TO THE PRICE AT WHICH THE SECURITIES OF ANY COMPANY MAY TRADE AT ANY TIME. THE INFORMATION AND OPINIONS PROVIDED HEREIN SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS SPECIFIC ADVICE ON THE MERITS OF ANY INVESTMENT DECISION. INVESTORS SHOULD MAKE THEIR OWN INVESTIGATION AND DECISIONS REGARDING THE PROSPECTS OF ANY COMPANY DISCUSSED HEREIN BASED ON SUCH INVESTORS’ OWN REVIEW OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.

No statement or expression of opinion, or any other matter herein, directly or indirectly, is an offer or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities or financial instruments mentioned.

Any projections, market outlooks or estimates herein are forward looking statements and are inherently unreliable. They are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events that will occur. Other events that were not taken into account may occur and may significantly affect the returns or performance of the securities discussed herein. The information provided herein is based on matters as they exist as of the date of preparation and not as of any future date, and the publisher undertakes no obligation to correct, update or revise the information in this document or to otherwise provide any additional material.

The publisher, its affiliates, and clients of the publisher or its affiliates may currently have long or short positions in the securities of the companies mentioned herein, or may have such a position in the future (and therefore may profit from fluctuations in the trading price of the securities). To the extent such persons do have such positions, there is no guarantee that such persons will maintain such positions.

Neither the publisher nor any of its affiliates accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of the information contained herein.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are solely those of Carbon Finance and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

By using the Site or any affiliated social media account, you are indicating your consent and agreement to this disclaimer Unauthorized reproduction of this newsletter or its contents by photocopy, facsimile or any other means is illegal and punishable by law.