Motley Fool Money - The Fed's Next Move & Apple's New Gadgets

Episode Date: September 11, 2015

Will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates? We analyze what the Fed's next move means for investors and discuss Apple's latest gadgets and Lululemon's latest earnings. Plus, Grantland columnist And...y Greenwald analyzes the business of television. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi everyone, I'm Charlie Cox. Join us on Disney Plus as we talk with the cast and crew of Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again. What haven't you gotten to do as Daredevil? Being the Avengers. Charlie and Vincent came to play. I get emotional when I think about it. One of the great finale of any episode we've ever done. We are going to play Truth or Daredevil.
Starting point is 00:00:18 What? Oh, boy. Fantastic. You guys go hard. Daredevil Born Again, official podcast Tuesdays, and stream Season 2 of Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again on Disney Plus. Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money.
Starting point is 00:00:39 From Fool Global Headquarters, this is Motley Fool Money. It's the Motley Fool Money Radio show. I'm Chris Hill joining me in studio this week for a million-dollar portfolio, Matt Argusinger and Jason Moser, and from Motley Fool Deep Value, Ron Gross. Good to see you, as always, gentlemen. Absolutely. We have got the latest earnings from Wall Street. We will dig into the battle for the living room with TV writer Andy Greenwald.
Starting point is 00:01:06 And as always, we'll give you an inside look at the stock. on our radar, but we begin with the market in general, as the recent volatility has subsided for the moment. All eyes are on the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, which begins on Wednesday the 16th. And the big question, guys, is, will the Fed raise interest rates? And Ron, I've got to say, it's getting pretty heated out there. You've got some money managers and analysts saying they've got to raise rates and others saying that would be a massive mistake. What do you think? Well, they look at three main things in like 70.
Starting point is 00:01:38 five other little things, right? Economic growth, measured by GDP, strengthen the job market, measured by unemployment, and the inflation rate. I think economic growth is pretty good at 3.7 percent, unemployment pretty good at 5.1 percent. And inflation is actually lower than their 2 percent target, significantly lower, actually. So things are pretty good. The low inflation rate actually buys them some time if they want it. And they might want it because of the market volatility you just discussed, what's going on over in China with the weakness, in their economy, things aren't necessarily perfectly rosy. So they can have some time if they need it. You're asking me to bet, and you didn't, but I'm going to bet anyway. I say no hike
Starting point is 00:02:18 in September, hike in December. Pushing it off. All right. Well, I am. And the employment numbers are really, I mean, if you look at a jobless claims, they've been under 300,000 almost every week this year. I mean, that is usually the sign of a very robust economy. The unemployment rate itself is down to 5.1%. What I'm worried about is the Fed's going to make a move, not based on all the metrics that Ron just brought up, but because the market's been volatile, because we've got global stock markets have been falling down. You know, China's stock market is down 40%. That would be a mistake.
Starting point is 00:02:46 We don't want a Federal Reserve that's really reacting to movements in the stock market unless they're really fundamentally based on the economy. I just don't see that. I think we are ready for a raise interest rates to get back to some semblance of normalization. We've had zero rates for, gosh, is it eight years now? Forever. For nine years? I mean, it just seems like forever. I think we need back to it. And there are a lot of industries, by the way, that are really going to benefit from rising rates. banks, brokerages, insurance companies, companies that have kind of lots of float, lots
Starting point is 00:03:11 of assets that can start monetizing. I think Maddie is just spot on there in that you don't want a, you don't want decisions being made on market volatility. We think back, just two weeks ago, and we did a lot of talking with a lot of folks out there and a lot of the same question, oh, what is this going to do now with the interest rates? Are they going to raise rates? They're going to push it off.
