
NASDAQ:INTC
Made a very big acquisition of Altera, and thinks this is why the stock is under pressure. They have to flush out a little bit more and explain what they have done. A very interesting, but a very big acquisition. Feels the stock is going to be under probation for a while and will be going sideways for about 6 months.
This is a similar situation to Microsoft (MSFT-N) in that they are a very large company and generate a fair bit of cash, but there is really not a lot of traction. Although PCs have had a bit of resurgence, long term he doesn’t think much has changed in terms of predictions that it will be a falling situation.
The period of seasonal strength for technology is predominantly from October through to the middle of January. However, you can see a bit of a pickup in technology from around April through to July. This is where you would want to look to make your entry point. From now into mid April, technology tends to do rather poorly. It doesn’t necessarily go negative, but tends to underperform the market. The better time to invest is more towards April to June, and ideally, from October to January.
The undisputed leader in semiconductors. Many would say they are 3 years ahead of their competition when it comes to manufacturing technology, and they are accelerating their pace of innovation. Somewhat economically sensitive. Dominant in data centres, which has rapidly growing revenues. PC market seems to be stabilizing. Will probably grow 10%-12% a year going forward. They’re returning cash to shareholders by buying back shares and raising their dividend. It will grow its dividend at 15% per year. Yield of 2.64%.
Largest chip manufacturer globally. Has always tended to have cyclical earnings. Earnings have had a very nice run. Wouldn't want to be buying it here because if you look at the last 20 years, earnings can move up and down very significantly. You need to buy this when the gross margins are dropping a bit and earnings are down sharply. This will happen as it does in every cycle.
He likes big tech because it is a big cash flow generator and can be a big dividend grower. Their problem has been that they are so centric to PCs. They made an acquisition to help them with networking and data centers. Semiconductor companies are seeing strategic value in paying a premium to market. Private investors can buy at market value today yet acquirers are paying a premium. It is not quite as aggressive a position as some, but you make good money.