Motley Fool Money - Motley Fool Money: 09 13 2013

Episode Date: September 13, 2013

Apple gets a weak reception.  Twitter announces plans to go public. McDonald's serves up surprising earnings.  And the Dow does some remodeling.  Our analysts discuss those stories and tech writer Rob Pegoraro talks smartphones, smartwatches, and laser-guided beard trimmers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to Motley Fool Money. Thanks for being here. I'm your host, Chris Ler, joining me in studio this week from Motley Fool Supernova, Matt Argusinger, and for a million-dollar portfolio, Charlie Travers, and Ron Gross. Good to see you, gentlemen, as always. You do, Chris. We will dig into the latest from restaurants, entertainment, technology, and more.

We will ask the question, is apparel, retail the single worst industry for investors right now. And as always, we will share a few stock ideas to put on your watch list. But we begin this week with Apple. They had the big event unveiling two new iPhones, the 5S and the 5C, and Ron. I think it's fair to say that investors anyway were not impressed because shares of Apple down around 7% this week. Yeah, I was underwhelmed as well. I said earlier in the week, I'm kind of getting fatigued about this focus on these events, these one-day events. But then having said that, I was disappointed, too, along with everyone else.

I was expecting more. They telegraphs so much. There's so much that gets leaked that it's so easy to disappoint unless you kind of fulfill on all the promises. We knew they would come out with two phones. One of them would be lower priced. We hoped for a China mobile deal didn't get it. We hoped for something from Apple TV didn't get it. Even didn't get anything about that watch that everybody keeps talking about.

Right. Certainly short-term-minded investors sell off the stock. We would never do that based on a one-day event. We still like the company long-term. And yet, Matt, the China Mobile deal really was out there. I think a lot of people were just flat out expecting it to be done. That's not to say it doesn't happen at some point in the future. But I just thought it was a communications breakdown

where Apple really should have this rumor down if they didn't have it locked up this week. Right. I actually think that was the biggest reason Apple sold off. That, to me, that deal was in the bag. And I thought, you know, when they made the announcement, they were going to have a press release in Beijing. And it didn't happen. I mean, you know, they've sort of made some progress there. So there might be a deal with China Mobile down the road.

But the fact that they don't have one now. And the fact that the iPhone 5C isn't all that much cheaper than the iPhone 5S, which really is going to hurt Apple as they try to expand into China and other emerging markets. So that, to me, was the biggest disappointment. Charlie, should we be surprised that this is what Apple has become because Tim Cook made his bones as a first-class operator. and if you look at what Apple has announced what they're doing now, they're really taking advantage of the supply chains that they have and making sure they have the right phones and the right supply chains. I don't know.

Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that this is what they're doing. No, and I am actually kind of glad to see them sticking to the high-end, premium price point and not necessarily participating into the race to the bottom that you're seeing in the Android world, keeping their margins lofty and making it an aspirational product and not deviating from that. I actually agree with that. But if they want to get any meaningful market share in China, they're only 5% now, I don't think this price point is going to do it. And that's what causes me to scratch my head a bit.

I think they'll make inroads to the mid-level folks in China that can afford this price point. But they're going to be struggling at the lower end. Twitter is going public. The company filed a confidential S-1, which means that annual revenue is less than a bill. million dollars, Matt. Are you excited? Are you buying? You loading up for the IPO? Well, you know, I just first have to say, Rick Munar has had a great tweet. Rick Mineris, who, a motley-full analyst, I work with him on Rule Breakers and Supernova. He says, here's the Twitter IPO. Everyone's going to get 140 shares.