Starting point is 00:03:30 And that's just exactly everybody, the perception is because of the market volatility. And yeah, maybe it would be sort of a bold. call to raise rates in the face of market volatility like that. But let's look at the underlying data here and just sort of the health of the economy. I think there is enough, you know, to be argued with employment rates with economic growth, that you could start ratcheting rates up a little bit. It's not going to be like just one big fell swoop. It's going to be very incremental, slow. It'll take a lot of time to kind of back to kind of get it back to where, even a savings account looks more attractive for the typical consumer. But like Maddie said,
Starting point is 00:04:04 there will be benefactors there. There will be beneficiary. There are there. It's not a bad thing necessarily that they actually do bump those rates up. Final point from, I think we have to just remember, these are people, human beings on the Fed, who are tough for the really faced a tough decision here, and they're worried about spooking the markets, they're worried about investors, and they're worried about the economy. It'd be easy to just plug this data into a computer and get it to spit out a yes or a no, do we hike or do we not. But they don't do that, obviously, for reasons that a lot of these things are hard to measure and deal with emotions and sentimentality.
Starting point is 00:04:37 To go back to what I said at the beginning, I mean, this is getting so heated. I feel like, no matter what they do, they're going to catch flack from one side of the other. They're going to piss half the world off. There's just no question about it, Chris. Isn't that every decision the Fed makes, or any politician makes? There's always haters. The final question, though, is what's the individual investor to do? And I say, even though we just spent a number of minutes talking about it, you really can't focus on it too much, especially for the long-term investor if you own good companies that you're happy with for the long term.
Starting point is 00:05:06 We will look for that next week. But earlier this week, Apple held an event to unveil their latest set of gadgets, including Apple TV, the iPad Pro, and upgrades on the iPhone 6. Anything really stand out to you, Matt? Well, nothing really stood out to me. But if this was any other company that came out with all of these new products and innovations, we'd say, wow, this is pretty incredible. But Apple has set such a high bar that it just, an announcement like this, even though I think there's some really great innovations here, I think the 3D touch aspect on the new iPhone. really, I mean, that gives them a lot of different versatility in terms of how you can
Starting point is 00:05:39 press on that phone to do different things. I think the set-top box is a real competitor to the Roku box or a lot of the gaming consoles out there. And finally, iPad Pro, that might be for me the biggest dud in the lineup just because I think it's for most people, it's still too big of a leap from the laptop to a tablet. And we saw, we've seen Microsoft try this. I don't know how successful they're being probably by the number is not very successful. And so there's a lot to worry about there, but I'd say, you know, it's still all about
Starting point is 00:06:09 the iPhone. This is 60% of Apple's revenue. I think the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, it's not really going to be enough probably for someone who has an iPhone 6 to upgrade, but someone who has an iPhone 5 or has an upgrade their phone in a while, definitely, and that's important to Apple. Well, and Jason, the majority of people who have an iPhone don't have an iPhone 6, so they've got an installed base. I've got an iPhone 6, Chris. Well, I don't. See, I don't. I have an iPhone 5, and I'm ready.
Starting point is 00:06:33 Yeah, I think you're right there. And I think it's important for people to remember. This really is still a phone story. So for all the cool stuff out there, I mean, iPad, I tend to agree with you there. It's really tablets in general have just not quite been able to clear that hurdle of becoming a production device. I know in this sort of happy world, we want to say that they can be, but they're really just not yet.
Starting point is 00:06:53 At least for the majority of people out there, they're just consumption devices. They're just new TVs, really. And, you know, Apple obviously commands a very big premium on those. I think the thing that just kind of took me back the most is I was really kind of uninspired by this. When you think about all of the work that they put into these things, I really wanted to learn more about Apple TV and kind of their pursuit there. I think Apple Music has been really getting lamb-baseded here lately.
Starting point is 00:07:19 I want to hear how they're going to make that better. We didn't really get too much insight into any of this. Yeah. I think one thing about the TV that I think is really compelling to me is that it's really kind of open for developers to develop apps for it. I think as long as they've created a versatile enough platform, and I don't know enough about it, but it could be something that evolves into a really, really technologically advanced way to use your TV. What do we think about the new installment and you can kind of rent your phone on a monthly basis?
