Ebay: A Sustainable Social Distancing Stock
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
Of the few survivors of the dot com bust, Ebay (EBAY) is a perennial also-ran. It owned the market for consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions in 2000, but has since repeatedly lost market share. Nevertheless, the company remains a profitable business that enables the sustainable reuse of easy to ship items while returning cash to investors.
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The Competition for Sellers
In the early 2000s, Ebay lost sellers to Amazon's (AMZN) marketplace, which had the...
Less Well Known Autonomous Car Stocks
Car manufacturers have fully embraced self-driving or autonomous cars. It is not because they have heard a loud clamor for such technology from consumers. No, automakers are keen on the idea because manufacture of self-driving cars could help them overcome the short comings of highly cyclical sales pattern associated with its car dependent upon a single driver. In other words, they are in it for themselves whether consumers benefit or not.
If consumers are not so important, at least investors should benefit. Besides the car manufacturers there are a few smaller companies that can give investors a taste of the self-driving car phenomenon.
LiDar and...
Manufacturers Going All Out for Self-driving Car Tech
There is a clutch of self-driving cars and cars with autonomous driving features on the market today. Drivers just cannot seem to get enough of them. Apparently, the idea of zooming down the highway with little to no responsibility holds considerable appeal. Then again, maybe it is the novelty of the idea that will eventually give way to the next fad.
In August 2018, Cox Automotive revealed the results of a survey that found fewer Americans are embracing self-driving technology than previously thought. A surprising 49% of respondents said they would NEVER own a fully-autonomous car. This is up from 30% naysayers two years ago. Views...
List of Alternative Transportation Stocks
Alternative Transportation Stocks are publicly traded companies that offer transportation options that use less fuel per passenger-mile or freight-mile than traditional options. Includes mass transit (both rail and bus), bicycles, and two wheel vehicles.
A. P. Moller - Maersk Group (MAERSK-B.CO)
Accell Group (ACCEL.AS)
Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD)
Bombardier Inc (BDRBF)
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (0MK5.L)
CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive (ZHUZF)
Canadian National Railway Company (CNI)
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP)
CSX Corporation (CSX)
Cubic Corporation (CUB)
Dorel Industries (DIIBF)
Firstgroup, PLC (FGP.L)
Giant Manufacturing (9921.TW)
Grande West Transportation Group Inc. (BUS.V)
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock (GLDD)
Greenbrier (GBX)
L. B. Foster (FSTR)
Merida Industry Co. Ltd. (9914.TW)
National Express Group (NEX.L)
New Flyer Industries (NFYEF, NFI.TO)
Norfolk...
Aerovironment’s New Farm Worker
by Debra Fiakas CFA Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had their starting point in military exercises, carrying surveillance cameras and even bombs to sensitive sites. Drones as we have come to call them have also zoomed across the horizons of adventuresome consumers, who see sport and entertainment possibilities. However, drones offer time and cost savings, quality and accuracy in data gathering and safety to a host of scientists, engineers and infrastructure operators. According to industry research firm Markets and Markets, the unmanned aerial market is estimated to be $13.2 billion in the current year and has the...
What I Learned During Last Week’s Visit With ePower
John Petersen Last week I spent a couple days with ePower Engine Systems working my way through a variety of business and technical due diligence issues. As always happens with new clients, it was a full immersion course in how ePower’s technology works, what the documented performance of the current tractor is, and how that performance is expected to change as ePower: transitions from a four cylinder engine designed for stationary use to an EPA compliant six cylinder engine designed for the trucking industry; automates a new charge control system that will opportunistically charge the batteries in...
New Flyer Consolidates Leading Position in Transit Bus and Parts Markets
Tom Konrad CFA On June 21st, leading North American heavy-duty transit bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries (TSX:NFI, OTC:NFYEF) announced the acquisition of its third largest competitor, North American Bus Industries from private equity firm Cerberus Capital. The following Monday, New Flyer management held a call to discuss the acquisition with analysts. Here are the highlights. Cost and Financing: The C$84 million cost to New Flyer consists almost entirely of the assumption and discharge of NABI’s existing debt. This will be funded with C$64 million by issuing to the world’s second largest bus maker Marcopolo S.A. for C$10.50 a...
Another Chance To Buy Power REIT On The Cheap
Tom Konrad CFA An earlier version of this article appeared on the author's Forbes blog on June 3rd. An article about Power REIT (NYSE:PW) that came out on Seeking Alpha on May 30th has sent some investors running for the hills. The article has since been removed from Seeking Alpha. According to PW's CEO, David Lesser, Seeking Alpha’s editorial staff concluded that it had reached unsupported and erroneous conclusions after discussions with him and Ryan Griffin, the article’s author. Ryan Griffin told me that he did not have time to respond to the...
