The Most American Made
I can’t remember the last time I had an Oak Ridge Boys song bouncing around in my head. But, thanks to Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) and a new report from Cars.com … I’m singing “American Made” today, Great Ones.
You can have your Ford F-150 or your Dodge Ram dually. But the one that I love is from the U.S.A. and standing next to me … my Tesla is American-Made.
Note: I don’t actually own a Tesla. There just aren’t enough charging stations in Kentucky to make it worthwhile … yet.
So, move over Ford and GM: According to Cars.com, the Tesla Model 3 is the “most” American-made vehicle on the market. Cars.com started compiling its American-made index back in 2006 and uses criteria such as U.S. factory jobs, manufacturing plant location and parts sourcing.
And Tesla didn’t have just one vehicle on the list — its Model Y came in at No. 3, just behind the Ford Mustang.
Here’s the full listing, just in case you’re curious:
1. Tesla Model 3.
2. Ford Mustang.
3. Tesla Model Y.
4. Jeep Cherokee.
5. Chevrolet Corvette.
6. Honda Ridgeline.
7. Honda Odyssey.
8. Honda Pilot.
9. Honda Passport.
10. Toyota Tundra.
I don’t know about you, but that is a very poor showing for the supposedly U.S. automakers. In fact, Honda appears to have more American-made cars than any of the “Big Three.”
Regardless, TSLA shares rebounded nearly 5% today … though, I think that has more to do with Bitcoin’s (BTC) 16% bounce than claiming the title of most American-made vehicle.
Now, I know that one of the first rules of investing is to remove emotion from the equation … and there are few things in this country more emotional than “Buy American!”
Like most Americans, I try to buy local whenever it’s possible. But when it comes to investing, your future, your retirement … your family should all come first, even if that means taking advantage of Chinese stocks to fuel your retirement stateside.
But what if you could do both? I mean, sure, there’s Tesla … and that’s an excellent investment not only in an American-made automaker but also for green energy and sustainability reasons.
But if you want to take things even further … there’s another perfect storm brewing in the energy industry that’s created a $16 trillion investment opportunity. And the small North American company at the center of it all is yet to hit the headlines.
Don’t miss the boat on this opportunity. Find out what’s going on now.
Good: When You Dip, I Dip
Live by the bitcoin … die by the bitcoin. That’s been the story for MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) since the company bought billions in cryptocurrency last year. It’s become so bad that MSTR basically trades in parity with BTC now.
What does MicroStrategy even do anymore? Yes, I know it’s an enterprise analytic-software company … but it certainly doesn’t trade on fundamentals or even its own business operations anymore. It’s all bitcoin, all the time now.
As you can imagine, the recent crypto crash sent MSTR stock spiraling lower. The shares are now down 55% from their February highs, and we can thank a cratering bitcoin for the plunge.
But even as bitcoin taketh away, it also giveth … or something like that. MicroStrategy is on the mend today, up nearly 4%, due to bitcoin’s rebound. Furthermore, the company said that it bought another $489 million in bitcoin on Monday.
This will either turn out to be a brilliant move by MicroStrategy, or it’ll be the company’s albatross … or lodestone … or whatever. Just pick your favorite mythical metaphor for demise, and insert it here.
For now, however, if you’re afraid to invest directly in bitcoin and the thought of “blockchain” gives you the heebie-jeebies, MSTR is a pretty good substitute for riding BTC’s success.
Better: This Winnebago Has Wings
RV maker Winnebago (NYSE: WGO) just crushed Wall Street’s earnings expectations for the fourth quarter in a row — and it wasn’t even close.
The company raked in $2.16 per share on sales of $961 million last quarter. Analysts expected a measly profit of $1.77 per share on just $837 million in sales.
So, why did WGO fall more than 2% today? Is this the ol’ 2021 two-step rearing its ugly head again?
Not exactly. It’s no secret that Winnebago got a major boost from the pandemic. With nearly everything locked down to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Americans took to the open roads. If the cities and their dazzling lights weren’t open, the countryside surely was.
