Category: Dividend Stocks

Companies return profits to shareholders through two main channels, capital gains and income. A high dividend yield indicates that a company is returning a large amount of cash to shareholders relative to the value of the company. This allows investors to maximize their income received relative to their investment amount. The gross dividend is calculated from the net dividend amount paid to shareholders plus the value of any attached franking credits associated with those dividends. A fully franked dividend will have franking credits equal to 30% of the gross dividend value, which can, therefore, represent a significant source of additional value.

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Dividend Stocks Expert Insights

Australia and NZ Banking Group reported strong FY21 results with cash profit up by 65%

Investment Thesis:

  • Loan deferrals are falling, with economic conditions not as dire as earlier predicted
  • ANZ is trading on an undemanding valuation, with 1.2x Price to Book (P/B) and dividend yield of 5.2%
  • Extensive fiscal and monetary policy support are providing enough liquidity in the market to avoid mass stress points in property market and unemployment numbers
  • All else being equal, ANZ is offering an attractive dividend yield on a 2-yr (5.4%) and 3-Yr (5.8%) view
  • Net interest margin (NIM) remains under pressure, but some offsetting tailwinds could see NIMs hold up better than market expectations
  • The banks have aggressively provisions for loan losses, should this surprise on the upside the share price will see additional support
  • Strong capital position could lead to ongoing capital management initiatives
  • Continued focus on cost could yield results which come in ahead of market expectations

Key Risks:

  • Any unexpected customer remediation provisions
  • Loan deferrals turn into structurally impaired loans
  • Intense competition for already subdued credit growth
  • Increase in bad and doubtful debts or increase in provisioning especially any Australian and institutional single exposure loan losses
  • Funding pressure for deposits and wholesale funding
  • Credit risk with potential default of mortgages, personal and business loans and credit cards
  • Potential changes to Australian Banking legislation
  • Significant exposure to the Australian property market
  • Operating costs come in below market expectations

Key highlights:

  • It reported strong FY21 results which reflected Cash profit (from continuing operations) up +65% to $6,198m due to partial reversal of Covid-19 related credit provisions  
  • Mainly driven by Australia Retail & Commercial despite challenges in home loans processing
  • In August 2021, ANZ commenced a buy-back of $1.5bn shares on-market
  • Statutory profit was up +72% to $6,162m
  • Cash profit (from continuing operations) up +65% to $6,198m due to partial reversal of Covid-19 related credit provisions and driven by Australia Retail & Commercial despite challenges in home loans processing
  • In terms of credit quality, ANZ’s total provision result was a net release of $567m (collective provision (CP) release of $823m and individually assessed provision (IP) charge of $256m)
  • Net Interest Margin were stable at 2.61%.

Company Description: 

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) is one of the four major banking institutions in Australia with an international presence having activities in general banking, mortgage and instalment lending, life insurance, leasing, hire purchase and general finance. In addition, ANZ operates in international and

investment banking, investment and portfolio management and advisory services, nominee and custodian services, stock broking and executor and trustee services.

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks

Macquarie Group source new growth opportunities for good future earnings outlook

Investment Thesis

  • Significant operations across the globe, which provides diversity in business and geographic mix.
  • Changing business mix has seen the company move to more reliable (annuity style) earnings stream – making it a more quality (less volatile) business. 
  • Solid management team. 
  • Strong infrastructure business, which should benefit further government polices to drive economic growth. 
  • Push into green energy is a positive. 
  • Solid balance sheet, with surplus capital available for deployment (i.e. growth opportunities). 
  • Management unable to quantify FY21 earnings guidance due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Potential capital management initiatives in the absence of investment in growth opportunities. 

Key Risks

  • Weakness / volatility in financial markets.
  • Change in regulatory landscape.
  • Weakness in asset values (e.g. MQG’s co-investments).
  • Increased competition for advisory work.
  • Value / EPS destructive acquisitions.
  • Company fails to achieve its FY20 guidance. 