Starting point is 00:07:45 Numbers look pretty high. It looks expensive to me. Do we think that gets any traction? I'm kind of doubtful. I think for someone who's not interested in the contract offers, you know, the two-year contract offers and can't pay $5 or $600 for a phone, I think that's a great option. You do. Shares of Lulu Lemon Athletica falling more than 15% this week. Help me out here, Jason. I mean, second quarter sales were up 16%. They had positive same-star sales for the first time in two years. This looked like a pretty good quarter. It wasn't a bad quarter. Perhaps it was a bit of a hasty reaction from the market. But, I mean, this is still a retailer. And, you know, retail is very difficult. The big concern there with Lulu Lemon. And it's something we've been paying attention to for years now is really the market. margin line there. And they are losing any sort of luster they had with that brand to be able
Starting point is 00:08:35 to command premium pricing back when they were, I guess, maybe a bit more new to the market. And so we saw gross margin really, really take a hit. I mean, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of four percentage points, because they're just depending more on what they like to call investments and pricing. All that is is just selling things for cheaper and offering sort of promotions and whatnot. And so I think that when you look forward and you kind of wonder where where the growth really is, because they still haven't really convinced us that they can make that leap into men's apparel and other things than just sort of that niche yoga gear. That's the concern. I mean, it's a good company with a good brand, and I'm happy to
Starting point is 00:09:16 give Laurent Pot Devon, the CEO who took over after Chip Wilson really kind of almost took that company down. I'm going to give him a pass there as he's kind of turning this thing around. But again, I think the market's forward-looking, and that's really what it's looking at now, is where is the opportunity going forward for these guys? And add them to the list of retailers who continue to have inventory problems as a result of what's going on with the West Coast. And that's just, yeah. And I mean, you even see they've got a tremendous build-up in inventory as well. And whenever you see that big build-up and inventory not really in line with sales growth, you can look for more discounts to come. And I think that's just going to indicate more margin pressures than I think that's got investors spooked.
Starting point is 00:09:55 Dave and Buster's entertainment is the restaurant chain that combines playing games and watching sports with food and alcohol. Second quarter results could hardly have been better, Ron. I mean, profits higher than expected. They raised guidance. Yeah, things are really looking up. And it hasn't always been the case with this company. It's an interesting story. When private back in 2006 for 375 million, then sold itself, still private for 570 million. Now we're at 1.7 billion market cap. And the company's kind of knocking the cover off the ball with, you know, comps of 11 percent, comps sales of 11 percent in the last quarter. So, people really liking the combination
Starting point is 00:10:34 of the food and the gaming. I've been there, I don't know, dozens and dozens of times with my kids, spending ridiculous amounts of money for prizes that I could have bought at, like, the dollar store. So it's a business model that if it works, it works. I'm just floored by that. Yeah, I am too. I just think the comps of 11 percent. I mean, this is not a new concept, and I just feel like, is there something driving, suddenly driving? the gross family to David Buster? We haven't been for a while now that the kids are older. But if you think about what this business offers, keep in mind, this is happening against
Starting point is 00:11:04 the backdrop of what is largely a very healthy economy here in the U.S. and has been for years. This is almost the definition of discretionary spending at this place. Absolutely. It seems like when you see the stock hitting an all-time high. All-time high. Only 77 stores, let's remember. At 1.7 billion market cap, they think they can get to 200 in North America low.
Starting point is 00:11:25 And so there is growth ahead as long as these numbers continue. I'm less floored by the performance and more floor by the fact that Ron Gross and just died in the whole value guy. My son especially loved it. His carting his kids over there and just drop it a bunch of coin on like pixie sticks and stuff. You never need it to entertain your kids on a weekend. I sure have. All right. Up next, if you like hot soup but hate the inconvenience of opening a can, we have got some really good news.