Now, however, investors are worried that Winnebago has seen its last hurrah for the time being. Since lockdowns are (hopefully) a thing of the past, Wall Street believes that Winnebago’s sales growth will stagnate. In other words, it’s profit-taking time.
But, while these are very valid concerns, investors may be jumping the gun a bit on WGO profit-taking. Right now, millions of Americans are quitting their jobs instead of going back to the office. People would rather work remote in a new job than go back to their old cubical farms … and, honestly, who can blame them?
This is where Winnebago steps in. If you truly want to be free while working remote, what better way than to snap up a Winnebago and truly work remote?
I’m not saying this new American labor movement will be as big a boon as a pandemic lockdown, but I do believe that Wall Street isn’t fully taking into account this “new normal” working life when it comes to WGO’s valuation.
In fact, WGO may be one of the Great Reopening’s biggest sleeper picks. I’m definitely keeping a close eye on this one.
Best: A Monopoly? Who, Me?
Lawsuits and antitrust investigations — they’re as American as, uhh, apparently Teslas and Hondas.
Today’s “best,” shocking enough, is more antitrust flak for both Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN).
Several state attorneys general are looking to sue Google over its supposed Play Store dominance, much like the suit Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) currently dealing with over its App Store.
The point of contention here is how Google manages its Play Store rules and restrictions — and the amount of the revenue cut it’s asking from developers.
Sound familiar? It should … because Apple and Google both keep butting against this antitrust wall, where regulators kinda sorta maybe come close to doing something about Big Tech’s monopolistic tendencies, and then just … don’t.
And lawsuits like these will keep happening as long as Google merely receives petty fines that, to Google, are now a cost of doing business. A slap on the wrist as it continues to muscle around every market it wants in on.
Now, Amazon’s newest hoopla is a slightly different matter. The Federal Trade Commission is looking deeper at the company’s $8.5 billion bid to take over MGM, which would give Amazon Prime a better foothold in the content-producing game.
This should tell you one thing: Antitrust scrutiny is so high right now that Amazon’s attempts to even catch up to Netflix in Disney in the streaming market will be under the monopolistic microscope. So, what makes this today’s “best?”
Put short: This heightened antitrust scrutiny should’ve been on Big Tech for years now — both in the EU and stateside. It’s deserved and overdue. And I know more than a few of you have strong opinions on breaking up Big Tech that you’re sending our way.
Whether or not anything ever comes of these lawsuits and antitrust probes is another matter entirely. And on that note…
In last week’s poll, we wanted to get a pulse check on Great Ones’ thoughts about video game stocks, what with Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) trying to find its footing as its main gaming audience, well, goes outside to play.It is Wednesday, my Great Ones!
Two thirds of you don’t care what goes into your portfolio as long as sick gains, confetti and rainbows come out of it. I mean, that’s … that’s why we’re here too. Maybe at some point, Great Stuff Picks will have a video game play — maybe not.
But I can tell you we won’t be jumping into the Roblox metaverse anytime soon … for better or for worse. (Sorry, Willi S.)
Roughly a third of you Great Ones either hate video games (and their stocks), don’t care much about ‘em or simply balked at the concept of video games to begin with. Whatever floats your goat. But for the single soul out there who agrees that gaming is life, I salute you.
Let me know your own video game trade here … while we dive into our next poll!
Your mission today: Pin the tail on the monopoly. We have all the usual antitrust suspects lined up below — and it’s up to you to pick which Big Tech bozo you think is the biggest monopoly threat.
Is it Apple’s walled garden? Amazon’s brick-and-mortar Armageddon? Or maybe Facebook & Google’s everlasting lust for your personal data? Click below, and let me know!
Didn’t see your suspect in the lineup? Write in and let us know! We’d love to hear what other companies you think are playing the game of capitalism a bit too hard — especially if you have thoughts on non-tech monopolies.
GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com is our rusty, trusty inbox that you can write to anytime. If the market’s muse strikes you at 3:15 a.m. and you neeeEEEeeed to tell Mr. Great Stuff your millionaire-making idea, don’t you dare hold back on me!
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Until next time, stay Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff
