Playing FTSE

0:00 Intro

8:56 Bard / Chat GPT

19:29 Disney

33:10 Adyen

43:33 Nintendo

51:01 Stock One - Intercontinental Hotels

59.31 Stock Two - VAT Group

If the FTSE 100 was a tech stock, which one would it be? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!

Steve and Steve are in at the end of the week to talk about some of the earnings reports that have been coming out lately. There’s lots to discuss, though maybe not lots to do…

First up is Alphabet, because – appropriately – it’s first alphabetically. Search advertising was steady, YouTube was down, and Google Cloud was up. Both Steves own this stock – is there anything here to excite them and get them to buy more?

Second is Amazon. Services revenues were generally higher, product revenues were generally lower. Net income was low because the Rivian investment continues to weigh on the bottom line. Should the Steves be worried with the P/E ratio going up and up and up?

Third is Apple, which Steve W owns. For the first time since 2019, Apple posted lower revenues than it did a year ago. But the market took the news very well. Steve W sees the company running out of road on its buyback scheme, so what’s he planning on doing?

Fourth is Intel. The market did NOT take Intel’s earnings report very well at all. With revenue and profit down in almost every segment, at least shareholders have the dividend to rely on for now… right?

Last is Meta. The stock shot up after earnings as the number of users went up, but the metaverse project continued to lose more and more money. Steve W thinks that there’s scope to see whatever you want to see with this, so what’s he doing with his shares?

Only on this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!

Whose portfolio is in the green for the first time in six months? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!

Paul, Steve, and Steve are here this week with lots to talk about. ISAs, buybacks, dividends, and earnings are the themes of this week’s show.

We’re starting off with a UK story. There’s talk of ISAs being capped at £100,000, rather than the £20,000 annual allowance we currently get. The move is unsurprisingly unpopular with finance YouTubers, but is there more going on beneath the surface? Steve W has been looking at this one.

Next, there’s news of a big buyback from the US. Chevron has announced it’s going to repurchase $75bn of its own shares. That’s around 20% of its market cap right now. Steve W thinks this is a good idea, but Paul isn’t so sure…

After that, it’s on to earnings. Steve D’s been looking at ASML with Paul and the results look pretty impressive. Orders coming in seem strong and the earnings call was more than a bit interesting. So why wouldn’t Paul buy it right now?

Paul’s also been looking at a couple of other earnings reports this week. Microsoft’s share price has been falling after its report offered weak guidance. And Blackstone also put out an interesting set of results. But what even is Blackstone and why has Paul been buying it?

All on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!

Who’s been piling money into real estate? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!

With Paul not here, the Steves are taking the time to discuss their more distinctive interests. This week, it’s lemon farming.

Steve D has a lemon tree and Steve W is wanting to start a small orchard. We’re starting this show off in a weird place.

But there’s plenty of your regularly-scheduled content to go around. Because earnings season generally does, we’re kicking off with the earnings from the banks.

We’ve got Bank of America, JP. Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on our list to look at. But is either Steve buying any of these?

Procter & Gamble also reported earnings recently. Prices going up meant that volumes went down and the consumer goods giant came in pretty much level with where it was before.

Neither Steve is particularly impressed. If Paul was here, maybe he’d feel differently about a dividend king with 60+ years of consecutive increases.

We’re finishing off with a look at Disney. Both Steves like this one, but it’s been attracting some activist attention lately.

Nelson Peltz thinks he has something useful to contribute, but Disney don’t agree. The Steves give their thoughts on the company and the activist.

All on this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!

0:00 Intro

Who’s been outsourcing their podcasting work to ChatGPT? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!  

On the edge of earnings season, Paul, Steve, and Steve have been thinking about what stocks they’d put into a beginner portfolio. And the Steves have been thinking about stocks for Paul. They aren’t the same, promise!  

Steve and Steve have put together their 7 stock portfolios. Some names that you might expect and some that you probably wouldn’t. Also some names missing that you might be expecting.   

Steve D has a bunch of companies that you’ve never heard of. But you’ve probably heard of the products they make. Paul wonders whether that’s where a beginner investor should be pitching up.  

Steve W has a bunch of things you have heard of and one you probably haven’t. Unless you do your banking in Hull or Sweden.  

Speaking of banking, Steve W’s stock for Paul is Bank of America. As a dividend investor, the burgundy one likes companies that pay out cash. And Steve thinks there’s more going on than meets the eye at first.  

Steve D is looking at something more exciting. An established, profitable, reputable healthcare stock with an obesity drug and a potential cure for Alzheimers. A big price tag, but if it comes off, this won’t even touch the sides.  

All on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!

Our appearance on JKR Investing: https://youtu.be/jZmCdA66FAE  What’s Steve D found down the back of his sofa? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!  

Steve and Steve are in the house this week as Paul is in… some other house. With not a huge amount happening so far this week, we’re looking forward to what we’re wanting to achieve in 2023.  

First, though, there’s news from the US. People still have jobs. And they’re getting more and more of them. That means one of two things. Either the soft landing is back on, or the inflation problem isn’t going away. Which one is it? The Steves discuss.  