Starting point is 00:11:50 Stay right here. This is Motley Fool Money. Welcome back to Motley Full Money, Chris Hill here in studio with Jason Moser, Matt Argusinger, and Ron Gross. Strong second quarter for grocery chain Kroger. Profits higher than expected, and they raised guidance. Jason, that is the nice one-two punch we like to see. That's the one-two punch and the market tends to reward it. You know, we do a lot of talking about Whole Foods here. And it struck me earlier that, I mean, we do a lot of talking about whole foods. But if you go back and look at the last five years here, I mean, investors, the
Starting point is 00:12:26 bet was on Kroger right there. Investors have won handily with Kroger. It's not even close. And I think that makes sense, though, because this is a market, this is a business where scale is crucial. When you have that scale, you can really control costs, and you can take advantage of being able to do that. And Kroger is far larger than the Whole Foods at this point. I think the acquisition of Harris-Teter was a very shrewd one. I think that opens them up to a consumer base that might choose Whole Foods otherwise. And, you know, they foresee comps for the full year here somewhere between four and five percent. That's strong.
Starting point is 00:13:04 And I mean, speaking from the perspective of having gone to Kroger, I mean, there's one down by our house in Georgia. They are nice. They've really come a long way. And so I expect to see continue good things. Yeah, I want to go back to the Harris Teeter acquisition for a moment, because I think it is worth pointing out that those are tough to pull off in this industry. And there were some people at the time wondering whether or not that that's a lot.
Starting point is 00:13:26 was actually going to work. So, I mean, they deserve a victory lap on that one. Sure, absolutely. I think the biggest question when that deal was first announced was, what are they going to do with the branding? Is this going to change anything? And really, ultimately, it has changed nothing whatsoever. You go into a Harris Teeter today. It's the same one that was two years ago. They really just rolled that concept into sort of their, you know, holding sort of structure, so to speak, and it's just been a nice incremental driver. It is a good addition. I always think that Paris Teeter, they kind of split the difference between like a Whole Foods and your everyday grocery store.
Starting point is 00:13:57 They really have. With higher quality produce, higher quality meat, some organic stuff in there. And I think they probably more than most do a really great job. Agreed. Curra Green Mountain is best known for single-serve pods of coffee and tea. This week, the company unveiled single-serve pods of soup available in home-style chicken noodle and southwest-style chicken noodle. And hazelnut.
Starting point is 00:14:21 Well, I guess if you don't clean out the coffee. I don't get it. You're a Currig owner. I'm a daily user of Curric, but I'm sorry, Curig. I don't get it. There's many ways to get soup very quickly nowadays, from cans to instant, just add hot water. In fact, you could pour, use the Curig to just add the hot water. You don't actually need the cake up.
Starting point is 00:14:43 I don't see it. Curig needs something to help it. Stocks down 54% this year. Since the release of the Curg 2.0, the company's really been taking it on the chin. looking for things to take that machine in other directions, other than coffee, soup being one of those directions. I don't say it. I got an idea. How about a $300 cold beverage machine? That ought to do it, right? So how much do they need this to be a hit? I mean, you look at their latest quarter,
Starting point is 00:15:09 revenue was down more than 8 percent. I mean, this seems unlike what we were talking about earlier with Apple, and I get that it's a completely different business, but Apple can afford to take some chances here. Based on what you just said, it sounds like Currig, you know, This isn't just like a little add-on that maybe has some nice financial benefits. It sounds like they need this to be a hit. They need it to be a hit, but it's going to be an uphill battle, especially with just the trial of two soups right now, which I can't imagine is going to go well. The company is cutting the workforce by 5 percent, doing what they can to cut expenses while
Starting point is 00:15:40 they try to kind of turn this around. Ever since the K-Cup patent expired in 2012, it's been an uphill battle. I just, yeah, this is a company I think had a great, it still does, has a great platform to do hot beverages, mostly coffee. And I just think at some point, management decide, hey, we've got this great thing. People like using it. We can do all kinds of stuff with this machine. And I just, it's the biggest example of the worstification is a term we use that I've seen recently. It's going to be a great case study one day. And I think you came up with the title for
Starting point is 00:16:07 right there, a trial of two soups. Take. Ah. Look at that. It was the best of time. I know you're not interested, but will you at least commit to just testing it just once, just for us. For this show, I will glad. Bring it in. We're going to have selfless efforts. The NFL season kicks off this weekend, and that means big business, not just for the league and TV networks. It also means big business for the growing industry of fantasy football.
