From Construction to Crypto?
Monday, Monday. So good to me?
It’s Monday, Great Ones … and even a little The Mamas & the Papas isn’t helping shake off the weekend funk. Every other day (every other day) of the week is fine. Except for Thursday … I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Anyway, today you get a rant on bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, blockchain and a former construction contractor — whether you wanted it or not.
As is par for the course lately, our bitcoin rant starts out with Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). Wedbush analyst Dan Ives notes: “Tesla so far has made roughly $1 billion of profit over the last month from its Bitcoin investment.”
That’s quite an investment, but let’s put that $1 billion in stark perspective. During the last five quarters, Tesla reported net income of $969 million. In other words, the company has made more off its bitcoin investment than it has selling electric vehicles (EVs)!
Let that sink in: Tesla has made more money on bitcoin in two months than it has in the past year by selling Tesla EVs.
One might wonder why Tesla would even bother selling EVs in the first place. But, anyone who follows Elon Musk knows that the Tesla CEO isn’t happy with just massive profits. If he was, Musk would’ve stopped after selling off his PayPal stake back in 1999 — party over, oops, out of time.
The Mamas & the Papas into Prince? What?
Stay focused! I’m going somewhere with this.
But not every ego is as development-driven as Elon Musk’s. Enter Tesoro Enterprises (OTC: TSNP).
Up until about a month ago, Tesoro specialized in construction supplies, including flooring and wall coverings for contractors and interior designers. Back then, TSNP was the definition of a penny stock, trading mostly for less than a penny per share.
That all changed in February when Tesoro merged with HUMBL Financial and became a blockchain technology investor. Now, I don’t know what polished wood flooring or marble countertops have to do with cryptocurrencies, but that doesn’t seem to matter to investors.
In a press release, Tesoro said that it would release “non-custodial, algorithmically driven financial technology services that allow customers to purchase and hold digital assets in pre-set allocations through their own exchange accounts.”
That’s a whole (insert your favorite expletive here) load of corporate jargon, but it essentially means that Tesoro wants to help you invest in an ETF-like basket of cryptocurrencies.
The catch is that Tesoro isn’t actually creating an ETF. The SEC has so far shut that down. Instead, the company is using software to help you essentially create your own crypto ETF. Tesoro stock went on a tear, surging more than 300%.
There are two takeaways here:
- Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have become so hot that even construction companies are dropping out of business to become crypto companies. It’s giving me dot-com flashbacks.
- Now more than ever, you need a guide to help you navigate the insanity in the bitcoin and crypto market.
Let’s face it. You’re not Elon Musk. You’re not making $1 billion on a crypto investment anytime soon. You don’t have $1.5 billion to drop on Bitcoin, and if you did, you’d probably not drop it on bitcoin.
One thing’s for certain: You might not be able to make EVs out of your home, but you can certainly invest in cryptocurrencies. And Tesla is proof that there’s a metric crap ton of money to be made in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
However, while you have Great Stuff to warn you of sketchy companies like Tesoro, I can’t cover every single crypto and bitcoin poser that hits the Street. Tesoro has been trading for nearly a month now, after all, and I’m just now getting to it.
What you need is someone like Ian “The Crypto” King … and Ian’s Next Wave Crypto Fortunes service is pouncing on winning opportunities left and right.
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When you go here, Ian will give you the chance to see his three favorite cryptocurrencies — that could make you 12 times your money over the next 12 months.
The Good: Mouse Hunters
A few months ago, when Discovery+ was first announced and dreams of constant Guy Fieri reruns were but a twinkle in my eye … even I admitted it’s a helluva time to start a streaming service.
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) are tangoing at the top of the streaming heap, but below them, it’s a dog-eat-dog nether zone of other streamers trying to gain traction.
And it was only a matter of time before the cable dinosaurs lumbered into the fray. Discovery+, I long believed, would follow AT&T’s (NYSE: T) path toward digital mediocrity, but today, I’m pleasantly surprised.
Discovery (Nasdaq: DISCA) announced earnings today, and the report was nothing to rave about. Unlike Disney’s countless profit-seeking tendrils, there’s not much else to Discovery’s business than what you see on the TV screen.
Ad revenue, distribution revenue — it’s the same old shtick on either side of the digital streaming divide. Amid the pandemic, Discovery’s ad business remained relatively unscathed. Revenue stayed flat, which is a plus considering the ad spending glut we had talked about, and earnings beat expectations.
Thing is, even Discovery’s board got bored of the fourth-quarter report’s tedium and turned to more exciting news: Discovery+. The service didn’t officially launch until 2021 began, but subscriber numbers are all anyone wanted to hear from Discovery today.
Already, Discovery+ has 11 million subscribers and is expected to cross 12 million by the end of February. Sure, it seems paltry compared to Netflix passing the 100 million sub mark, but when you think of how quickly Discovery’s gained its following, I only hope DISCA can keep the momentum a-rolling to pose a threat to the digital bigwigs.
