Friday Feedback: When Chipmakers Attack & SPACs In The Back

Friday Feedback: The “Meet Your Makers” Edition

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend. Come inside! Come inside!

Come inside, the show’s about to start — guaranteed to blow your head apart. Rest assured, you’ll get your money’s worth…

Great Ones, it’s time for the inaugural edition of Great Stuff’s Friday Feedback!

But … what happened to Friday Four Play? I miss my Four Play already!

First of all … umm … phrasing? Are we not doing phrasing anymore?

Second, Friday Four Play is now Thursday Throwdown. And, contrariwise, Thursday’s Reader Feedback is now Friday Feedback. Capisce?

Oooh! Mr. Great Stuff’s getting craaaazy around here!

Crazy? You want crazy? Keep reading. I’m loaded for bear with crazy today. You guys were in quite the mood last week, I’ll say.

So, Friday Feedback is just like the usual Great Stuff Reader Feedback … except, well … it’s on a Friday. Insane, I know.

As usual, this is our weekly dive into the Great Stuff Mailbag … to seek out new life, new civilizations … to boldly invest where other people have invested before. I mean, it’s sad but true if you think about it.

Anywho … if you want in on the fun, just drop us a line at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com! We’ll answer just about anything — market-related or not. Keep reading, take the red pill, and you’ll see just how far down this rabbit hole goes.

And now, for today’s featured presentation:

Applied Materials and Lam Research are companies that make the machines that make the semiconductors. We have a semiconductor shortage, as evidenced by Ford shutting down some of its lines today.

So, are the two mentioned above a value for purchase now, or wait till the hammer drops on them? This may be of interest to many of your readers.

— Dave B.

Dave B., my man! How are ya? Thank you for writing in!

You know, Dave, that is an excellent investing idea. The world needs more semiconductor production, for sure.

From Ford to Toyota to Tesla to NIO, automakers are idling plants all across the globe. Who knew that in this brave new digital world, semiconductors were the real lifeblood of the global economy?

Seriously? We all should’ve known. I’d like to say that I knew … but you can search the internet and prove that wrong with a few clicks. What I did say, way back in 2019, is that Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) “builds the machines that make semiconductors and integrated circuits for the IoT and 5G to run on.”

IoT is the “Internet of Things” for those newbies out there, and it’s a market that’s still growing at light speed. (It was growing at Plaid speed before this whole shortage thing started, though.)

When I recommended buying AMAT stock, I didn’t plan on a global chip shortage. I planned on increased demand due to IoT, 5G and growing AI needs. I figured chipmakers like AMD, Intel, Nvidia and Apple would need even more chips to take advantage of those markets.

It just so happens that this increased demand was met with an almost immediate shortage of supply that had nothing to do with increased demand — i.e., COVID-19. However, because of my forethought on existing demand, I nailed the AMAT bull run.

Great Stuff Picks readers now sit on a 116% gain on AMAT … and there’s more to come.

Just to catch up to current demand, chipmakers need to invest in new equipment. To meet future demand once this pandemic is over, those same chipmakers will probably need even more new equipment — especially if they want to keep rolling out newer and faster semiconductors and processors.

If you missed buying AMAT stock when I recommended it back in 2019, you’re getting another chance to buy in now. AMAT has been in a sideways trading pattern since March, consolidating the past year’s impressive gains. There will be another upside breakout soon, so this lull in the action is a boon for AMAT bulls.

This is also true for AMAT’s competitor, Lam Research (Nasdaq: LRCX). Lam also makes the hardware that allows chipmakers to make chips.

However, LRCX is a bit pricey. The stock trades north of $600, and while this makes the shares a bit more stable and less subject to wild price fluctuations, it’s also a barrier to entry for many smaller investors. That’s a fair amount of cash to tie up in one position.

Personally, I prefer AMAT because I think the company has more room to grow than Lam. And that means bigger returns for you … which is why I recommended AMAT in the first place.

So, Dave, to answer your question directly: Now is the time to buy AMAT … and LCRX if you are so inclined, even though it’s not a Great Stuff Pick.

Thank you again for writing in!

Editor’s Note: The No. 1 Investment Of The 2020s

A technology that my colleague Adam calls “Imperium” is about to spark the biggest investment mega trend in history … with one small Silicon Valley company at the center of it all.

Elon Musk calls it “amazing…” While a Harvard Ph.D. says it could “[surpass] the space, atomic and electronic revolutions in its significance.”

To get all the details, click here now!

Great Stuff Reader Feedback

And now what you’ve all been waiting for … Reader Feedback!

Y’all have shared some really … eccentric … thoughts with us in the Great Stuff virtual mailbag this week. Yeah, let’s go with “eccentric.” There must’ve been something Truly funky in the Great Stuff water this past week.

If you missed yesterday’s ramble about El Salvador’s bitcoin boogaloo … or you just skimmed that entire section I wrote you at the top … then you also missed a very important announcement: Reader Feedback has moved to Fridays!

I know, I know. I’m not good with change, either. But this is a good thing, I tell you! A great thing! Now you’ll be able to catch all those mid-week movers and shakers that get eclipsed by the time Friday rolls around.

Can you dig the day change? Are we still BFFs? Or are you shaking a cane in our general direction?