Boom. But, you know, very funny. But, you know, it's a confidential S-1. There's not a lot we know about Twitter's financials. We do know, based on estimates that the valuation for Twitter is going to be somewhere in the $10 billion to $20 billion range. I've seen some analysts who've come out and said, that Twitter will likely hit $1 billion in revenue next year. So we're talking about a company that's probably going to trade for 10 times or 20 times sales, you know, when at IPO, that's a heck of a price and kind of makes sense for them to IPO when they can get that kind of valuation. I'll just have to say, you know, if you're interested in Twitter, and I'm not terribly interested,

but if you're interested in a Twitter-like company, maybe give S-N-A, which is the largest tickers S-I-N-A. It's the largest online portal in China. They also have Waybo, which is a Twitter-like service in China, has a Twitter-like service in China, has 500 million users comparable to Twitter and very profitable. One thing, when Facebook went public, they had no revenue when it came to mobile. We know that is not going to be the case. Whatever other challenges Twitter faces, mobile revenue is not a problem. I think the estimates are somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of their revenue comes from mobile.

So at least they have that nut cracked. Yes, exactly. So that is going to be, that is the future of advertising. And if Twitter can crack that nut and they seem like they are, That's huge. Shares of McDonald's up this week after our same store sales in August rose nearly 2%. And Charlie, the surprise here is the results out of Europe much better than people were expecting. Well, when you've been falling, falling, falling, at some point it's got to turn up.

Your comps just get easier and easier when that happens. And Europe was actually the strongest region compared to the Americas and Asia Pacific. And it was actually a little bit surprising to me that Europe is actually McDonald's largest source of revenue, Even compared to North America, I think we view this as one of our iconic brands, but actually Europe is more important. So to see them do 3% comp store sales in Europe and markets that have been struggling, UK was strong for them, and so is Russia. Germany is a little weak. But I think this is a good sign for McDonald's because the U.S. has been really weak for them. I think they've only had one or two good months so far this year.

Is this a situation where there could be a ripple effect for other companies? I saw some analysts this week saying, hey, if this is what? McDonald's is doing in Europe. That bodes well for Starbucks and others. Do you think that's a reasonable extrapolation to make, or is that reaching? No, I don't think it's reaching at all. Europe's been a tough place for the last three years, but there are some signs of life there, particularly in the U.K. For the first time since 2004, the Dow Jones Index is switching 10% of the stocks that make up the Dow 30. Ron, out our Bank of America, Hewlett Packard, and Alcoa, joining the Dow Jones Index, Goldman Sachs, Nike, and Visa. Any surprises there?

A little bit. You know, the Dow is the Main Street's index of choice. Professional investors focus much more in the S&P 500. The Dow has problems because it's price-weighted, not market-valuated. And the reason these three companies came off, one of the reasons is because their stock prices are relatively low. We're not talking penny stocks or one or two dollars, but relatively low. And the reason you'll never see like an Apple or a Google in the Dow is because those stock prices are too high. So in the first place, it's not a great index. So, you know, when you see these things, these move around, these stocks moving around, it's hard to know what to make of it. I will say, Dow said that they did want a better diversification across industries, across sectors. Makes a little bit of sense to me.

I feel, I just can't help but feel bad for Alcoa because I agree. Alcoa, you know, the Dow Jones, it seems like if nothing else, it's sort of a feather in your cap. It's a badge of honor. And now, really, all Alcoa has going for it is they get to go first at earnings season. Right. And it's not going near the same focus because it's no longer of that first Dow component, you know, going first during season. And I'll argue with Ron a little bit. Alcoa is kind of a penny stock. I mean, it's traded below $10 for, I don't know how many years. So I, but, yeah, feel bad for all over. Also, the whole notion of the Dow Jones Industrial average. Goldman Sachs, not really industrial.

Vampire squidish. I was going to say more of moving paper around, but not so much with the industrial. Speaking of the Dow, we have got a special free research report. The three Dow Stocks, dividend investors need. You can get it for free simply by sending an email to Dow Stocks at Fool.com. That's Dow Stocks, all one word, Dowstocks at Fool.com. Coming up, 2013 is not over, but I think we've got our winner for CEO excuse of the year. Stay right here. You're listening to Motley Fool Money.

