Barry Schwartz

Macro environment for 2022. 2021 saw runaway inflation, interest rates ticking up, labour and supply issues. Yet the stock market still went up because earnings grew tremendously. Expectation is that it will continue in 2022, if not as buoyant. He's expecting a good year for earnings, but who knows what the market will do.

Stick with equities? We saw some great pressure going into the end of the year, especially with high growth, speculative names. Quality, profitable business that continue to increase profits and grow dividends every year are doing fine and will probably continue to do well. People will probably swear off the Zooms of the world for a while and go with what's working, which is businesses with real earnings and reasonable valuations. You have to be bullish on stocks. You don't really have any other choice. Staying optimistic on stocks works, year in year out.

Central banks raising rates, dialling back quantitative easing. Interest rates will go up, bond buying is tapering. Everyone knows this, and the market's already reflected on that. He's more concerned with what we don't know. Back in 2020, interest rates were cut by 1.5% and this has to be recouped. So interest rates have to increase by 1.5% as we eventually get back to normal. Before the pandemic, markets weren't that concerned about a rise in rates. So any increase would just take us back to where we were pre-Covid.

Core holding. Likes the business very much. Demand for mobile data is increasing across the globe. 10-year bond ticking up has put pressure on it. Continues to make acquisitions, increases rent every year, increases dividend. Very stable for the long term.

Likes it very much. CEO has done a remarkable job. Exposure to all the right accelerating trends like media, healthcare, video games, cloud, enterprise software. Not cheap, but one of the best businesses the world has every seen. Beautiful balance sheet. Incremental returns on capital. Avoiding regulatory concerns. Low-mid-high double digit returns over the long run. Grows free cashflow and EPS, buybacks. Everything's working. (Analysts’ price target is $371.00)

A great acquirer. Remarkable story. Huge free cashflow to make acquisitions or buy back stock. The company still sees opportunities. Kicks himself for never buying it. M&A skills outweigh the less robust outlook for the actual business.

Hasn't performed well since he made it a Top Pick. More a function of industry dynamics than the company's results. Subscriber growth is still improving, but has been impacted by the pandemic. Enormous amount of free cashflow. Buys back stock like crazy. Fundamentals are improving. He's buying more at these prices. No dividend.

Creating the "Home Depot" of flooring in the US. Sells to commercial and residential. Gaining market share. Ambitious plans to open more stores, which extend beyond the US. High growth business. Impacted by supply chain, but long term, you'll do well.

DIS vs. NFLX Opportunities with each, as they've both pulled back. Both have streaming, and DIS is more diverse. But NFLX is one of the world's greatest businesses. More subscribers to get and lines of business to add. In the next year or so, it will be free cashflow positive. In 5 years, so much free cash, it will buy back stock, make acquisitions, or pay dividends.

NFLX vs. DIS Opportunities with each, as they've both pulled back. Both have streaming, and DIS is more diverse. But NFLX is one of the world's greatest businesses. More subscribers to get and lines of business to add. In the next year or so, it will be free cashflow positive. In 5 years, so much free cash, it will buy back stock, make acquisitions, or pay dividends.

Unbelievable performance. Tamp down expectations going forward. The best business the world has ever seen. The world can't run without Apple. It will add more products and services. Metaverse and maybe a car are the next big addressable markets. Don't go crazy buying right now, but don't sell just because expectations are lower.

(A Top Pick Nov 25/20, Up 65%) An amazing 2021. Revenues will slow in 2022, but you'll still see high double-digit revenue growth. 15-16% going forward. Earnings should re-accelerate in 2023. New CFO is disciplined, slowing down the cash burn. Buying back stock. One of the best. Long-term holding. Reasonable here.

(A Top Pick Nov 25/20, Up 47%) Still plans for acquisitions. High free cashflow. Still opportunities. Spun off Topicus.com. Many speculate there will be more spinoffs.

(A Top Pick Nov 25/20, Up 45%) Terrific results for a boring old REIT. The CEO is the all-star. Someday they'll have a supply problem, but not for many years. Right now, they're building industrial space like crazy. One of the best run real estate companies in Canada, with global ambitions.

A disaster for 10 years. Nice dividend. Using all its free cashflow to buy back stock. Mediocre balance sheet. Low valuations, but what's the upside case? Earnings just aren't there. Name of the game is organic revenue growth. Stay away.