1H22 Result Summary

  • Net operating income of A$7.8bn increased +41% over pcp, driven by higher Fee and commission income (+32% over pcp), Net interest and trading income (+20% over pcp), Net other operating income (+75% over pcp) and Share of net profits/(losses) from associates and joint ventures (A$242m vs loss of A$54m in pcp), which combined with total operating expenses of A$5.1bn (+19% over pcp), delivered NPAT of A$2.04bn (+107% over pcp). 
  • Net credit and other impairment charges declined -48.5% over pcp to A$230m, with lower charges recognised across most operating segments reflecting improvement in expected macroeconomics conditions.
  • Annualised ROE increased +350bps over 2H21 to 17.8%.
  • The Board announced A$1.5bn of capital raising in the form of a non-underwritten institutional placement followed by a non-underwritten share purchase plan, to provide additional flexibility to invest in new opportunities.
  • The Board declared an interim ordinary dividend of A$2.72 per share (40% franked), up +101.5% over pcp, representing a payout ratio of 50%.

Company Profile 

Macquarie Group (MQG) is a leading provider of financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. The company has operations around the globe, including world’s major financial centres. The company operates the following key divisions: Macquarie Asset Management; Corporate and Asset Finance; Banking and Financial Services; Commodities and Global Markets; and Macquarie Capital. MQG has over 14,000 employees in over 25 countries across Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia, Americas and Australia).  

(Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks

Westpac Banking Corp reported solid FY21 along with $3.5bn off-market Buy-Back

Investment Thesis 

  • Strong franchise model with management pushing towards lowering the bank’s cost to income ratio.
  • Improving loan growth profile and potential to grow above system growth. 
  • Better than expected outcome on net interest margin (NIM). 
  • Excess capital presents the potential for additional capital management (buybacks). 
  • Strong provisioning coverage.
  • Macro environment – domestic & global – is improving with extensive monetary and fiscal policies. 
  • A well-diversified loan book.

Key Risks

  • Intense competition for loan growth.
  • Margin pressure.
  • Ongoing remediation expenses. 
  • Housing market stress. 
  • Increase in bad and doubtful debts or increase in provisioning.
  • Funding pressure for deposits and wholesale funding (increased funding costs).
  • Any legal fees, settlements, loss or penalties.

FY21 Results Highlights

Relative to the pcp: 

  • Statutory net profit of $5,458m, was up +138%. Cash earnings of $5,352, was up +105%. Excluding notable items, cash earnings of $6,953m, was up +33%. Cash EPS of 146 cents, was up +102%. 
  • WBC reported 2021 impairment benefit of $590m and sound credit quality with stressed exposures to total committed exposures at 1.36%, down 55bps. Australian 90+ day mortgage delinquencies at 1.07%, down 55bps. Impaired exposures down 23% in the year. 
  • Net Interest Margins of 2.04%, was down 4bps. WBC’s Australian mortgage lending was up +3% ($14.7bn) whilst Australian business lending was up +4% in 2H21. WBC’s total customer deposits was up +4% ($24.9bn). 
  • ROE of 7.6%, was up +372bps. Excluding notable items, ROE of 9.8%, up +212bps. 
  • CET1 capital ratio was 12..

Details of up to $3.5bn off-market Buy-Back

According to WBC’s Buy-Back booklet: (1) The Buy-Back provides Eligible Shareholders the opportunity to sell some or all of their Shares to Westpac. Participation is voluntary. (2) Eligible Shareholder can offer to sell some or all of your Shares to Westpac: at a Discount to the Market Price nominated by you of between 8% and 14% inclusive (at 1% intervals); and/or at the final Buy-Back Price (as a Final Price Application). Shareholders can also select a Minimum Price. If the Buy-Back Price is below the Minimum Price, none of the Shares will be bought back.

Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) is one of the major Australian Banks. The bank services individuals and businesses such as SMEs, corporations, and institutional clients. The bank’s core segments include Retail Banking, Business Banking, Institutional Banking, Consumer Banking and its wealth management business, BT Financial Group (Australia).  

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks Philosophy Shares Technical Picks

Quantitative Equities Continue to be a Drag on Janus Henderson’s Fund Flow Recovery

leaving them more dependent on market gains to increase their assets under management. With USD 419.3 billion in AUM at the end of September 2021, Janus Henderson has the size and scale necessary to be competitive in the industry and is structurally set up to hold on to assets regardless of market conditions, being somewhat diversified across its four main asset class segments–equities (two thirds of managed assets), fixed income (close to a fifth), multi-asset and alternatives (the remainder). 