If you've got the money, honey, I got the time. Welcome back to Motley Full Money, Chris Hill here in studio with Matt Argusinger, Charlie Travers, and Ron Gross. Pandora announced that Brian McAndrews will take over as CEO, president, and chairman of the board of directors effective immediately. And Matt shares a Pandora up about 20% this week, and the bulk of that gain is due to this news. Why all the optimism about this guy? Well, it's interesting. I mean, it makes sense. McAndrews has experience in web and mobile advertising coming from Microsoft. 95% of Pandora's business, for sure, going forward, is web and mobile advertising. So he's a guy with experience pedigree. I can see why the stock's higher. They've been looking for a CEO for a while. But I'll say this. He was the CEO of a company called a Quantive, which Microsoft bought for about $6.3 billion in 2007. That's what they do. That's what they do. And in 2012, last year, they had a bit of a write-down run. You might remember this. That's what they do, too. About $6.2 billion. And that was mostly related to the A-Quant of acquisition. So it's just, here's a guy that Microsoft brought in for his web advertising expertise. Obviously, that doesn't seem like it really worked out for Microsoft. And now Pandora's making a big bet on him. Makes me be a little cautious about Pandora's 20% gain with the last week. Maybe the plan is to sell to Microsoft. Hey, if they're looking for a future write-down, why not?

But, Ron, we also saw a rise in Pandora shares earlier in the week before this news broke. I thought that was curious just because one of the other things Apple announced at their event was the rollout, which is coming next week of the new iOS, which includes iTunes Radio, which many are looking at as the quote-unquote Pandora killer. But investors, I think were sort of shrugging that off. I officially became a Pandora user this week. Oh, there it is. There it is. It's a side of the top. I'm actually really, really enjoying it, but I will say in the next breath that I'm not paying them a dime and I'm not listening to any advertising that comes over. So I think the business model doesn't make sense to me. Well, I think what Apple's iTunes radio does, it legitimizes the whole idea of internet radio. The idea that if Apple starts doing this, then more and more people are going to leave terrestrial radio and try internet radio. and Pandora's got a huge lead with 75 million listeners, so it's good news for Pandor.

Walt Disney Company announced plans to buy back $8 billion worth of stock in 2014, and Charlie, that is about twice the pace of the last couple of years, and they are probably going to have to borrow some money to do it, which leads this Disney shareholder to ask, is this a good idea? Yes and no. Yes,ish. Yes, that was so definitive. I'm not crazy about borrowing money to buy back stock in general. I do think it does make sense for Disney. They've been spending a ton of money on their theme parks, not just here, but abroad and on their cruise ships.

They're scaling back that spending. So returning some cash to shareholders is the right thing to do. I would prefer them to pay a bigger dividend. They have doubled the dividend over the last three years, but the yield here is still only 1%. They have the second lowest yield of any stock on the Dow. And so they do pay their dividend once a year, which is a bit unusual for an American company. The next dividend will be this December. I'd like to see a pretty big hike there, and I'd prefer that over a large stock buyback. Shares of Disney up about 25 percent year to date. Where is the stock from a valuation standpoint right now?

Is it fairly valued? Is it a little pricey? I wouldn't call it pricey. I wouldn't say it's dirt cheap either. I think it's a reasonable buy for one of the best companies. in the world. They just have so many great brands. The best performing stock of the 1990s was Dell Computer, which increased in value more than 89,000 percent during that time. Let me say that again. A rise of 89,000.

And yet I've lost money. Percent during that time. This week, Dell shareholders approved a bid by founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Management to take the company private. Ron Gross, our resident Dell shareholder. First and foremost, not for long. Are you happy it's over? I'm happy we can stop talking about it. As I've said many times, I own this stock at $36 a share, so I'm a big loser here, obviously bought it at the wrong time. I think this is a smart move for the company in the sense that they need to get out of the limelight. They need to really, really make some big changes.

They've got a plan, whether they can execute on it and make it happen remains to be seen. It will not be easy. There's a lot of competition out there, whether it's IBM or Cisco or HP or even out. Amazon and to turn themselves into a solutions provider, a software company isn't going to be easy, but get out of the spotlight to do it. Stepping back from Dell, where do you think we are with hardware companies in general? When I look at this, and I'll be honest, I've never been a Dell shareholder, but part of me feels just a tiny bit melancholy about this.

