Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i Team. I have a moderate risk tolerance and am looking to make a long term contrarian play with up to 10% of my portfolio on a couple of well established names that have been squeezed by COVID, but will ultimately endure (strong balance sheets) and prosper in a post COVID world. I can stomach volatility, but want to stay away from companies that have a higher chance of going to zero. Air Canada has caught my attention and it is well covered in your question bank. I was planning on pulling the trigger on it, but before I do, can I get a risk/reward comparison between it and Southwest Airlines. Between the two, which would you go with? For my second play, I am considering MGM Resorts International and American Express. Can I get your take on these two, and specifically for American Express, whether its business model is more inclined to benefit than the other major credit card companies once a vaccine arrives and travel starts to pick up. I realize that these are two very different businesses, but which would you go with and why?
Thank-you.

Q: Which one credit card company would you prefer today? I am looking at Visa, Master Card and American Express. Thanks.

Q: We currently have 100 shares of Visa and believe the cc space is a strong area to invest in with the cashless trend in business, while we feel Visa and Mastercard are the dominant players we personally use our Amex card extensively and would like your opinion of adding axp to our portfolio or should we add to Visa.
Doug

Q: I was planning to sell DFS but stopped when the stock price fell almost 10% after earnings release. Were the results THAT bad? The company stated its expenses were significantly higher than budgeted. There is insufficient information in the release or the call transcript for me to determine if the high expenditure is INVESTING in the business ---or just very poor management .

What is wrong with this idiot management... To wit: the company claimed expenses will be high due to tech. But the need for financial institutions to spend on technology is not new--- that’s been known for decades!

Earnings grew by 22% last year but are forecast not to grow at all next year.... does this sound correct or is the company setting a low bar for itself? Shares are now some 45% below fair value , it seems (?)

Can management be trusted after the incredibly poor budgeting and even worse marketing ? To quote Warren Buffet, “...be aware idiots will one day run the company you invest in” ( Source is the book “Snowball”). My efforts to escape dumb managements the world over have proven to be as futile as attempts to escape gravity.
Notwithstanding my above-noted frustrations, do you think its fine as a continuing hold based on:
PEG ; ROE ; ROCI and other measures like FCF etc

Q: I want to get a position in the cc area on the cashless system as we use very little cash and feel the future for Visa ,amex ,PayPal etc.is very bright. Please advise which you consider the best company for capital preservation as well as appreciation.
Cheers,Doug

Q: I like credit cards. I hold Visa (6%) and Mastercard (5%) and I'm considering buying American Express but worry about too much concentration. It doesn't seem to move in tandem with the others, perhaps because of different models and being on different exchanges. What do you think? I have no banks, but do have a couple of insurance companies.

Q: Hello Team,
How would you rank this company compared to Visa and Master Card for safety and growth.
Thank You,
Barry

Q: Between American Express AXP and Discover Financial DFS, which one would you buy (IF not both)? I am interested in value with some dividend growth. I have a half position in DFS. Is it worth selling DFS to buy AXP? I look for companies with manageable debt, decent free cash flow, good ROE and reasonable PEG

Q: Hi Peter and 5iResearch Team,
Can you please provide an update on your outlook for American Express, AXP. Thank you.

Q: Dear 5i:
V vs AXP: Would appreciate your best advice on the purchase of either Visa or American Express. Do you consider these stocks to be financial equivalents to banks or not? Thanks for your excellent service.
Lorrianine

Q: axp American Express; with the huge run up on MasterCard and now Visa seems to be following suit- What are you thoughts on American Express.