During that same period, the firm’s organic growth rate averaged negative 5.1%, with a standard deviation of 2.4%, which was worse than the average of its publicly traded peers, with revenue growth and operating margins both trailing the average results for the U.S.-based asset managers. Janus Henderson’s organic growth to be in a negative 2%-4% range annually during 2021-25, with revenue growth and operating margins affected by industry fee compression and the need to spend more to enhance performance and distribution.

Financial strength

Janus Henderson entered 2021 with USD 300 million of 4.875% senior notes due in July 2025, leaving it with a debt/total capital ratio of around 6%, interest coverage of more than 50 times, and a debt/EBITDA ratio (by our calculations) of 0.4 times. The company also had a USD 200 million unsecured revolving credit facility (with a maturity date of February 2024). Under the credit facility, the company’s financing leverage ratio cannot exceed 3 times EBITDA. There were no borrowings under the credit facility at the end of September 2021. Should the firm close out the year in line with our expectations, Janus Henderson will enter 2022 with a debt/total capital ratio of around 6%, interest coverage of close to 70 times, and a debt/EBITDA ratio (by our calculations) of 0.3 times.

The company declared an initial quarterly dividend of USD 0.32 per share during the third quarter of 2017 and has since raised it to USD 0.38 per share. As for share repurchases, the company repurchased approximately 4.0 million shares for USD 100 million during 2018, another 9.4 million shares for USD 200 million during 2019, and during 2020 picked up 8.7 million shares for USD 180 million. In February 2021, Janus Henderson repurchased 8.0 million shares of common stock (which was distinct from its corporate buyback program) from Dai-ichi Life Holdings for USD 230 million. The firm has also repurchased 1.8 million shares for USD 75 million as part of its buyback program since the start of 2021.

Bulls Say’s

  • Janus Henderson is the only offshore-based global wealth manager listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. It provides investors exposure to a growing global wealth sector, with a high bias toward equity strategies.
  • Operating leverage is high, capital demands are low, and when free cash flow generation is strong investors can be rewarded with a good mix of growth and income returns. 
  • Janus Henderson carries added currency risk compared with listed Australian peers, given the primary listing is on the New York Stock Exchange and the base currency is the U.S. dollar.

Company Profile 

Janus Henderson Group provides investment management services to retail intermediary (49% of managed assets), self-directed (21%) and institutional (30%) clients under the Janus Henderson and Intech banners. At the end of September 2021, fundamental equities (56%), quantitative equities (9%), fixed-income (19%), multi-asset (13%) and alternative (3%) investment platforms constituted the company’s USD 419.3 billion in assets under management. Janus Henderson sources 56% of its managed assets from clients in North America, with customers from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America (30%) and the Asia-Pacific region (14%) accounting for the remainder. Headquartered in London, JHG is dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange.

(Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks

The COVID-19 Crisis Continues to Impact VF, but Its Brands Provide a Competitive Advantage

Vans has grown from its roots as an action sports brand into an everyday brand. Around 60% of Vans apparel is now purchased by females, and it is one of the most popular shoe brands for teens of both sexes. It is viewed as less of a sports brand than a brand for creative people. Vans, like wide-moat Nike and others, offer customization options that are very popular among consumers aged 13-24. Vans has strong potential as it is still relatively small (approximately $3.5 billion in fiscal 2021 revenue) compared with global brands like Nike (about 10 times larger).

It is expected that the North Face will benefit from its new FutureLight waterproof fabric, brand extensions, and expansions of its direct-to-consumer business. VF plans 8%-9% annual growth for The North Face, which may be possible after the coronavirus crisis has passed.

Future Outlook

VF laid out fiscal 2024 goals of a gross margin above 55.5%, an operating margin above 15%, and an ROIC above 20% at its 2019 investor event. These targets are aggressive, but achievable. Indeed, the analyst of Morningstar forecast an operating margin of 15% in fiscal 2024, up from an estimated 13% in fiscal 2022. To achieve this, VF will need continuing strong growth from high-margin brands Vans and Supreme as the virus fades.