And I think, among other things, it's a great lesson for investors, hey, you can have the best performing stock of the decade, and that's no guarantee that it's going to last forever. But I am curious, Charlie, as someone who looks at technology companies, are we likely to see more of this in the hardware space where companies that maybe aren't sitting on pounds and pounds of cash are going to decide we're going to be better off if we're private? Well, the advantage of being public is you have better access to capital when you need it. The advantage of being private is nobody really knows what you're doing. I think the hardware space is just going to be increasingly brutally competitive. You've got companies like Samsung and Lenovo that are just phenomenal operators. I think that's very tough to compete with.

This is really a heck of an ending to a company that was at one time, like in case studies at MBA schools around the world, is one of the best companies out there, just a business model that was very tough to compete with. I think that's proven to be not the case. Ron, when you look back at Dell's history, is there something that stands out as a particular misstep? Because, again, to Charlie's point,

That's one of my memories of Dell from the 90s, that they were such a phenomenal operator, the whole notion of you can design your own computer, they made it easy. They were, to my mind, one of the first to really touch the consumer at the consumer level. Right. Well, let's remember the PC isn't going away. I mean, the last computer I bought was a Dell, and I hopped on the Internet and I bought it, and it was in my house in two, three days. However, it's very hard to see how technology changes over time, and that's why someone like Warren Buffett will say,

He's not even going to attempt it because something is so pervasive as a PC or a desktop computer, unless you're really, really smart and you envision tablets or laptops or the Internet or whatever is next, it's very difficult to say where technology is going to go. Plastics. One word. Plastics. Finally, guys, it was yet another bad week for apparel retail. Lulu Lemon was down on disappointing second quarter results. and for the second straight quarter, Lulu Lemon lowered guidance.

And maybe we'd be focusing more on Lulu Lemon if it weren't for Men's Warehouse. Second quarter profits for Men's Warehouse fell 28%. And on the conference call with analysts, CEO Doug Ewert, I'm probably not pronouncing that correctly, so my apologies to the CEO, had this to say regarding Men's Warehouse's results. He said, and I quote, We believe the number 13 in 2013 is causing a small but meaningful number of brides to avoid getting married this year.

It's reassuring to see a significant increase in advanced reservation for 2014 weddings, though. Really, we're blaming brides who have Triskeedeca phobia? Oh, is that? Wow. Every once in a while, I like to break out the 50-cent word. I'm stunned. I mean, even if he really thinks that, don't say it on a conference wall. And if you're the bored, I mean, you call him in and you say, really?

Like, bad weather used to be the excuse that people would snicker about when a company's used it. And that's legitimate in some cases. Some cases, but it's overused. This now makes weather look like nothing. I mean, I just want to know what George Zimmer's thinking. He's like, is he, who, you know, they're running my company in the ground. I'm going to be back in no time or is he just, you know, he's just going to be beside himself. He just doesn't want to say.

I mean, it's just. Charlie, as I said before the break, we still have some time before the. the year ends, but this kind of does seem like the runaway winner right now. Just like the Usain Bolt Frontrunner here. Good luck catching him. Let's bring in our man Steve Broido from the other side of the glass here. Steve, first of all, again, we got a couple months before the end of the year. Seems like we have a winner for worst CEO excuse of the year. Yeah, that's a terrible. That may be one of the worst things I've ever heard, I agree.

And to strike out at brides, I mean, that's just, has he no shame? Well, you know, my wife was born on August 13th, and I've been trying to tell her to change her birthday. It's not a good day to be born. People don't like that day. Change your birthday. I can't recall if we talked about this, because I know we talked about Men's Warehouse earlier in the year when they booted George Zimmer. But have you – that was the first suit I bought on my own was that Men's Warehouse. Did you ever shop there when you were younger?