For now, at least it makes streaming (and the streaming market) that much more interesting. DISCA is up about 8% today on the news.
The Bad: A State of DISHrepair
On the other side of the cord-cutting fence lies DISH Network (Nasdaq: DISH).
Where Discovery is bragging up subscriber gains, DISH is just happy to have subscribers left. The cable-and-internet monstrosity is still bleeding out its user base like a stuck pig. Last quarter alone, DISH lost 133,000 pay-TV subs and 363,000 wireless subs.
Yet somehow, DISH finagled an earnings beat. Per-share earnings reached $1.24, topping estimates for $0.75. Revenue hit $4.56 billion — still nothing to scoff at — and beat expectations for $4.4 billion. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Lowered. Expectations. Like … stupidly low. DISH is still profitable for now, but where does it go from here? Who’s subscribing to DISH from here on out? Is it you? (Really, if it’s you, drop me a line and explain what I’m missing.)
DISH targets people who don’t have cable or broadcast access, rural subscribers or cable subs looking for a new deal once their cable intro rate expires. But that pool of customers is dwindling — fast. And once StarLink or other faster satellite internet services are up and running, DISH becomes obsolete, especially with younger generations.
So, all that said, what’s DISH up to these days? Any turnaround plans? Streaming services? Something?
Nope, DISH is dropping $10 billion to waddle up to the 5G market. You know … for whoever’s left on DISH wireless by the time this actually comes to fruition.
The Ugly: It’s Raining Boeing
When it rains, it pours — and in Denver, it’s raining Boeing (NSYE: BA) engines. At least it’s not raining men…
Over the weekend, a United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL) Boeing 777 made an emergency landing in Denver after one of the plane’s engines “malfunctioned,” causing it to rain debris on Denver subdivisions — in the high school halls, in the shopping malls, fasten those seatbelts or be cast out!
“Malfunctioned” is a nice word for the video of a flaming 777 jet engine that went viral over the weekend.
Following the incident, airline regulators in the U.S. and Japan have grounded the Boeing 777. The FAA called for “immediate or stepped-up inspections” of the airplane.
I’m not going to rush to judge here, and neither should Great Stuff Picks investors. If you hold BA like I recommended back in December, keep holding. The position is up about 1% despite a rough start to the year, COVID-19 and all.
Furthermore, we don’t yet know if this incident was due to a design flaw or United Airlines inspection and maintenance practices. Or if the entire incident was just a fluke.
Is it bad optics for Boeing? Yes. This is quite an ugly situation, especially after the 737 MAX just resumed flight operations. But at this point, it’s no reason to bail on a company with a strong history and solid growth prospects as travel ramps up and COVID lockdowns wind down.
Boeing will come back.
The height of earnings season is nigh, and this week still offers a lil’ something for everyone — like a discount Whitman’s sampler of cross-sector goodness.
Here’s what you have to look forward to in this week’s earnings, straight from Earnings Whispers on Twitter:
For fans of Great Stuff Picks (myself included, obviously), Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) is right in the spotlight this week. It’s pulled back slightly after a bang-up January, but any bit of good news could send PLUG and its hopeful hydrogen hodlers to the moon.
In somewhat less exciting new energy news, there’s Hyliion (NYSE: HYLN). Some of y’all wrote in on the EV maker’s recent battery tech unveilings, but do keep in mind that none of that new jazz will show up in this report.
Hyliion’s still a fresh face ‘round the earnings confessional, and much of its post-SPAC hype has been decimated since late-September. Any whiff of substantial earnings should juice up HYLN somewhat.
Now, Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) always seem to line up in the same week for our usual home improvement updates. Both continue to see the same homebuilding headwinds: new home construction, remodeling new buys from the aging housing supply or just making up stuff to do out of boredom.
The DIY duo isn’t the only head-to-head match-up this week, though.
Upwork (Nasdaq: UPWK) — speak of the freelance devil — is also playing second fiddle to the brilliant year-over-year growth posted by Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR) last week. Upwork also stands to boon from the gig economy’s side-hustling trend, but Fiverr already set my expectations high (and I just found out about the dang site to begin with).
Likewise, real estate platform Redfin (Nasdaq: RDFN) stands in the shadow of Zillow’s (Nasdaq: Z) blowout report earlier this month. And as Zillow’s business becomes more than just a window-shopping site for prospective movers, Redfin needs to pack heat with each new report.
Now, before you start writing in, yes, we glossed over a few names — did you see how packed this schedule is?! I guarantee we’ll touch on much of this list later in this week’s ‘Stuff, so stay tuned. Why don’t you let me know what you’re watching this week?
GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. Drop us a line anywhere, anytime with your earnings thoughts and any burning questions on your mind.
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Until next time, stay Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff