Gordon Reid

Has owned it in the past. When he held this at $180, the market was ignoring IBM's AI business and saw low growth. So, he bought it. IBM teamed up with Meta to enhance their Watson franchise. He made good money. Then, he started to see the PE rising into the 20s, and Accenture and other peers reported weak results. So, he exited and wouldn't re-enter.

Has few very large customers, big telcos and cable companies. They are laying fibre optics across North America to get rural America wired (most of America has poor connectivity). Enjoys a sales backlog, but the risk lies in a company deferring sales, say, out of poor weather.

Is not effected by tariffs, unless tariffs impact the broader economy strongly. BAC reports tomorrow and he expects good numbers. (Bank earnings today sees improving net interest income, which bodes well for BAC.)

Shares have been flat the last four year vs. the S&P up 65% and GM 68%. I positioned on tariffs better than their peers, because their production is in the US, but the problem is their production is expensive. That's why there was gloabalization--to reduce input costs.

Is very mispriced. The market feels that if Tesla succeeds in self-driving cars, it will put Uber out of business. No, won't happen. Nearly 20% of Uber's fleeting is autonomous now. Uber is outgrowing their valuation (the PE is dropping). They recently joined the S&P. They have a fantastic future.

The fear about them was that AI will eat into GOOG's search market share. Yes, AI will, but the overall search market will likely grow. So, GOOG's market share could shrink, but it's search business could still grow. He's bullish. Also, GOOG has a partnership with Uber in self-driving cars, an exciting, growing business. Third, GOOG owns YouTube which dominates the streaming market by far, bigger than Netflix.

AWS is growing again, AI is taking share and their e-commerce is humming along. Firing on all cylinders. Like Uber, they are growing into their numbers (PE) after investing in their future.

A year ago, we were at the bottom of capital markets and now it's better. There were 13 IPOs in the first half of 2024, and 61 this year. They are investing in technology, attracting tech companies compared to the NYSE.

A generation ago, their business was fixed income and capital markets. Now, 50% of business is wealth management. They have a toe in the water in capital markets, which should grow in the second half of this year with more M&A activity.

They keep missing the mark, keep lagging in this space. Are unlikely to recover. The C-suite has been a revolving door.

The problem with pharma is that their drugs all face a patent cliff. Over the last 25 years, pharma companies have tried to sustain themselves through consolidation (mergers, buying small companies). Caution: the dividend may look attractive, but that could be the result of the falling share price.

Is surprised by today's market reaction to their earnings, -5.5%. Weakness in the quarter was due to losing a large client in that quarter, but they grew 10% in new money. Results were guite good.

Is the biggest and best of the money centre banks, but trades at 2.2x book value vs. Citi's 0.7-0.8x book. Citi was punished but is under a new CEO. Citi is less exposed to international markets and that volatility. Numbers are showing positive. He likes both. But JPM is fully valued though continues to do good things. The other is a little riskier, but more potential upside.

Is the biggest and best of the money centre banks, but trades at 2.2x book value vs. Citi's 0.7-0.8x book. Citi was punished but is under a new CEO. Citi is less exposed to international markets and that volatility. Numbers are showing positive. He likes both. But JPM is fully valued though continues to do good things. The other is a little riskier, but more potential upside.