Not everyone’s in the jobs in the US, though. Amazon have announced plans to cut 18,000 jobs and Salesforce are set to lose quite a few as well. For shareholders such as Steve and Steve, is that a good thing or a bad thing? And why can’t these companies get their headcounts right the first time around?  

Next up, it’s our ambitions for the new year. Steve W is looking for a non-financial plan. He’s aiming at the 5am club after listening to part of a book on Blinkist. That’s madness, isn’t it? He’ll never manage it, surely…  Steve D is opting for something more traditional. He’s looking to fill his ISA. But this is a particularly interesting year for PlayingFTSE’s Yorkshire representative. Why? Tune in to find out…  

Lastly, we’ve got thoughts for new investors. Plenty of people are getting started investing and we’ve been thinking about what we think it would be good for new starters to know. Obviously not financial advice – never financial advice.   

All on this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!

Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to the PlayingFTSE Show!!

This week, our show is about everything that we’ve learned from 2022 and everything that we’re looking forward to in 2023. At the end of 2021, we made some bold predictions – which ones were right and what have we learned from those that weren’t?

Steve D was predicting the takeover of either ASOS or Boohoo. That doesn’t seem to have happened yet, but why is he giving himself partial credit for this? And what does he think will happen to inflation in 2023?

Paul was anticipating positive things for Tesla and Bitcoin in the year gone by. That didn’t really happen. But which company is the PlayingFTSE Show’s resident dividend hunter looking at for a return to form in 2023?

Steve W was wrong about just about everything from inflation, through to the S&P 500. Undeterred, though, he’s going for two more stocks that he thinks can outperform in 2023 – and one that he thinks might go in the bin. What are they?

Find out all of this – and what everyone agrees will happen to the housing market – on this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!

What have Steve and Steve been doing with gingerbread? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!!

As 2022 comes to its end, we’re looking back at our favourite stories of the year, why they’re important to us, and what we’ve learned from those stories. We’ve gone for three similar ones this year – nobody really took Russia-Ukraine, or Elon Musk buying Twitter.

Steve D’s eye was caught on the year in crypto scandals. Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested and Bitcoin is down over 60% since the start of the year. But what does this mean for him? Steve was a crypto enthusiast once upon a time, has anything in 2022 caused him to come round to the Charlie Munger view?

Steve W is interested in what’s been going on at ARK. Cathie Wood has been fighting the FED this year and the results for her backers haven’t been good. She’s still optimistic, though. But this isn’t exactly a 2022 story – the decline in the price of ARKK shares started in 2021. So why does Steve W think of this as a 2022 story?

Paul has been looking at Tesla. Like ARK and crypto, this has also had a tough 2022. The big question for him is whether the fall in the Tesla share price means the stock is fairly priced yet. Figuring that out means thinking about why the stock has been coming down. Does it have anything to do with the CEO being distracted? Selling Tesla stock? Paul has an idea…

All in this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!

How far can Steve D go in his Tesla? And how many countries has Steve W heard of? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!

Steve and Steve are on deck this week to have a look at this week’s news. And they’re starting with interest rates. The US hiked rates to 4.5% this week and the UK increased them to 3.5%. The stock market seems to be selling off in response – but haven’t we seen all of this before?

After that, it’s on to the stock samplers – remember those? Last July Steve and Steve picked five stocks to go up against David Gardner. As we approach the end of a pretty grim 2022 and the halfway point of our three year contest, it’s time for a check in on how everyone’s doing. Spoiler alert: nobody’s doing well…

Lastly, we’ve got a new segment. All three of us at the PlayingFTSE podcast like reading investing articles with catchy titles. But we thought we might try and rewrite the articles of some of the catchiest headlines. So after having found a title of ‘1 stock to double down on in December’ the Steves have their own candidates for the subject matter.

All on this wek’s PlayingFTSE podcast!

Where does Kasper buy his car accessories? Find out on this week’s PlayingFTSE Podcast!

We’re all together for this week’s episode and there’s lots to talk about. Kicking off, Steve D’s found some interesting data about app downloads in November. TikTok vs Instagram? Zoom vs Teams? Spotify? We discuss who’s winning the battle for space on people’s phones and get an insight into what Paul looks at on TikTok…

After that, we’re on to worrying about people’s jobs. Larry Fink, the BlackRock CEO has been in the headlines. Shockingly, it looks like the company’s big ESG drive might all be a marketing manoeuvre. But is Fink’s job in danger? Steve D owns BlackRock shares and he’s got the latest.

Besides Fink, who else is in trouble? Steve W is concerned for Chris Hill (not that one) the Chief Executive at Hargreaves Lansdown. With revenues going backwards, the company’s competitive position under threat, and the stock down substantially, might one of the more established UK investment platforms be due a change? Steve D has a revolutionary idea…

But Steve D is concerned about Halfords. The company’s revenues are up but this is the result of buying up tyre shops and selling off their real estate to fund it. In a world where MOTs are a commodity and electric vehicles are less likely to need oil changes, will this business still be around in 10 years? Paul thinks there’s something of value here and Steve W can see a way that he’d prefer the business to operate…

All on this week’s PlayingFTSE Show!