Propnex A Value Play- Is Spore Property Prices Correcting?

Contributed by: The Big Fat Whale

• Propnex is trading at a PE of 11 and a dividend yield of 7.6%
• They have the largest amount of agents in Singapore
• Earnings have fallen by 18.8%
• Propnex Price has dropped 32% from their peak
• They have an impressive Return on Investment of 37%

Propnex has been a stock on our radar due to its great return on investment metric. Sadly, we have missed the good run that they had over the past 2 years. So with the recent correction in price, is it turning into a value play?

The stock market is a forward-looking proxy for the economy. Is the recent weakness in the price of Propnex an indication of a correction of Singapore Property Prices ahead?

We did an article on a likely property crisis in late 2022, and we still hold to the view that our thesis is valid.

We will dive into the different elements to hopefully unearth some useful insights. More importantly, we would like to know if Propnex at its current level is an investment worth considering.

 Property Price Trend- Singapore

Source: tradingeconomics.com

Let us first have a look at the property price trend in Singapore to have a better feel of the general direction. Looking at the URA Property Index which has done a coverage of private home prices, we are still seeing an uptick in the prices.

There was a slight decrease in 2023Q2 but for 2023Q3, the prices reverted back to their uptrend.

Looking through the charts from 2000, there were 3 evident corrections for the Singapore Property Market. They are in the early 2000s (9/11 and Sars), 2008 (Global Financial Crisis) and 2014 (Euro Crisis).

Source: HDB

The HDB (Public Housing) Price Index is showing an even stronger upward trajectory. There was no drop in prices for 2023Q2.

In essence, Singapore property prices are still in unchartered territories by reaching new highs. Even with the upsurge in interest rates, the government's restrictive policies (literally at 60% taxes for foreigners to buy a property- it has killed the interest of this segment), and big tech layoffs, the property market has remained resilient.

Click here for the Full Article:

https://thebigfatwhale.com/propnex-value-property-prices/

 

Is Paramount Warren Buffett’s Greatest Investment Mistake?

Contributed By: The Big Fat Whale 

• Buffett's Position is Down Close to 60%
• Streaming Business is still in transition
• Huge One-Off Losses from Programming Charges of 2.4 billion dollars
• An Interesting Turnaround Play

 

Paramount has been on a downward spiral since the start of 2021. Even Warren Buffett's endorsement and investment does not aid in slowing the decline. Berkshire Hathaway, as of this write-up, has a 15.4% stake in Paramount which makes it the biggest shareholder.

Based on Barron's estimate, Berkshire got their Paramount stake (93 million shares) at an average price of close to $30. Based on the current price of $12.5, Buffett is down by close to 60%.

The boiling question will be:

Is Paramount going to be Warren Buffett's Greatest Investment Mistake?

 

Video Streaming Industry Growth

Source: Statista

We have no doubt the streaming business is an extremely competitive industry. Only Netflix is able to churn out profits at this juncture.

Also, to keep consumers engaged, new content has to be regularly created in order to prevent subscribers from leaving their streaming network. So all these will require massive investments, not unlike the airline business. Amazon has budgeted 15 billion dollars on content creation for 2023.

Statista estimates that the revenue in the Video Streaming (SVoD) market is projected to reach US$95.88bn in 2023. Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 9.47%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$137.70bn by 2027.

Grand View Research is more optimistic and is projecting an annual growth rate of 21.5% till 2030.

Source: FlixPatrol

Looking at the subscriber numbers, there is lots of room to grow for Paramount as they are currently in 7th position. With the combination of Paramount+ and Showtime, it would make it a more enticing package for consumers to onboard to Paramount's streaming offer.

However, we are of the view that consolidation is likely as there are just too many players. With the price war to gain market share, it will hurt the bottom line and only the fittest will survive. This explains why only Netflix is able to net a profit, likely due to their economies of scale.

Click Here for the Full Article:

https://thebigfatwhale.com/paramount-warren-buffett-investment-mistake/