Neha Chamaria (Ford Motor): Ford stock has rallied about 18% in the past three months after a tumultuous 2023. Labor strikes, rising costs, high interest rates, and an electric vehicle (EV) sector losing billions of dollars despite fears of a global industry recession kept investors away from Ford stock last year. The newest Ford advances have revived investors' interest in the legacy automaker, therefore I think this is a good moment to buy the company for the long term.
Despite the hurdles, Ford increased revenue by 11% in 2023 and made $4.3 billion, up from $2 billion in 2022. Ford declared a first-quarter supplemental dividend after its adjusted free cash flow of $6.8 billion exceeded expectations.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the firm is "nowhere near" its profitability potential but well-positioned for growth this year. Ford Pro, the company's commercial vehicles sector, provides significant recurring revenue from hardware, software, and services. Ford Pro is expected to generate the highest EBIT of $8 billion to $9 billion in 2024, followed by Ford Blue, its gas-and-hybrid vehicles division. Model e may lose $5.5 billion in EBIT in 2024.
Ford recognizes EVs are a tough market, so it wants to cut capital spending on them until the time is perfect and focus on Pro and Blue. Despite the large predicted losses in EVs, Ford is still predicting flat to 15% increase in adjusted EBIT this year, demonstrating its agility. Ford is a terrific company to buy now for 2024 and beyond because it is growing despite problems and making the correct actions to enhance profitability.
Anders Bylund (Roku): I like Roku's stock decrease as an investment. After the media-streaming technology expert's fourth-quarter earnings report, the stock price fell 24% and 33% the following day and three days later. These market reactions frequently accompany a bad earnings announcement and a bleak near-term outlook. None of those bearish components were in Roku's report.
Despite a 2% top-line surprise, Wall Street's consensus projections were met. However, the media and entertainment (A&E) industry's key ad purchasers are not returning to large marketing campaigns, limiting Roku's growth possibilities over the next quarter or two.
Walmart's purchase of smart TV buyer Vizio further hampered Roku's shares. If authorized, that purchase will remove a crucial Roku software customer and improve Vizio's business with a wealthy parent firm. Roku's shares fell again as investors digested Walmart-Vizio's merger.
Roku's recent quarters' sluggish sales growth and negative earnings were due to management's determined decisions. Roku maintained its prices to attract more consumers during the inflation crisis, unlike other media-streaming hardware and software vendors.
Two years into inflation, the user base rose from 60 million to 80 million active subscribers. Cheap gear as a loss-leader marketing strategy worked well, and I think it's a good investment. As long as Roku focuses on growing its user base for long-term success, sustained revenues can wait.
Overall, Roku's fourth-quarter report was encouraging, and the price reduction opened the purchasing window. Roku has faced bigger and wealthier competitors like Walmart and Vizio. According to linked TV security expert Pixalate, Roku's share of North American smart TV ads climbed from 50% in February 2023 to 55% one year later. The race isn't close.
I bought more Roku shares after the February price declines and may return in March. If you agree with my analysis, act now. Do your own research to determine this stock's bull-to-bear ratio.
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