No, not. I did rent – we did rent some tuxitos for our wedding there. So they do offer a very nice rental program for tuxedos. Let's check it out, Men's Warehouse. Well, there you go. There's another reason why, you know, things are bad at Men's Warehouse. They can't rent tuxed either. 2013.

Ron, I'm guessing you own a tuxedo. I own several, yes. You own school? As I go up and wait, I purchase additional tuxedo. You own several? How many do you own? Three or four, I can't remember. You own three or four tuxedos.

He also uses one blade every time he shakes. I mean, you replace it every time. I'm just saying, that's wrong. It's not because they are all different styles, though. They're all different sizes. Radio at fool.com is our email address. You can also hit us up on Twitter at Motley Fool Money. Please, by all means, let us know how many tuxedos you want.

own. And you know what? If someone emails us or tweets at us that they own more than that, if you own five or more tuxitos, we will absolutely send you some sort of prize. Ron Gross, Matt Argusinger, Charlie Travers. Guys, thanks for being here. Coming up, a look at the latest high-tech gadgets with technology writer Rob Pagoraro. You're listening to Motley Fool Money. Welcome back to Motley Fool Money. I'm Chris Hill. Smart watches, 4K TV, new iPhones. So much going on in the tech world. We figured it It was a good time to check in with technology writer, Rob Pagararo.

Rob, welcome back to the show. Thanks for being here. You're welcome. That's good to be back. Let's start with the iPhones. Apple unveiled a couple new models this week. And I think it is fair to say that, at least on Wall Street, people were not impressed. You had the stock being downgraded critics saying that the lower-priced phones are still too pricey for emerging markets like China.

As a technology person, what did you think of the new phones? Well, I think that's a totally right your cheek of the iPhone 5C, two or three months. Apple already has a cheap eye. The crazy thing is in that any headlines I've talked about. Do you think that this is a road that ultimately Apple won't go down as far as some people want them to? This whole notion that a cheaper iPhone, a truly cheap iPhone, a low-cost phone without the contract, a low-cost phone ultimately does more damn.

image to the Apple brand, because let's face it, Apple has never really been a company that competed on price. You and me both. You know, in that sense, you really can't critique Apple's strategy too much because they're making most of the product. On the other hand, I wrote a great piece of the other day by Tramacry News pointing out with the iPod. Oh, and then the iPod. So when you look at Apple's consumer technology, what are you expecting the next big thing to be

from them? Is it a significant... I'm sorry? Not a TV. Not a TV. You know, the one thing we know Apple doesn't like is other people screwing AT&T together, and you know some do a TV. It's going to have to be in the same term. And I just don't see the cable companies as willing to get in for TiVo.

Maybe Apple could get one cable company to do that, but then you have the problem in the Northeast and TV-compatible hardware. You're listening to Motley Full Money talking with technology, Rob Pagoraro. Microsoft, sticking with smartphones, Microsoft recently acquired Nokia's handset and services business. for the sum of $7.2 billion. When you look at smartphones, do you think this new Microsoft Nokia team can make a race of it, or do Samsung, Apple, and Google just have too many advantages built into the marketplace right now? It's going to be BlackBerry.

I think it could be Windows phone because Nokia has been able to make some really, that's way cheaper than any. You are fresh off a trip from Berlin at the, IFA electronic show, and one of the technologies you tried out was the Samsung smart watch. What did you think? Because I'll be honest, it's been well over a decade since I wore any kind of watch. So, there's nothing on my wrist as I speak. Yeah, I'm one of those people who's pretty skeptical about the idea of a smart watch, but you tested one out. What did you think of it? It is close to, like, and, you know, when they did wear a watch, and this is huge.

And on the one hand, it gives you access a glimpse app. I can see exactly where you're... Well, that's not creepy at all. All right. Well, the nice thing is glimpse links expire, and I've used it a couple of times. Usually I... You mentioned Google Glass. In terms of adoption by consumers, what do you think has greater potential?

