Massive Moats

Costco Wholesale Corporation has just surpassed $1,000 per share #costco #costcowholesale

Dev Kantesaria of Valley Forge Capital Management increased his position in ASML by almost 100% in Q3-2024. Source: Dataroma

Berkshire Hathaway trades in Q3-2024. Berkshire sold its shares of Ulta Beauty almost in full, while it bought these shares in the previous quarter. #BerkshireHathaway #investing #stockmarket

This is the development of the market share or parcel volume in the United States, which shows a massive surge of Amazon in the last 10 years. #investing #stockmarket #stocks #Amazon

Dividend yield of the S&P 500 is not keeping up with the rapid price increases. Source: Gurufocus #SPY #ETF #SP500

Amazon's total sales over the past four quarters (Q4-2023 through Q3-2024) totaled $620 billion. In FY2020, this was still $386 billion. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5% over this period. From 2014 to 2023, CAGR was even 23%. How fast will Amazon be able to grow in the coming years? In my valuation model, I assume a revenue growth of 9.2% CAGR through 2030. This would mean that Amazon would generate more than $1 trillion in revenue by FY2030. A massive figure, but one I believe is achievable. The company segments expected to grow the fastest are Third-party seller services, Advertising services, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Subscription services. Over the past ~4 years, these segments have already been growing much faster than Amazon's Online stores (5.6% CAGR) and Physical stores (6.8% CAGR). Revenue from Subscription services increased by 15.6% CAGR, Third-party seller services by 18.5% CAGR, Amazon Web Services (AWS) by 24.4% CAGR, and Advertising services by even 24.7% CAGR (the latter since Q3-2020). Although AWS has shown an acceleration in revenue growth in recent quarters (i.e., the year-over-year growth is increasing by percentage points), these growth rates are expected to moderate in the coming years. This is because the base from which revenue growth must be achieved is getting larger. The law of large numbers teaches us that growth becomes increasingly challenging: Amazon is dependent on our physical world with a limited number of customers. Despite this, I still see growth potential for Amazon in the coming years. Also in profitability. The company has always prioritized future growth, which is why its profits have continuously been reinvested into the business. Currently, Amazon is doing this in the form of high CAPEX investments focused on expanding its AI infrastructure. What do you think about Amazon? Why do you (or don’t you) invest in Amazon? 💬 #Amazon #investing #stocks #investment No advice, always do your own research. Read the full disclaimer on the website.

Volkswagen his third-quarter financial results for 2024 reveal significant challenges, underscored by a sharp drop in units sold, operating profit and net income. The German automaker reported a decline in global vehicle deliveries, with units sold down by approximately 8% year-over-year. This decrease has been attributed to a range of factors, including slowing demand in core markets such as Europe and China, and ongoing competition in the electric vehicle (EV) segment. The decline in units sold has directly impacted Volkswagen’s profitability. Operating profit fell by 42% compared to Q3-2023, where net income fell by around 64% compared to the same period last year, coming in at approximately €1.6 billion. Volkswagen has been investing heavily in its transition to EVs, aiming to position itself as a leader in sustainable mobility. However, the shift has been costly, and the competitive pressures in the EV space continue to intensify with new and established players alike. As part of its long-term strategy, Volkswagen is working to improve efficiencies, enhance its digital and software capabilities, and expand its EV offerings in hopes of stabilizing growth. In response to the tough quarter, Volkswagen reiterated its commitment to investing in innovation, digital services, and market expansion. However, the Q3-2024 results underscore the balancing act the company faces: managing short-term profitability challenges while executing a significant transformation to secure its future in an evolving automotive industry. Volkswagen is considering major changes in its production capacity worldwide. #Volkswagen #stocks #investing #stockmarket

The Price/Book Value of Berkshire Hathaway increased in the past years. Along with a growing cash position, the premium you pay for this cash is also rising. #BerkshireHathaway #investing #stocks

Berkshire Hathaway saw its cash position increase by $48.3 billion over the past quarter, according to the Q3 figures released by the company earlier today. While Berkshire Hathaway's cash position at the end of last year stood at $167.6 billion, it has grown by 94% over the past nine months to reach $325.2 billion as of September 30, 2024. This increase is partly due to the company reducing its stake in Apple, which has decreased by more than $100 billion over the past three quarters, leaving it at $70 billion by the end of Q3-2024, even as the tech giant's stock price rose by 16% year-to-date. Since the start of this year, Berkshire Hathaway has ramped up its selloff of Apple shares, following a smaller sale in Q4 of 2023. In Q3-2024, the investment firm continued this reduction in its Apple stake. This can be inferred from the performance of Apple's stock—which gained about 10.6% in Q3-2024—compared to the $14 billion decline in the fair value of Berkshire's holdings in the company. Currently, Apple has a market cap of $3.4 trillion, making it the world's most valuable publicly traded company. It is closely followed by NVIDIA ($3.3 trillion) and Microsoft ($3.1 trillion) in the race for the top spot. There is a gap of roughly $1 trillion separating this top three from Alphabet, which holds the fourth spot at $2.1 trillion. In Q3-2024, American Express became Berkshire Hathaway’s second-largest holding, valued at $41.1 billion in fair value, surpassing Bank of America. In the past quarter, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in Bank of America by around 23% compared to June 30, 2024. Bank of America currently has a market cap of $320 billion, with Berkshire holding $31.7 billion in shares. Coca-Cola and Chevron hold the fourth and fifth spots in Berkshire’s top five positions. Through these moves, Berkshire Hathaway continues its previously chosen path to increase its cash reserves. Has the investment firm become too large to deploy its capital effectively? Or is it simply waiting—unlike many other investors on Wall Street—for new opportunities to emerge in the current strong stock market? 💬 #BerkshireHathaway #investing #stocks #stockmarket #Apple #cash #finance

Berkshire Hathaway currently holds a cash position of over $325 billion (as of September 30, 2024). This is $48 billion more than on June 30 of this year. #BerkshireHathaway #Investing #Stocks