Starting point is 00:16:32 Companies like CBS and Yahoo are in on this, but it's also spawned standalone businesses like Fandul and Draft Kings, each of whom has raised more than $350 million in venture financing, Maddie. They're not public companies yet. But when I see that kind of money being thrown, it tells me that they're probably going to be public in the next year or two. I think so. If you had any doubt, fantasy sports is a big business. I came across some data here from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Didn't even know there was a fantasy sports trade association.
Starting point is 00:17:06 I can't believe you did research. And so 56 million people in North America will play fantasy sports this year. Of course, the majority of that's going to be betting on or playing fantasy NFL sports. But that's up from 12 million in 2005. five, and an estimated $5 billion is going to be spent on fantasy games. I mean, this is a huge business. And so, you mentioned Fandul and Draft Kings. I can't watch sports now.
Starting point is 00:17:29 It seems like every other commercial is a fantasy sports for commercial for one of these guys. And each worth now well over a billion dollars based on the recent funding rounds. I mean, there are big companies getting into this. Fox Sports is into it. Disney's into a... Comcast. The New England Patriots have made an investment. Yeah, I mean, that Walt Disney deal with was the Draft Kings.
Starting point is 00:17:47 They didn't plunk, I think, $250 million in there, but they got an advertising deal so that Draft Kings will be advertising on ESPN properties come 2016. They'll be exclusive in 2016. And as a consumer, I mean, it's a really attractive little setup there because you can go in there and play. Maybe you spend $5 a week doing it, so you're not breaking the bank or anything, but you're having fun. And again, like Mattie said, it just creates that interest to where now you're not just focused
Starting point is 00:18:12 on your team. You're focusing on every game because you've got a player involved. I wonder how much of the money you talked about, which is big number, really is privately changing hands. Between you and me who are in a fantasy league together, we both put in $50. Does that number include that? And how does a business capture any of that money? That's a great question. I think that is probably the overall transaction volume. And of course, Draft Kings and Fandul are taking a small piece of that. So most of that money is going into the winning pool that you can ultimately win from whatever league or whatever game
Starting point is 00:18:42 you're playing. I know we've all done fantasy football. Let's bring in our man. and Steve Brodo from the other side of the glass. Steve, if you had the number one pick in a fantasy football draft, who do you think you'd take? I don't even know what fantasy football is. I'm not going to lie. I have no idea. It sounds really dorky. Would you like to enter a league with us? No, I don't. I don't know anything about football, but good luck.
Starting point is 00:19:05 Thanks, Steve. All right, guys, thanks for being here. We'll see you later in the show. Coming up after the break, we will bask in television's warm, glowing, warming, Glow with TV writer Andy Greenwald. Stay right here. This is Motley Fool Money. Welcome back to Motley Fool Money. I'm Chris Hill. We've talked for years on this show about how one of the most interesting business battles out there is the battle for the living room, and at the heart of that battle is television. Andy Greenwald covers the TV industry for Grantland, and he joins me now from New York City. Andy, thanks for being here. Oh, thanks for inviting me, Chris. Let me start with something
Starting point is 00:19:45 from a few weeks ago. The Television Critics Association Press Tour was going on. You have the major broadcast and cable networks making their presentations. And John Landgraf, who's the CEO of FX, raised more than a few eyebrows when he said, point blank, there is simply too much television. Is he right about that? I mean, I feel that way because I'm a middle-aged man with kids, And so I hear all the time about great shows that I just can't really seem fine. You find the time to watch. But here's the head of a network saying it. Yeah, can I...
Starting point is 00:20:23 And I think he's talking about it. I think, and that is a finite number of people. That number is getting stretched pretty thin. So I think he's starting to... I think he's also thinking you can't just dabble committing anywhere. The lights will have you believe well by a little that got a lot of good to go. Would that have found a way? Well, and one of my thoughts was, I don't think John Landgraf is making a comment like that.
