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February 11, 2006

 

 

Holdings

 

 

11-Feb

1

F

2

NBG

3

PCLN

4

NKE

5

BA

6

VRSN

7

SNP

8

CAT

9

INTC

10

C

11

CA

12

FNF

13

MS

14

TKC

15

HMC

16

CRYP

17

X

18

AAPL

19

COP

20

ACH

 

 

Performance of Individual Stocks For last 3 months:

 

11-Feb

 

FNF

-5.28%

COP

-6.53%

CAT

25.81%

NKE

-2.47%

BA

11.46%

VRSN

-0.84%

SNP

32.42%

PCLN

-6.99%

JNJ

-3.65%

C

-3.23%

CA

-6.97%

F

5.06%

MS

9.59%

TKC

22.50%

HMC

6.59%

CRYP

-2.80%

X

43.48%

AAPL

9.38%

NBG

20.91%

ACH

43.80%

 

 

 

Total Increase (Decrease) since last quarter: 9.61%

Additions:  INTC

Subtractions: JNJ

 

Commentary:  The acquisition of Intel[i]:

 

Intel has had its troubles recently, and these have been well publicized.  Chief among these is that AMD, a major competitor, is taking away market share.  Nonetheless, Intel is a reasonable acquisition at this time, as I will try to explain:

 

Basic Stats:

Stock Price (Feb 11, 2006)

21.67

Market Capitalization

$126 billion

P/E (ttm)

14.5

P/E (average earnings last 3 years)

17.3

BV of Equity

$36 billion

Tangible BV of Equity

$32 billion

Adjusted BV of Equity w/ research asset

$53.84

 

First, it is important to understand Intel from a book value perspective.  In general, this makes Intel look unattractive as an investment opportunity, because the company does not offer a very fat margin of safety.  The company has a market cap of $126 billion, or almost 4 times its tangible book value.  Yikes!  Also, it is important to note that the company has made no significant addition to the Book Value of its equity over the last few years.  In fact, the book value of equity that was reported in 2000 was about $1 billion more than the one reported for the end of 2005.  Since the ability of a company to grow the book value of its equity is a prime proxy for the soundness of the investment in such a company, Intel seems like a dud. 

 

However, one thing that Intel does not put in its balance sheets is the effect of research and development on its asset base.  It is reasonable to assume that Intel can convert some of its R&D activity into future earnings, so Intel has a latent ‘research asset’ that is not showing up in its financial statements.  I have tried to quantify the research asset in the following table.  I assume a straight line amortization of R&D expenditures over a 7 year lifespan:

 

Year

R&D Expenses ($bn)[ii]

Value of Resarch Asset ($bn)

2005

5,145

$17.84

2004

4,778

$16.48

2003

4,360

$15.14

2002

4,034

$13.85

2001

3,796

$12.53

2000

3,897

$11.09

1999

3,111

$9.14

1998

2,509

$7.67

1997

2,347

$6.54

1996

1,808

$5.32

Source: 2005 10-K

So, by this calculation $17.84 billion in assets is not showing up in the balance sheets.  Of course, if I lengthen the depreciation time above 7 years, I increase the value of the research asset, and if I decrease it below 7 years, I decrease the value.  However, if a 7 year amortization estimate is a reasonable way to account for Intel’s R&D activity, then the company could be considered to have a book value of $53.84 billion, or a market cap that is a discount of only 2.3x to the book value of equity.  This looks OK, though not spectacular.  Also, including the research asset, Intel’s book value of equity has increased about $5 billion since 2000, or an increase of roughly 12%.  Again, not great, but better than the a drop of 3% that we were seeing before.

 

However, what makes Intel a buy right now is the growth in its earnings and revenues, combined with the fact that the market has been willing to pay a high multiple to earnings for companies such as Intel.  The following is a simple model that I made looking at future revenue and earnings growth.  I have assumed a conservative 9% per year growth in revenues, and an after tax margin of 20 percent. 

 

 

 

 

Operating

 

After Tax Margin

YoY Revenue Growth

Net Income

Market Cap at 18x Earnings ($bn)

% Profit on Current Purchase[iii]

Compunded ROI

 

Net Revenue

Income

Net Income

 

 

 

 

 

 

2015

 

91915.26

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

18383.0524

330.89

182.62%

10.95%

2014

 

84325.93

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

16865.1857

303.57

158.93%

11.15%

2013

 

77363.24

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

15472.6474

278.51

137.04%

11.39%

2012

 

70975.45

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

14195.0894

255.51

116.79%

11.69%

2011

 

65115.09

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

13023.0178

234.41

98.04%

12.06%

2010

 

59738.61

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

11947.7227

215.06

80.68%

12.56%

2009

 

54806.07

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

10961.2135

197.30

64.59%

13.27%

2008

 

50280.8

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

10056.1592

181.01

49.66%

14.38%

2007

 

46129.17

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

9225.83412

166.07

35.80%

16.53%

2006

 

42320.34

 

 

 

 

20.00%

9.00%

8464.068

152.35

22.92%

22.92%

2005

$

38,826

$

12,090

$

8,664

22.31%

13.50%

8,664

 

 

 

2004

$

34,209

$

10,130

$

7,516

21.97%

13.50%

7,516

 

 

 

2003

$

30,141

$

7,533

$

5,641

18.72%

12.62%

5,641

 

 

 

2002

$

26,764

$

4,382

$

3,117

11.65%

0.85%

3,117

 

 

 

2001

$

26,539

$

2,256

$

1,291

4.86%

-21.31%

1,291

 

 

 

2000

$

33,726

$

10,395

$

10,535

31.24%

14.76%

10,535

 

 

 

1999

$

29,389

$

9,767

$

7,314

24.89%

11.86%

7,314

 

 

 

1998

$

26,273

$

8,379

$

6,068

23.10%

4.80%

6,068

 

 

 

1997

$

25,070

$

9,887

$

6,945

27.70%

20.26%

6,945

 

 

 

1996

$

20,847

$

7,553

$

5,157

24.74%

N/A

5,157

 

 

 

 

If Intel can stay on this course and attain a P/E ratio of 17 or higher within 5 or 6 years, then this will be a reasonable investment.  Of course, if Intel is unable to do this, things could get a little bit ugly.  However, including the research asset into the balance sheet, I think Intel should have a decent cushion to protect its stock price from plummeting much lower from a book value perspective.

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[i] I posted this March 1st, as Intel did not release its 2005 10-K until Feb 27.

[ii] Before 1996, I assume R&D expenditures of $1.5, $1.3, $1.1, $0.9, $0.7, $0.6, all in billions, working backwards chronologically from 1995 to 1990.  I did this because I was too lazy to get the actual figures, and because they have no bearing on the 2005 research asset, assuming 7 years of amortization. 

[iii] Assuming a dividend yield of 2 percent per year.