Google Glass or smartwatches? Probably smart watches because they're going to cost... You know, at least there's a little bit less... Do you think sticking with the smart watches, we've seen them from quality watches? Alcom and Sony, in addition to Samsung, do you think Apple is working on one? And if so, when do you expect it? Now, that's a millimeter even, you know, crazy research lab. I could see them doing that.

I could see them doing a good job. But as we discussed earlier, do you think that they view it as a profitable problem to solve? Right, exactly. Yeah, I don't know. And that's the thing. It can't just be a problem. Which I guess if they wanted to, they could make the iPhone 5. What technology in Berlin at this electronic show impressed you the most?

All the stuff being done on getting appliances that talk to each other, which sounds really silly. Like, I don't need to have my, hey, this part needs, you know, right now with the dishwasher, longer than usual, it'd be nice to know what's some potential there on the inside. While you're in the store and see, what exactly do I have? But then you'd have to solve the problem that when the fridge door is closed. Obviously, it would need lights. There's no light. on like tank threads, so you can inspect one shelf at a time.

You're listening to Motley Full Money talking with technology writer Rob Paggararo. You mentioned that there were gadgets at the electronic show in Berlin that didn't impress you. Here's something you wrote about your experience there, and I'm quoting, nobody goes to gadget shows to see how practical the electronics industry can be. You expect to see products with features that nobody necessarily needs or may even be able to understand. I read that quote as preface to a gadget that Phillips showed off, and that is a laser-guided beard trimmer.

Rob, I should mention that for the first time in over a decade, I'm actually sporting a goatee right now. I'm taking part of the whole... You might be the target market there. I might be. I'm part of the whole Septimbeard movement to raise money for prostate cancer research. But this sounds like a horror show waiting to happen. A laser-guided beard trimmer?

That line, and it is handy when you're trying to... Do you think Phillips is using that in marketing, comparing their beard trimmer to a circular saw? Because that's not selling me either. I wouldn't recommend it, no. It's going to be a tough sell. It might be working some really edgy publications, you know, some of the lads magazines and the...

Again, as skeptical as I am of the whole smartwatch thing, I am far more likely to strap one of those on my wrist than I am to put a laser-guided beard trimmer to my... face. Before I let you go, you worked at the Washington Post for nearly 20 years. Jeff Bezos from Amazon.com recently bought the Washington Post. And I'm curious, what was your reaction when you first heard the news? And what do you think he's going to do with the Post? And we're wholly, to me, this decided to bankers to make it easier to, so you can take the company completely private. It was already one than once. And the other thing is, I'll make a whole lot of people like him.

anymore. Rob Pagararo is a technology writer. You can read his stuff at USA Today at Discovery News, as well as online at Robpegararo.com. As always, my friend, thanks for being here. You're welcome. Coming up, we'll give you an inside look at the stocks on our radar. You're listening to Motley Fool Money.

Yes, money in my pockets and memories on my mind. Memories of an old. the one I left behind. As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about, and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against. So don't buy ourselves stocks based solely on what you hear. I'm Chris Hill, joining me in studio. Once again, Charlie Travers, Ron Gross, and Matt Argusinger.

Guys, before we get to the stocks on our radar this week, one other story that caught my eye. I wanted to get your thoughts on it was a story out of Ad Age magazine, which reported that Kmart, which is part of the Sears Corporation, has set the record for running the earliest holiday television commercial ever. 105 days before Christmas, Kmart is already touting its holiday layaway plan. But this is not really anything new in the whole notion of holiday creep. We got emails from listeners saying that Costco has had holiday decorations on the shelves for a while now.

Starbucks is rolling out the pumpkin spice latte even earlier. Does this bother you at all? or you just sort of shake your head at it wrong? First mover advantage is an incredibly powerful thing, but not in this case. There's already Halloween candy out. Just for wanting to do right by the kids in my neighborhood, I'm not buying their candy seven weeks before Halloween. He's a stale stickers, Jimmy. Yeah, I was going to say, who is that helping?