Starting point is 00:22:33 if a ton of people are watching his network. As you said, he's a smart guy, but there's a slightly self-serving edge to that, as there probably should be, because he's the CEO of the network. I think that he's getting frustrated and as a good see. If it's a little bit tougher on the business side of the equation for television, is this a golden era for the creative people, for the showrunners? Because it seems like they have so many more options as opposed to when I was a kid, You basically had ABC, CBS, NBC, and that was it.
Starting point is 00:23:29 Oh, absolutely. You know, when AMC, the projects that were over a decade, no, and shows you may not like very much. Let's go back to the business side when you look at broadcast networks, basic cable networks, and premium cable networks like HBO. Who's in the driver's seat in terms of making money? Time again, who are going, you can get access. They've cut out and make the shows they own anyone to be in.
Starting point is 00:25:26 As you go down the show, How much does international distribution matter for networks? Is it the same level for all of them, or is it more important for certain networks as opposed to others? As much as we love them. Isn't that why Baywatch was such a huge hit? I mean, at one time, wasn't Baywatch the number one watch show on the planet? That's exactly with GoMond International. You're listening to Motley Fool Money talking with Andy Greenwald, TV writer for Grantland.
Starting point is 00:28:09 is owned by ESPN, so I realize I'm putting you in a little bit of a spot with this next question. But some analysts have looked at the steady, unfettered rise in the cost of live sports programming, and they see a bubble that is getting ready to burst. Do you think that is the case? And if so, what does the aftermath look like? I know he's been on the air for less than a week, but do you have an early reaction to how Stephen Colbert is doing? imagined. CBS shareholders have to be pretty happy, though, because now that CBS owns the late show, whereas David Letterman owned it before, CBS is going to be making a lot more money in late night. Yeah, and the average age of the 11th. I know that the way the television landscape has
Starting point is 00:31:17 changed, particularly over the last decade or so, means that the new television series in the fall, that's not quite the thing that it used to be. That being said, there are a bunch and new shows being launched by various networks this fall. Do you have one or two that you're particularly interested in? I had worked for at least what they want in big. I think they just changed by getting into the Super. Since you mentioned that I have to ask this last question, and then I'll let you go because on behalf of my colleague Ron Gross,
Starting point is 00:32:55 who is a huge fan of Superman, do you have any sense of how good or bad the CBS fall series Supergirl may be? You're watching this thing. But I actually don't. It was leaked a few months. People who I know who work in a know how to make a competent. You can follow him on Twitter or better yet. Click over to Grantland.com and read his stuff.
Starting point is 00:33:52 He's one of the best when it comes to writing about television. Andy Greenwald, thank you so much for being here. Oh, thanks for inviting me. Television say you love me. Up next, we'll give an inside look at the stocks on our radar. This is Motley Fool Money. 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 yourself
Starting point is 00:34:16 stocks based solely on what you hear. Welcome back to Motley Fool Money. I'm Chris Helen, joining me in studio once again, Jason Moser, Matt Argusinger, and Ron Gross. Time once again for the stocks on our radar. And we will bring in our man from the other side of the glass. Steve Brododd had hit you with a question. Ron Gross, you're up first. What are you looking at this week? Well, Steve and Chris, I have a new deep value radar stock. Not a recommendation of radar stock. It's a $600 million company, Movado, M-O-V. Most people, I'm sure, have heard of it. It's the watch company that makes watches under the Mavato, Coach, Hugo Boss, juicy, Tommy
Starting point is 00:34:50 Hillfigure brand names, among others. Stock got absolutely slammed in the second half of 2014, a weak retail environment, weak demand for watches overall. People just aren't wearing them, let's face it. But they put a plan in place. They raise selected prices. They cut costs. They bought back stock.