Narrow-Moat VF Dealing With Supply Chain Woes and Weakness in China, but Brands Remain Healthy

Vans’ sales increased just 8% in the quarter due to a 10% decline in wholesale sales related to the supply problems and soft demand in China. Attributing the same to the latter COVID-19-related closures and weakness in China’s economy and do not think the long-term prospects for Vans in the region have been affected. The activewear and casualization trends are positive for Vans. Other key brands The North Face and Timberland were affected by supply problems, leading to outdoor coalition growth of 31%, short of the 40% forecast. Dickies was a standout, as workwear sales jumped 18%.

 Apart from these issues, apparel and footwear manufacturers are dealing with higher labor, energy, and raw material costs, especially for cotton. In VF’s case, cotton represents only about 10% of its product costs, lower than for some competing firms that are heavier in apparel. Thus far, VF and others in the industry have been able to overcome inflation with strong pricing as discounting in the clothing space remains relatively low. Moreover, as product shortages are likely to persist and underlying demand is healthy, as a result pricing will remain strong through the holiday period. 

Bulls Say

  • Vans, expected to generate over $4 billion in sales in fiscal 2022, is developing into a fashion brand. It still has growth potential, given its small share in the roughly $120 billion (Euromonitor) sports-inspired apparel and footwear markets. 
  • VF has disposed of its weaker jeans (in 2019) and work (in 2021) brands, helping to pull its gross margins up to the mid-50s from the high-40s. 
  • As an upscale brand with high price points, Supreme brings higher margins than any of VF’s individual brands except Vans. There is potential for VF to generate significant sales of Supreme gear in China.

Company Profile

VF designs, produces, and distributes branded apparel and accessories. Its largest apparel categories include action sports, outdoor, and workwear. Its portfolio of about 15 brands includes Vans, The North Face, Timberland, Supreme, and Dickies. VF markets its products in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific through wholesale sales to retailers, e-commerce, and branded stores owned by the company and partners. The company has grown through multiple acquisitions and traces its roots to 1899.

 (Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks

Shaw’s Merger With Rogers Rests on Regulatory Approval

Shaw has made significant efforts to improve its wireless network and is now bundling wireless with wireline service to customers in its cable footprint, enabling it offer even better value and enhancing service when offloaded onto its Wi-Fi network. Between the ends of fiscal years 2016 and 2020, Shaw more than doubled its postpaid wireless subscriber base, increased average billings per user (ABPU) by 20%, and expanded its wireless EBITDA margin by 900 basis points. The firm continues to invest heavily to improve its wireless network, and we think the firm is a legitimate competitor for new wireless customers and will continue seeing wireless results trend upwards.

The stronger competition has caused Shaw to lose customers and market share over the last several years. The losses are attributable to television and voice customers, which face secular challenges for all competitors, but even Internet customer growth has been anemic (up 2% since 2017, including customer losses in 2021).

Financial Strength

Shaw is currently in a good financial positionAt the end of fiscal 2020, Shaw had over CAD 700 million in cash and CAD 4.5 billion in long-term debt, which represented 1.6 times net debt to adjusted EBITDA. Shaw’s coverage ratio (adjusted EBITDA to interest expense) ended 2020 at 8.7, and the company has CAD 1.5 billion available on a revolving credit facility. Shaw has no long-term debt maturing until the end of 2023. Its debt covenants require its leverage ratio to stay below 5.0 and its coverage ratio to stay above 2.0, both comfortably distant from where the firm is currently. Shaw has maintained a dividend of CAD 1.19 per share since 2016, and will remain flat over the next few years, as the firm allocates capital to additional spectrum auctions in 2021 and 2022. Shaw suspended its share buyback in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it still expects its free cash flow will be able to cover the dividend.

Bulls Says 

  • Shaw is doing all the right things to build up its wireless business, acquiring and building out sufficient assets and luring customers by offering great deals. 
  • The Canadian government is keen on bringing wireless competition to the big three incumbents. Unlike previous national upstarts, Shaw’s strong financial position and family control afford it the time and money to stick with a long-term strategy to succeed. 
  • Shaw’s move to bundle wireless and wireline service with Shaw Mobile could expedite its wireless share gains and stem wireline losses it has seen recently

Company Profile

Shaw Communications is a Canadian cable company that is one of the biggest providers of Internet, television, and landline telephone services in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and northern Ontario. In fiscal 2021, more than 75% of Shaw’s total revenue resulted from this wireline business. Shaw is also now a national wireless service provider after acquiring Wind Mobile in 2016. Shaw has upgraded its wireless network, undertaken an aggressive pricing strategy, and significantly enhanced its spectrum holdings. As a smaller carrier, Shaw has favored bidding status in spectrum auctions, giving it a further boost in enhancing its wireless network. At the 2019 auction, Shaw added significant amounts of 600 MHz spectrum to the 700 MHz spectrum it is currently deploying.

 (Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Supply Chain Issues Constrain Output, Hindering Retail Sales at Wide-Moat Polaris

that it stands to capitalize on its research and development, solid quality, operational excellence, and acquisition strategy. However, Polaris’ brands do not benefit from switching costs, and with peers innovating more quickly than in the past, it could jeopardize the firm’s ability to take price and share consistently, particularly in periods of inflated recalls or aggressive industry discounting.

Polaris had sacrificed some financial flexibility after its transformational acquisitions of TAP (2016) and Boat Holdings (2018), but debt-service metrics have been rapidly worked down via EBITDA expansion and cost-saving scale benefits (with debt/adjusted EBITDA set to average around 1.1 times over our forecast). As evidenced by solid ROICs (at 17%, including goodwill, in 2020), Polaris still has top-notch brand goodwill in its segments, supporting consumer interest and indicating the firm’s brand intangible asset is intact.

Financial Strength:

For Polaris exiting the recession, rising profits led to increases in company equity, which helped reduce debt/capital from 49% in December 2009 to 31% in December 2015. With the addition of leverage from the acquisition of TAP (which the company paid $655 million net of $115 million in tax benefits for in 2016), and the financing of Boat Holdings in 2018, Polaris ended 2019 with debt/adjusted EBITDA just above 2 times and debt/capital of 60%. However, robust demand and successful execution through COVID-19 has restored the metric to 1.5 times at the end of 2020, a very manageable level which the company should be able to maintain. Additionally, Polaris is poised to produce strong cumulative free cash flow to equity over the next five years’ worth around $3.2 billion.

Bulls Say:

  • Polaris has historically had a strong reputation for innovation, and new product lines and acquisitions have supported solid performance in both strong and difficult environments. 
  • Profit margins could tick up faster than we expect with faster than enterprise average volume growth from the sizable off-road and low-operating expense Boat Holdings business segments. 
  • Management remains focused on operating as a bestin-class manufacturer. With continutious improvement at existing facilities, the pursuit of excellence should support stable operating margin performance.

Company Profile:

Polaris designs and manufactures off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles for recreational and utility purposes, snowmobiles, small vehicles, and on-road vehicles, including motorcycles, along with the related replacement parts, garments, and accessories. The firm entered the aftermarket parts segment in 2016, tying up with Transamerican Auto Parts and then tapped into boats through the acquisition on Boat Holdings in 2018, offering exposure to new segments of the outdoor lifestyle market. Polaris products retailed through 2,300 dealers in North America and through 1,400 international dealers as well as more than 30 subsidiaries and 90 distributors in more than 120 countries outside North America at the end of 2020.

(Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks Philosophy Technical Picks

CyrusOne Doing Well in Europe and With Hyperscalers, but It Doesn’t Have the Connectivity We Prefer

While the firm has seen major growth in interconnection revenue recently, as more enterprises are co-locating and connecting with their cloud providers, it does not operate any major Internet exchanges, and its properties are less network-dense than top competitors, so we think little differentiates its offering.

CyrusOne believes cloud companies favor outsourcing data centers because they can earn higher returns on capital in their core businesses and data center companies have building efficiency expertise and a cost advantage. CyrusOne is quickly expanding its portfolio to exploit the opportunity. It has nearly 3 times as much undeveloped land as developed and is now expanding outside the U.S. In 2017, it announced an operating partnership with GDS (to gain exposure to the Chinese market) and the acquisition of Zenium (two data centers each in Frankfurt and London). It intends to continue adding in Europe in the near term before focusing more on Asia.

