Michael Hakes - CFA, MBA

Definitely could get worse. We're seeing the early effects of a once in a thousand years president of the US and all its repercussions. 

If you look at Q1 numbers for US companies and what they were projecting for the second half of the year, auto companies all pulled guidance. Same thing with the airlines. Other companies, while not pulling guidance, have said it's really murky for the second half. 

We're slowly seeing the US walk back on all the extreme reciprocal tariffs that they announced on "liberation day". Now we're getting discussions with other countries such as the UK and China. That leaves about 193 countries to go. A long road, but going in the right direction.

From here we should, hopefully, see some stability in the markets.

Critical thing is going to be what the impact is for the consumer. There's going to be a pass-through of tariffs, and it depends on who bears the brunt -- manufacturer, importer, or consumer. Inflation's going to be coming through. Layoffs may tick up.

Then it's up to the Fed whether to tolerate the inflation as a one-off, or to focus on labour, when it decides whether to guide down or not. Jerome Powell really differentiates between his role and that of the government; he sees it as his job to ensure full employment with inflation around 2%. He's not anticipating, but is waiting for hard data, and it's difficult with tariffs in flux. To lower rates now would be putting fuel on the fire, exactly what you don't want.

Suffers from the conglomerate discount. Talking about splitting off semiconductor business. Then the remaining combo of gaming and music and movies would attract a valuation more in line with peers.

Fared very well during the downturn and reported great numbers last week. Very positive on it, based on the generative AI trend. Growing cloud business well. 365 Copilot gaining traction. Expected to grow 15% top and bottom lines. Not cheap at 28x.

Down, and Musk has been slamming his own brand. In fact, he should probably leave the company; Board has been debating this.

Very positive outlook, based on generative AI trend.

Very positive outlook, based on generative AI trend.

Very positive outlook, based on generative AI trend. The most controversial of the Mag 7, as AAPL reported yesterday that search queries are down for the first time ever. That struck a negative tone on GOOG. Over time there may be more competitors, and pricing may have to come down. Trades at only 15x earnings, good value here at $150-155.

Sold MLSE sports, bought a cable provider in the US. As late as Christmas, management was adamant that dividend would not be cut. The business is very difficult as a legacy communications company. Have to rely on mobile subscriptions. Competition's not getting easier. Stock's moved up, perhaps buyers are excited about it again. Yield is 6%.

Well managed. Super-competitive environment. Noted consumer weakness in US and globally. Great job adapting to changing environment over the last 30 years. Growth only about 5-7%. More expensive US mortgages have reduced disposable income.

Hangover from its Covid highs. Working on an obesity pill, but pulled back on it. Opportunities in the pipeline. Owned in his income growth portfolio for the yield. Despite the chart, likes it here. Fairly cheap, hopefully hitting a bottom (knock wood).

Nice yield over 4%. Trying to turnaround margins in France to match other segments; no luck yet, but optimism remains. High savings rates in France have put a lid on consumer spending. UK-US trade deal may boost optimism and spending.

Stock price has done a complete round trip over the past year. Big excitement of new CEO and new initiatives. Incurred costs up front, and these things take time, but he thinks these initiatives will gain traction over the next year or two. 

Chart did fine for a while, but then employees in China were under investigation. Results on one drug were interpreted very negatively. Phase 3 trials this year provide a lot of potential catalysts. Great suite of offerings. Not expensive.