Starting point is 00:35:06 Things really have turned the corner now. Stock has rebounded off its 52. week low, but there still could be a lot of room to run on the stock if they can put up growth. The really strong balance sheet, the question for me is, is there growth to be had, especially in this age of smart watches? Steve, question about Movado? Does Movado release a smart watch in the next 10 years? Within the next probably two years, they call it a connected watch, and it is definitely coming,
Starting point is 00:35:32 whether it's successful or not. I'm not sure. But my question for you, Mr. Broido, is do you own a watch? If so, do you wear a watch. I do want a watch, and I do wear a watch. Very nice. Any chance you're going to upgrade to a Movado? I don't think so.
Starting point is 00:35:45 But maybe. Jason Moser, what are you looking at this week? Sure thing. You know, I've been able to play golf like twice in the last month, which for me is a lot. I don't get a chance to play a lot of a lot. And this kind of got me back to looking at a company called Club Corp Holdings, ticker is MYCC. And I've said before, this is the only golf investment I would ever actually consider, because
Starting point is 00:36:05 these guys aren't making golf equipment. These are the guys that own the golf courses of the clubs. So while golf may be facing some head wins and really growing the number of players of the game, I think that actually, you know, Club Corp is compelling from the sense that it's the market leader and the number of properties it owns. It's the biggest operator out there. Scale is a big advantage here where they can really actually help control the costs, bring the costs down of being a member of a facility, and make that actually a bit more of an attractive
Starting point is 00:36:30 sort of aspirational goal for many. They just recently acquired Sequoia Golf, which gives it now 204 clubs in the total, more than 430,000 members worldwide. Just an interesting situation there. They get membership fees every month, which I like that recurring revenue there. And it's interesting when you look at the profitability company, because of all the property and equipment they use, they have a lot of depreciation and amortization on the income statement, which sort of, I think, makes them not seem as profitable as they really are. They do bring in a lot of free cash flow. A very interesting investment. I want to go back and do a little bit more research on it.
Starting point is 00:37:05 Steve, question about Club Corp? What happens with a water shortage like we're seeing in California? That's an interesting question there. And actually, what we're seeing, the USGA is spearheading a movement to where the golf courses are actually using less and less water. They're less concerned with maintaining sort of the off-the-fairway appearances of golf courses so that they don't have to consume as much water, because when those water shortages come into play, golf courses certainly are not immune. Mandy, what are you looking at?
Starting point is 00:37:32 I can't take my eyes off GoPro. The ticker is GPRO. It's a company we just recently added to our watch list in a million-dollar portfolio. It has been beaten down almost close to its IPO price from over a year ago, really because of some short guidance by Ambrella, which is a chipmaker supplier to GoPro. But of course, this is the action sports camera founded by Nick Woodman 10 years ago. He owns 30 percent of shares. The latest quarter, the sales are up 71 percent.
Starting point is 00:38:00 Free cash flow hit 50 million. I mean, this is a company that's not only profitable, growing by leaps and bounds. The GoPro brand is really spreading to all different kinds of areas of sports and the market. I'm really excited about the company. Steve? Is there a storage opportunity with GoPro? Some of the footage that stuff creates gets very, very large. Right.
Starting point is 00:38:17 Well, yeah, GoPro has some options in cloud-based options where you can store with them or you can use other cloud services, but they make it really seamless from capturing the video and storing it, editing it, all that kind of stuff. Steve, you got GoPro, Movado, Club Corp, any of those stocks, peaking your interest? Maybe something you want to add to your watch list? I own Amberra. So I'm thinking GoPro looks kind of promising right now. All right.
Starting point is 00:38:39 Fixed. Steve. Showing his data knowledge with the question about stories. Steve, do you play golf? No, not at all. I neglected to ask my Steve brother question. I'm going to get a little bit more personally here, Steve. How does it feel getting your first child into school, right?
Starting point is 00:38:54 Just started preschool. He did. Yeah, it feels great. He's in preschool. It feels very, very good. Boy, that's a big move in the right direction, buddy. All right, guys. Thanks for being here.
Starting point is 00:39:02 Thanks, Chris. That's going to do it for this week's show, our engineer Steve Brodo, our producer's Matt Greer. I'm Chris Hill. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next week.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.