Given the switching costs inherent in the industry and what is effectively CyrusOne’s first-mover advantage in procuring its existing tenants, it is expected that the firm will continue to grow and retain its customers. However, CyrusOne’s strategy to accumulate land and continue building could ultimately prove too aggressive, and it may not be able to fill all its future space on comparable terms, especially given cloud providers’ bargaining power (they have the size and financial ability to keep data centers in-house, and they provide the attraction for CyrusOne’s other tenants). CyrusOne is currently heavily investing, and it will ultimately realize a worthy payoff.

Financial Strength

CyrusOne’s financial position does not seem to be strong, but lack of near-term debt maturities and the ability to issue equity to fund expansion keep this from being a significant near-term concern. CyrusOne is one of the more highly leveraged data center companies we cover–nearly 6 times net debt/EBITDA at the end of 2020–but as a wholesale provider, it has long-term contracts in place with very financially strong tenants, so it should be able to easily meet its obligations, especially with no significant debt maturing before 2024. The firm has taken advantage of low interest rates and its investment-grade credit rating to reduce floating-rate debt to about one third of its total (down from about half at the end of 2019) and bring its weighted average cost of debt down to only about 2% at the end of 2020. CyrusOne has posted negative free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditures) each year since it went public in 2012, and to remain negative until 2024, as the company continues its aggressive expansion. 

Bulls Say

  • CyrusOne’s rapid expansion and increasing global presence makes it best positioned to capitalize on the huge demand for data centers brought on by cloud usage and a more data-dependent world. 
  • The Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and other innovations that increase the demand for data and connectivity leave us in the early innings of a data center renaissance. 
  • CyrusOne’s global presence makes it a more attractive landlord for customers that prefer consistent providers worldwide. Only a handful of companies can offer a similar proposition.

Company Profile

CyrusOne owns or operates 53 data centers, primarily in the U.S., that encompass more than 8 million net rentable square feet. It has a few properties in Europe and Asia. CyrusOne has both multi tenant and single-tenant data centers, and it is primarily a wholesale provider, offering large spaces on longer-term leases. The firm has about 1,000 total customers, and cloud service providers and other information technology firms make up about half its total revenue. Its largest customer, Microsoft, accounted for over 20% of 2020 revenue, and its top 10 customers generated about 50%. After cloud providers, companies in the financial services and energy industries contributed the biggest proportions of CyrusOne’s sales.

 (Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks Expert Insights

Texas Instruments Has Secular Growth Opportunities in Industrial and Automotive

Texas Instruments has a leading share of the fragmented yet lucrative analog chip market. Analog chips are used to convert real-world signals, such as sound and temperature, into digital signals that can be processed. Since analog chips are neither particularly expensive, nor do they require cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, high-quality analog chipmakers tend to retain design wins for the life of the product, yet maintain healthy pricing and strong profitability on such sales over time.

Additionally, Texas Instruments’ size allows the firm to compete across a broader spectrum of industries, without its fortunes tied to a single customer or end market. Texas Instruments’ embedded chip business is a bit more exposed to the automotive and communications infrastructure end markets, but should also see healthy growth over the next few years. The “Internet of Things” is an interesting tailwind for TI, as the company’s chips could be key components in a massive array of new electronics devices with improved connectivity and processing power.

Financial Strength

Revenue in the September quarter was $4.64 billion, up 1% sequentially, up 22% year over year and above the midpoint of guidance of $4.40 billion-$4.76 billion as provided in July. Industrial chip demand was strongest, up 40% year over year, even though sales were down a mid-single-digit percentage sequentially. Automotive revenue was up 20% year over year and up more than 30% from pre-pandemic levels (fourth quarter of 2019). These near-term results still bode well for strong long-term tailwinds for TI, in terms of rising chip content per car and industrial device. Gross margin expanded 70 basis points sequentially to 67.9%, thanks to higher sales levels. In turn, operating margin expanded 130 basis points sequentially to 49.6%.

Texas Instruments is in a modest net debt position, with $6.6 billion of cash on hand versus $6.8 billion of debt as of December 2020. The company’s target is to pay out 100% of free cash flow (less debt repayments) to investors over time. The firm offers a $1.02 quarterly dividend that yields over 2%, and the company intends to issue 40%-60% of its 4-year trailing free cash flow out to investors via dividends. Meanwhile, Texas Instruments continues to make hefty share repurchases (over $2 billion per year in each of the last six years). Nonetheless, we do not believe Texas Instruments will adopt a balance sheet with reckless leverage anytime soon, as the industry is highly cyclical and firms with healthy cash cushions are often able to better handle the inevitable industry downturns.