If you haven’t written to us in a while, there’s no time like the present. Drop us a line at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com and let us know what you think … ranting, raving and general confusion are all welcome.

With that out of the way … let’s make like a Dunwich denizen and dive headfirst into the madness, shall we?

Wait … Even Greater Stuff?

I would pay five dollars a month for updates and current portfolio information if it also included options recommendations. I love the daily read and look forward to this if it happens. — Jeremy T.

If what you showed in your chart was the entirety of the portfolio, and you have shown all losses during that period, you have an incredible return for any of your followers. And yes, I would be a $5 – $10 per month interested subscriber. — Wayne

I received an email from you yesterday for the first time and loved it! Love the humor, and it was packed with a lot of great information. I would definitely be willing to pay $5 per month for Great Stuff picks. — Raylene P.

YES… Yes, I would be interested in a permanent home for [the] Great Stuff portfolio/info for a meager cost of $5/mo (+/-)!!! I love Great Stuff (after I finally took the plunge to see what it was all about) and can’t get enough! Maybe not having to wade thru my inbox to find you would be more palatable :) Cheers! — D.

Thank you all!

I wanted to test the waters and float this idea by you first … to feel for any nibbles on the bait. That bait? Exclusive premium Great Stuff!

Sure, the Stuff you read is great and all, but there are a few other ideas we may or may not have cooking up on a back burner somewhere. Access to members-only content (no jacket required), actionable investing news, updates on Great Stuff Picks … you let me know in the inbox what’s on your wish list.

And let me tell you that, should we ever offer such a sneak peek behind the velvet ropes — especially for a cheap, chump change finder’s fee — you will be the first to know about it, right here in these virtual pages.

We’re All Mad Here

Stop sending this crap its to much crap 10 emails a day. — Gerry V.

Wall Street: Craaaap!

Mr. Great Stuff: Crap, oh, thank you, crap. Haha. Yes, that’s fine.

Gerry: Oh no no, no no, no, you’ll get crumbs in it!

Mr. Great Stuff: Oh, this is the very best crap! What are you talking about?

Shaka, When The Walls Fell

You are way too young to know about Mikkos Cassadine and the Ice Princess! lol

Great read. — Keith

grandma meme talk about general hospital soaps meme

Thanks for writing in, Keith! How old do you think I am, out of curiosity?

I’m old enough to remember how Luke, Laura and Robert all teamed up to steal the Ice Princess — a rather large uncut diamond for those non-General Hospital watchers out there.

And Mikkos in the ice chamber with all the frozen people.

Now that was good soap opera stuff right there.

I also remember Bo and Hope from Days of Our Lives and Dark Shadows … and now I’m ashamed of myself. I really should have gone outside more as a kid…

Help! Help! My SPAC’s Being Suppressed!

You say yes, I say no, you say SPAC, I say go go go. I don’t know why you say goodbye I say hello.

All this SPAC attack talk is suppressing some pretty good collaborations. I won’t mention names to protect the innocent, but it seems to me that the Wall Street pundits may have an interest to hold them down. SPACs go against the traditional IPO grain and allow the retail investors a way in at a decent price.

All SPACs are not good, but there are some really good ones. Just do your due before you do what you do and be patient. — Dick K.

When you’re right, you’re right, Dick. I couldn’t have said it better myself (but that won’t stop me from trying).

I’m not opposed to SPACs as a concept … if you’ve followed Great Stuff Picks, you know that we’ve partaken in the SPAC shebang a few times. And it’s through those trades that we’ve learned what to look for and what to avoid when treating yourself to a freshly baked SPAC, i.e., actual products and earnings growth.

Investing in SPACS know the rules, so do I meme

Would it unnerve me if you said your portfolio was all SPACs? Yeah, definitely. I admire gall in an investor, but you need some solid, steady growth on your plate, my man! Some meat and potatoes to balance out those super sweet SPAC morsels.

C+ on the metaphor game today, Mr. Great Stuff.

SPACs like Hyzon (Nasdaq: HYZN) are the treat on top. And like I said in last week’s Reader Feedback, we’re finally making some headway in HYZN as the investing herd catches on to hydrogen … somewhat.

Anyway, I appreciate your due diligence when getting into SPACs. It’d be easy to get swept up in the talking heads purposefully misconstruing the SPAC slowdown. Don’t just filter feed tickers off CNBC! You’re better than that, you’re a Great One.

Our “positive pep talk” quote for the day should be covered by now … thanks for kicking this off, Dick! If you’d told me that your email was the sanest of the bunch this week, well, I probably would’ve stopped reading the inbox by Wednesday…

I’m kidding … for the most part. Your emails are the highlight of my week, believe it or not … well, you and James S., our self-proclaimed “biggest fan” — for whom we just ran outta space this week. Sorry, buddy. Read your emails, though, so thank you for writing in as well!

As for the rest of you degenerates, write to me this weekend with your thoughts, questions or concerns, no matter how far down the rabbit hole you think they are.

Also, if you completely stopped receiving Great Stuff — an absolute travesty! — then be sure to write to GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com after you’ve stopped panicking. Everyone else, keep on keeping on!

In the meantime, here’s where you can find our other junk — erm, I mean where you can check out some more Greatness: