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Recent Articles
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Booking Holdings' Revenue Accelerates in Fourth Quarter
Feb 21, 2025
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Image Source: Booking Holdings.
Booking Holdings is doing a great job returning cash to shareholders. The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $9.60 per share, a 10% increase from its quarterly cash dividend of $8.75 per share in 2024. The company repurchased $1.1 billion of stock during the fourth quarter of 2024, and the firm has remaining buyback authorization of $7.7 billion. For the full year 2024, free cash flow was $7.9 billion, roughly 33.3% of sales. Cash and long-term investments were $16.7 billion at the end of the year, about in line with short- and long-term debt of $16.6 billion. We liked Booking Holdings’ accelerated performance in the fourth quarter of 2024 and remain huge fans of its free cash flow generating prowess.
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Walmart’s Earnings Outlook Falls Short of Expectations
Feb 21, 2025
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Image Source: Walmart.
Walmart ended its fiscal year with cash and cash equivalents of $9.0 billion and total debt of $45.8 billion. Operating cash flow for fiscal 2025 was $36.4 billion, an increase of $0.7 billion from last year, while free cash flow remained robust at $12.7 billion. Looking to the first quarter of fiscal 2026, net sales are expected to increase 3%-4%, while adjusted operating income is expected to advance 0.5%-2%, with adjusted earnings per share targeted in the range of $0.57-$0.58, below the $0.65 consensus estimate. For all of fiscal 2026, net sales are anticipated to increase 3%-4%, with adjusted operating income expected to increase 3.5%-5.5%. Adjusted earnings per share is targeted in the range of $2.50-$2.60 for the full year (consensus was at $2.76), inclusive of a $0.05 headwind from currency. Shares yield 0.9%.
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Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of February 21
Feb 21, 2025
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Let's take a look at firms raising/lowering their dividends this week.
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Albemarle Has Line of Sight to Breakeven Free Cash Flow in 2025
Feb 19, 2025
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Image Source: Albemarle.
Albemarle recorded full-year cash flow from operations of $702 million, which represented 60% of adjusted EBITDA, revealing good cash flow conversion. Management plans to further reduce 2025 capital expenditures by $100 million, to the range of $700-$800 million, down more than 50% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle noted that it has a “line of sight to breakeven free cash flow in 2025,” which should alleviate some pressure on its stock.
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