And people still shop at Kmart? Just saying. Well, that was the comment from our colleague Jason Moser. First, he was stunned that they were doing it, but then after that, his second reaction was, Wow, Kmart's still alive and kicking. Let's get to the stocks on our radar, and we'll bring in our man Steve Broido from the other side of the glass to hit you with a question. But Ron Gross, you're up first. What's your stock this week?

Steve, I've got Leapfrog, ticker symbol LF, manufacturer of technology-based educational toys. We increased our allocation at a million-dollar portfolio this week in that stock after it had sold off because of some glitches in their new tablet. There's certainly a lot of competition out there as other tablets and Amazon creates. products that are competitors, but we think it's very inexpensive, both on a standalone basis and as a potential acquisition. Steve, question about leapfrog? My question is having a small child now. Everything we own in our house has batteries and is electronic and makes all kinds of noise,

especially in the middle of the night. Is it possible that parents will just revolt against electronics for their children and start giving them wood blocks and just say enough? Well, if you want to spend extra time with your child, feel free. But the TV, the technology. based platforms are a godsend. A little parenting 101 from Ron Gross. Keep those emails coming. Radio at fool.com. Matt Argusinger, what do you got on your radar this week? Yeah, my stock is Alexandria Real Estate Equities. It's ticker A-R-E. It's a real estate investment trust, just in case you can get that. Interesting company. They're a real estate company that focuses only on life sciences properties. So, you know, biotechs, pharmaceuticals, they have properties in New York, San Diego, Boston. The Research Triangle Park in North Carolina is some of the big hotspies. My investment case here, though, is based more on what's coming this week, which is the Fed's meeting, to decide, you know, ultimately if we're going to have any tapering. And that's over the past few months. Rheets in particular have been hit really hard.

In this case, I like Alexandria. It's growing. It just raises its dividend. It pays over 4%. I think it's cheap and also an interesting space. Steve, question for Matt. First of a brief comment, that is a very, very confusing name for a company. Secondly, how would I know if the life sciences space were growing largely? Is it research facilities if there's more biotech or more big pharma stuff going on? Great question. I would say, you know, you can just essentially track some of the biotech indices out there. If those guys are growing and beating the market, then I'm guarantee you, I guarantee it.

Alexandria real estate is going to do pretty well. Steve, do you think that part of the thesis for a stock like this so dependent on life scientists, on some level, if you're a shareholder, aren't you rooting for more evil scientists in the world? You must be because they occupy usually very large amounts of space and, you know, big domes and covered lasers and such. If movies have taught us anything, I think you're spot on there. Meth Labs. Charlie Trevor's, what do you got? I have to go with AMC Networks, tickers AMCX.

Speaking of meth. Yeah, speaking of meth and crazy scientists. Huge Breaking Bad fan. There's only three episodes left. They've got the Walking Dead kicking in in October. I think they've just proven year in and year out that they have some of the best. shows on TV, and I expect that to continue, and since I like the show so much,

I think this is a company to watch as well. Steve, question about AMCX? What ensures that AMC moves in the direction that they've been moving and along the lines of HBO and not Showtime, which has seen, I think, a big drop in their network programming? That's a great question with a lot of these

shows coming up at the end of their life. You know, Mad Man can't really run that much longer, and Breaking Bad's coming to an end. And the spin-off, what about Saul? There it is. That's, you know, maybe it'll a hit, maybe not. I love Bob Odenkirk, but the real trick here is proving that they can keep doing it and become

more like an HBO. They do have 90 million subscribers, so they do have an audience that makes them attractive to some of the show developers like Lionsgate and Sony Pictures. So I think I feel good about where they're at and where they're going. I was going to say, if you're a Breaking Bad fan, you have to be thrilled about the

spinoff around Saul Goodman, the criminal lawyer, a character on Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul. All right, Charlie Travers, Matt Argusinger, Ron, Gross guys. Thanks for being here. Thanks, Chris. That is going to do it for this edition of Motley Fool Money. The show is mixed by Gal Anyo Nuevo.

Our engineer is Steve Broido. Our producer is Matt Greer, and I'm Chris Hill. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next week.