Ameresco, New Flyer, PFB: Q1 Efficiency Earnings Highlights
Tom Konrad CFA Performance contractor Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) reported earnings on May 9th. Revenues were below analyst expectations, but Chairman, CEO, and President George Sakellaris put this down to timing issues, and stuck by his full year guidance. Strong growth in the firm’s backlog and awarded project’s seem to back up this relatively optimistic view. From the earnings call transcript e are very confident about the improving market conditions in few of our regions, as well as continued growth in our all other offerings. These are expected to be the growth drivers for the near-term. We are also...
Will Electric Bicycles Get Americans to Start Pedaling?
by Marc Gunther. First Published on Yale Environment 360 Electric bicycles are already popular in Europe and in China, which has more e-bikes than cars on its roads. Now, manufacturers are marketing e-bikes in the U.S., promoting them as a "green" alternative to driving. Most Americans know about Tesla , the Chevy Volt, and the Nissan Leaf. But what about Evelo, the eZip Trailz, and the Faraday Porteur? The first three are, of course, electric cars. They benefit from a lot of media attention and generous government subsidies, including a...
When Isn’t a $68M Civil Action Material?
Tom Konrad CFA David and Goliath (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Last week, I investigated the Goliath vs. David civil action in which Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC) and Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad (WLE) are attempting to prevent Power REIT (NYSE:PW) from foreclosing on the lease of the 112 miles of track owned by Power REIT and operated by WLE under a sublease with NSC. As in Biblical times, Power REIT, in its role as David, looks likely to surprise the market with a legal victory. I calculated that any victory could lead to payments...
Where Electric Vehicles Make Sense
Tom Konrad CFA Electric Transit Buses Coming to North America Quayside electric bus in Newcastle. Photo credit: LHOON On June first, New Flyer Industries (TSX:NFI, OTC:NFYEF) unveiled its first all-electric bus prototype. New Flyer is far from the first manufacturer to launch an electric bus. The first deployment of electric buses on a commercial route was at the end of 2010 in Seoul, using buses developed by Hyundai and Hankuk Fiber. Wikipedia lists twenty manufacturers of electric buses worldwide. Even in North America, Balqon Corporation (OTC:BLQN), a...
Buying Opportunity at Renewable Energy REIT, Courtesy of Disgruntled Shareholder
Tom Konrad CFA Power REIT (AMEX:PW) aims to be the first renewable energy infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). The Renewable Energy REIT Renewable energy advocates have been calling for a change in the tax laws to allow renewable energy within the REIT structure. A REIT is allowed to pass profits directly through to investors. These profits are not subject to double-taxation like most corporate profits. Owning shares of a renewable REIT would be much like owning a slice of a wind or solar farm. This would open up the renewable energy investment opportunity to everyone, not just...
A Green Peak Oil Company Expanding in North America: Stagecoach Group
Tom Konrad CFA What’s the budget-conscious way to travel in the US? If you buy in advance, flying is still reasonably priced, but increased security and wait times mean that it’s quicker to drive for shorter trips. With current high gas prices, driving is increasingly expensive. Except on a few routes, Amtrak is slow, has very limited service, and costs a bundle. In our new peak oil world of $4 gas and, more and more people are opting for bus travel. The young like it: My girlfriend’s daughter travels by bus almost exclusively, even though she owns a car....
New Flyer Sees Bus Market Revival
Tom Konrad CFA Highlights from New Flyer Industries’ (TSX:NFI, OTC:NFYEF) first quarter conference call The Numbers New Flyer announced first quarter results on May 9. The results were: Q1 2012 Q1 2011 Earnings up; reverses loss $2.7 million profit $6.4 million loss Revenue up 6.2% $227.6 million $214.3 million The improved numbers mostly arise from a more favorable product mix, and the benefits of New Flyer’s restructuring, which removed most of the debt burden. The North American transit bus market remains very competitive, and this competition...
Why the Sell-off at New Flyer?
Tom Konrad CFA Heavy duty transit bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries (NFI.TO/NFYEF.PK) released its fourth quarter earnings and annual report on March 21, quickly followed by analyst downgrades from CIBC and Canacord Genuity. Too far, too fast Over the next few days, the stock fell from over $8 to below $7, although it is still well above the level where followers of my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2012 would have purchased ($5.65) even after dividend payments worth $0.22. After a rise like New Flyer has had over the last three months, some investors took the...
