Category Archives: Materials
2021 Market Outlook – Part 2: S&P 500 Sector Analysis
2020 was of course dominated by the impact of the pandemic on the economy and specifically on the revenues and profits of each of the S&P 500 constituents. There was a sharp stock market sell-off in March-April, followed by a … Continue reading
Peabody Energy: Maintaining Guidance Despite Disappointing in Q1
Peabody reported a sharp decline in its 2019 first quarter revenues and profitability (even though its earnings per share rose). The declines were due to lower volumes, lower prices and higher costs in its seaborne metallurgical (SMC) and Powder River … Continue reading
Arch Coal (ARCH) 18Q1 Results
Arch reported 18Q1 diluted EPS of $3.91, up from $2.75 in 17Q1 and well ahead of the consensus estimate of $2.71. The gain in earnings came despite a 3.5% decline in revenues to $555.2 million, primarily because of lower expenses … Continue reading
Cloud Peak Energy: Valuable Assets But Little Income
On January 29, Cloud Peak Energy (“CPE”) announced that it had hired a team of professionals to help it review its capital structure and formulate restructuring alternatives. That followed its announcement last November that it was pursuing strategic alternatives, including … Continue reading
Back of the Envelope: The New Dow Chemical
DowDuPont, the chemical behemoth created in 2017 from the merger of The Dow Chemical Company and E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, is set to spin-off Dow Holdings (“New Dow” or DOW) on April 1. This is the first of … Continue reading
Barrick Gold: A More Speculative Bet on Gold
Barrick Gold is the second largest publicly-traded gold producer, with an equity market capitalization of $11.6 billion. Like its rival, Newmont Mining, Barrick is focused on reducing costs and improving operating efficiency to maximize free cash flow generation in this … Continue reading
Newmont Mining: A Safer Bet on Gold Mining
Based in the Denver, Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) is the largest publicly-traded gold miner by equity market capitalization. Its geographic segments include North America (the U.S.), South America (Peru and Surinam), Australia and Africa (Ghana). Newmont’s share price rebounded sharply … Continue reading
A Quick Look at the Price of Gold
These are tough times for investors in gold and even tougher times for investors in gold mining companies. Since the beginning of 2011 (through Aug. 31, 2018), the price of gold, as measured by the continuous CME futures contract) has … Continue reading
An Update on Arch Coal (ARCH)
Arch Coal emerged from bankruptcy on October 5, 2016 and recently filed its 2016 10-K which included its fourth quarter performance (Oct. 2 to Dec. 31) as a reorganized (i.e. successor) company. With its quick emergence from Chapter 11, substantial … Continue reading