Bulls Say’s 

  • Texas Instruments has a leading market share position in several chip segments, such as analog semiconductors and digital signal processors.
  • A key element of Texas Instruments’ success has come from its massive global sales staff, which allows the firm to cross-sell its extensive semiconductor product portfolio to existing customers.
  • Texas Instruments’ ability to manufacture analog parts on 300-millimeter silicon wafers has provided the company with robust gross margin expansion in recent years, and we anticipate further expansion in the years ahead.

Company Profile 

Dallas-based Texas Instruments generates about 95% of its revenue from semiconductors and the remainder from its well-known calculators. Texas Instruments is the world’s largest maker of analog chips, which are used to process real-world signals such as sound and power. Texas Instruments also has a leading market share position in digital signal processors, used in wireless communications, and microcontrollers used in a wide variety of electronics applications.

(Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Dividend Stocks

Texas Instruments Has Secular Growth Opportunities in Industrial and Automotive

Texas Instruments has a leading share of the fragmented yet lucrative analog chip market. Analog chips are used to convert real-world signals, such as sound and temperature, into digital signals that can be processed. Since analog chips are neither particularly expensive, nor do they require cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, high-quality analog chipmakers tend to retain design wins for the life of the product, yet maintain healthy pricing and strong profitability on such sales over time.

Additionally, Texas Instruments’ size allows the firm to compete across a broader spectrum of industries, without its fortunes tied to a single customer or end market. Texas Instruments’ embedded chip business is a bit more exposed to the automotive and communications infrastructure end markets, but should also see healthy growth over the next few years. The “Internet of Things” is an interesting tailwind for TI, as the company’s chips could be key components in a massive array of new electronics devices with improved connectivity and processing power.

Financial Strength

Revenue in the September quarter was $4.64 billion, up 1% sequentially, up 22% year over year and above the midpoint of guidance of $4.40 billion-$4.76 billion as provided in July. Industrial chip demand was strongest, up 40% year over year, even though sales were down a mid-single-digit percentage sequentially. Automotive revenue was up 20% year over year and up more than 30% from pre-pandemic levels (fourth quarter of 2019). These near-term results still bode well for strong long-term tailwinds for TI, in terms of rising chip content per car and industrial device. Gross margin expanded 70 basis points sequentially to 67.9%, thanks to higher sales levels. In turn, operating margin expanded 130 basis points sequentially to 49.6%.

Texas Instruments is in a modest net debt position, with $6.6 billion of cash on hand versus $6.8 billion of debt as of December 2020. The company’s target is to pay out 100% of free cash flow (less debt repayments) to investors over time. The firm offers a $1.02 quarterly dividend that yields over 2%, and the company intends to issue 40%-60% of its 4-year trailing free cash flow out to investors via dividends. Meanwhile, Texas Instruments continues to make hefty share repurchases (over $2 billion per year in each of the last six years). Nonetheless, we do not believe Texas Instruments will adopt a balance sheet with reckless leverage anytime soon, as the industry is highly cyclical and firms with healthy cash cushions are often able to better handle the inevitable industry downturns.

Bulls Say’s 

  • Texas Instruments has a leading market share position in several chip segments, such as analog semiconductors and digital signal processors.
  • A key element of Texas Instruments’ success has come from its massive global sales staff, which allows the firm to cross-sell its extensive semiconductor product portfolio to existing customers.
  • Texas Instruments’ ability to manufacture analog parts on 300-millimeter silicon wafers has provided the company with robust gross margin expansion in recent years, and we anticipate further expansion in the years ahead.

Company Profile 

Dallas-based Texas Instruments generates about 95% of its revenue from semiconductors and the remainder from its well-known calculators. Texas Instruments is the world’s largest maker of analog chips, which are used to process real-world signals such as sound and power. Texas Instruments also has a leading market share position in digital signal processors, used in wireless communications, and microcontrollers used in a wide variety of electronics applications.

(Source: Morningstar)

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