First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX Fund

On June 11, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) filed a shelf prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (or SEC).

In the second half of fiscal 2018, AutoZone’s management decided to discontinue aggressive promotional discounts for its ship-to-home sales.

Coty Inc.’s capital expenditure decreased 15.2% to $0.17 billion in fiscal 2015, compared to $0.20 billion in fiscal 2014.

At its 2015 Investor Day held on September 14, Nike briefed the financial community on its targets for generating value for shareholders.

The women and young athletes demographic segments saw the greatest sales traction in fiscal 2015 for Nike.

A few years ago, Tesla Motors showcased the true potential of EVs with its Roadster, Model S, and Model X.

Hyatt is focusing on increasing its presence to under-penetrated markets. The company believes that its presence in emerging markets such as India and China is essential for its growth.

On March 8, 2018, GM’s EV-to-EBITDA was 7.2x, much lower than its direct competitor Ford’s multiple of 12.8x.

Under its retail financial services, Harley-Davidson Financial Services primarily provides installment lending for the purchase of new and used Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Costco’s suppliers include companies like PepsiCo (PEP), Procter & Gamble (PG), and the Kraft Heinz Company (KHC). No single supplier accounts for over 5% of revenue.

The company grew its revenues at a compound annual growth rate of more than 35% over the past five years to come in at $1.6 billion in fiscal 2014.

Wage costs are expected to be a headwind for Walmart. On February 20, Walmart made the second round of wage increases for over 1.2 million staff.

Costco has been able to steadily increase the renewal rate in the US and Canada from 88% in fiscal 2010 to 91% in fiscal 1Q16.

Target had upbeat revenue performance in fiscal 4Q16 and 2016. Store traffic was up by 1.3% YoY in fiscal 2016, trending in positive territory in all four quarters of the year.

Nike’s profitability in fiscal 3Q16 was helped by better-than-average performance in North America and Greater China, two of its most profitable segments.

Over the next five years, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) is aiming to double its revenue to $4 billion with an expected mid-single-digit growth rate in store comps.

Target opened 15 new stores in fiscal 2016. Its same-store sales rose 2.1%, with customer traffic at stores up 1.3%.

Since the launch of its first line in 1992, Skechers has diversified into several new lines, targeting different demographics and different activities.

In recent years, Skechers has reported improved working capital metrics. The company’s inventory turnover (or ITR) rose from 2.9x in 2013 to 3.2x in 2015.

AutoZone’s performance is mainly divided into two business segments: DIY (do it yourself), or Retail, and DIFM (do it for me), or Commercial.

In the third quarter, Ferrari (RACE) reported net revenue of 838 million euros, or ~$956 million.

A couple of years quarters ago, FCAU had a bad reputation for having the lowest profit margins among legacy automakers (FXD).

On July 25, Ferrari’s (RACE) forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple was 19.0x.

In 2017, Toyota Motor (TM) was the third-largest automaker by volume in the world after Renault-Nissan Alliance and Volkswagen (VLKAY).

In the auto sector, valuation multiples are used by investors to compare companies that are similar in size or business.

In 4Q17, Ford Motor Company’s (F) Asia-Pacific region’s revenue rose 11% YoY (year-over-year).

AutoZone’s 2Q18 earnings Previously, we looked at how AutoZone’s (AZO) key business segments fared in 2Q18. The company’s focus on improving parts availability and the in-store experience continued to drive growth. AZO’s commercial and online retail business traffic grew during the quarter. Let’s find out how these factors affected AutoZone’s profitability in 2Q18. Profit margin in 2Q18 […]

In fiscal 2Q18, Toyota reported a flat operating margin of 7.3% compared to 7.3% in the same quarter the previous year.

In 2Q17, General Motors’ (GM) adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) stood at 3.7 billion. The company’s EBIT margin was 10.0% for the quarter.

In 2Q17, Marriott’s revenues grew 49% YoY to $5.8 billion, compared with $3.9 billion in 2Q16, due to higher fee revenues and RevPAR and room growth.

Skechers (SKX) is covered by 12 Wall Street analysts who jointly rate the company as a 2 on a scale of 1 (“strong buy”) to 5 (“sell”).

According to STR Global’s US Construction Pipeline Report for January 2017, rooms under contract rose 16.1% to reach 576,000 rooms in 4,763 hotel properties.

The strength of the US dollar measured against currencies that are widely used in international trade is measured by the Trade Weighted Dollar Index.

A booming economy allows people to spend money on discretionary items such as air travel, so hotel revenues are higher during economic growth and lower during economic contraction.

For 3Q16, Marriott and Starwood Hotels & Resorts together added 17,600 rooms, taking the total to 4,554 properties and 777,000 timeshare resorts.

In 2Q16, General Motors’ (GM) revenues came in at $42.4 billion. This reflects an increase of 11.1% over $38.2 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Kate Spade recorded total sales of $1.3 billion in the past twelve months. Michael Kors and Coach saw sales of $4.7 billion and $4.3 billion, respectively.

On June 10, 2016, Honda had a forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 3.2x for the next 12 months.

In fiscal 2016, Honda’s Financial Services’s net revenues stood at 1.8 trillion Japanese yen. This is 18% higher than its fiscal 2015 revenues of 1.5 trillion yen.

On May 23, 2016, Toyota’s forward PE ratio, based on earnings forecasts for the next 12 months, stood at 8.0x, also much higher than Ford’s 6.2x and GM’s 5.3x.

Calvin Klein in fiscal 3Q15 PVH Corp’s (PVH) Calvin Klein business recorded strong performance despite several macroeconomic headwinds. On a constant-currency basis, revenue was up 7% compared to the third quarter of the previous year. Including the $58 million negative impact of foreign currency translation, the segment’s revenue was down 0.3%. Revenue in the Calvin […]

According to 2015 sales volume, General Motors is the largest US automaker and the third-largest automaker globally.

To encourage people to purchase its vehicles, General Motors provides automotive financing services through GM Financial Company.

Ford’s market share fell from 11.1% in 2005 to ~7% in 2015, mostly due to competition outside North America and strength in the commercial vehicle segment.

Ford uses a high amount of financial leverage. At the end of 2015, 70.4% of Ford’s capital structure was made up of debt, while 29.6% was made up of equity.

Ford’s valuation multiples are in a negative trend. This could be because of the concern that US auto sales may have already peaked last year.

The greatest opportunity for Lowe’s (LOW) perhaps lies in fully leveraging the omni-channel (XLY) model.

Marriott International saw strong increases in RevPAR—from $87 to $110—between 2010 and 2014.

In 2015, Marriott topped the ACSI survey with a score of 80. It also topped the survey in 2014 and 2013, with scores of 83 and 81, respectively.

Marriott International is known for its wide range of budget and luxury hotels. Its acquisition of Starwood will make it the world’s largest hotel chain.