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How Much Is $1,000 Of Amazon IPO Stock Worth Today?

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Imagine standing on the curb and your taxi pulls up... but there's no driver inside.

You climb in the back and press the "start ride" button.

The car begins moving. It's driving itself.

Sounds futuristic, right?
Self-Driving Cars Are on US Roads Today
Fully self-driving cars are driving around Phoenix, Arizona right now. You can call them just like an Uber.

The company achieving all this is called Waymo. It's a subsidiary of Alphabet (GOOG)-better known as Google.

Let me tell you... Waymo is absolutely dominating the self-driving car game. Its driverless fleet has already covered more than 11 million miles on American roads.

Its cars continue to rack up one million miles per month today. The artificial intelligence powering these cars learns and improves with every mile driven.

Tesla, Uber, Ford, and several other companies are working on self-driving cars, too. But they lag years behind Waymo.
Google Has Been Quietly Pumping Billions into Waymo Since 2009
Do you know where it got all this cash to invest?

From Google's online search business.

Google has an effective monopoly on the internet search market. For every 100 searches performed, 92 flow through Google.

To say Google's search business is a cash-printing machine is an understatement. In 2018 it earned roughly $100 billion from selling internet ads.

It enjoys a net profit margin of about 35%. That is almost unheard of for a business of its size.

In other words, for every $100 in revenue, Google makes $35 in pure profit that it can reinvest into Waymo or other disruptive companies .
Google Can Invest in a Dozen Disruptive Offshoots at a Time
According to Reuters, between 2009 and 2015, Alphabet infused Waymo with at least $1.1 billion just to research and develop self-driving technology.

Alphabet keeps its total investment in Waymo a secret. But my independent research suggests it has invested well over $5 billion. Earlier this year Waymo ordered 62,000 Chrysler Pacific minivans-which cost $2.79 billion alone.

Waymo is just one of Alphabet's many disruptive subsidiaries. Thanks to Google's incredible profitability, Alphabet has pumped almost $10 billion into roughly a dozen offshoots in the past three years.

And here's the real key: It has done so without borrowing any money.

Alphabet's core business is so profitable that it allows the company to fund many disruptive upstarts.
Other Companies Can't Compete
Ford (F) tried to catch up to Waymo. The company announced it would invest $4 billion developing its own self-driving cars. Its stock crumbled 7% on the news.

Unlike Alphabet, Ford doesn't have a cash machine at its core. Its operating margin is just 3%. Meaning it must spend $19,400 to sell a $20,000 car.

That doesn't leave much of anything left over to invest in other projects.

Here's the thing most investors miss about disruptive trends like self-driving cars. Everyone wants to be the next company that disrupts, transforms, or creates a whole industry.

But few have the cash or staying power to actually achieve it.

Waymo was founded nearly a decade ago, and still doesn't generate any profit. Few companies have the money needed to endure a decade of spending on research and development with no revenue to show for it.

But Alphabet does.

And its stockholders have reaped the rewards. Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley recently valued Waymo at $175 billion. What began as a moonshot in 2009 is now worth more than giant iconic American companies like Disney (DIS) or American Express (AXP).
Much Like Google, Amazon Uses Its Profit Engine to Fund Disruptive Offshoots
Only one other company on the planet can afford to pump billions into disruptive offshoots year after year.

It's Amazon (AMZN), the world's second-largest publicly traded company. It operates similarly to Alphabet.

You likely know Amazon as the dominator of online retail. For every $100 Americans spend online, $50 goes to Amazon.

In the past decade its sales have exploded 11X. In 2018 Amazon collected around $120 billion in online sales.
100% of Amazon's Profit Comes from a Completely Different Business
Although Amazon's retail business is huge, it generates virtually zero profit.

Its cloud computing segment is wildly profitable. Called Amazon Web Services (AWS), it generated nearly all of Amazon's $3 billion in profit in 2017.

In short, AWS sells and leases computing power. It's an absolute cash cow of a business. AWS's operating margin is 31%-nearly 10X the slim 3.4% that Amazon's retail business runs on.
AWS Subsidizes Amazon's Battle Against Netflix
Did you know Amazon ranks fifth in America in spending to develop original video content? In 2018 it spent around $5 billion making shows for its "Prime" subscription service, which has over 100 million paying customers.

Today Netflix (NFLX) is synonymous with video streaming. It has 137 million customers, and its stock has surged close to 600% in the past five years.

But can it compete with Amazon in the long run? I'm not so sure...

In 2018 Netflix spent about $12 billion making content. Unlike Amazon, it's not built around a cash generator. So it must borrow a lot of this money.

Netflix's debt has exploded by 70% to $8.4 billion in the past 12 months.

Netflix will probably earn a profit of around $1.4 billion for 2018. Compare that to its growing mountain of debt and you'll understand why some investors are getting concerned.

Amazon's disruptive investments go far beyond streaming video. Have you heard of Twitch? It's a website owned by Amazon that broadcasts video game matches.

You might laugh at the idea that anyone would spend time watching kids play video games. But more people watch Twitch every day than CNN or MSNBC!
Do You See the Giant Advantage Amazon and Alphabet Hold?
Investing in disruption has never been more important than it is today.

Alphabet and Amazon have created huge sums of wealth by driving these trends forward. Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world. And Alphabet's co-founders are both worth over $50 billion.

Their stockholders have done great, too. In the past 10 years, Amazon stock has soared over 2,300% and Google has climbed 510%.

It's easy to look at these big run-ups and conclude their best days are behind them. But next time you hear a slick pitch from a company intent on disrupting an industry think: Where's the money coming from?

For Alphabet and Amazon, the answer is easy.

Last note: I just released a new special report that details 3 "disruptor" stocks with the potential to return 100% or better. These stocks are much smaller than Amazon and Google. And yet they're driving forward today's most exciting disruptive trends. Find details below.

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Why Amazon And Google's Best Days Are Ahead

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Imagine standing on the curb and your taxi pulls up... but there's no driver inside. You climb in the back and press the "start ride" button. The car begins moving. It's driving itself. Sounds futuristic, right? Self-Driving Cars Are on US Roads Today Fully self-driving cars are driving around Phoenix, Arizona right now.

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Amazon.com Inc. ( AMZN) became the second company to hit $1 trillion in market value on Sept. 4, 2018, close on the heels of Apple Inc., which achieved this feat in early August. But in the 20-plus years since its initial public offering (IPO), Amazon stock was not always the hot commodity that it is today. When Amazon first went public in 1997, its stock was priced at just $18 per share.

From that modest beginning, the online retail giant has seen its stock skyrocket, despite a rocky period during the dot-com crash. The company's shares hit a new high of $2,050.50 a share on Sept 4, 2018, before dipping to $1,870.32 on Oct. 10.

If you had invested just $100 in Amazon's IPO, you would have received 5 shares. What is beyond impressive is that investment would have been worth nearly $120,762 at the Aug. 31, 2018, close price of $2012.71/sh. That would yield an increase of more than 120,000% on the initial $100 investment.

It is clear from the figures above that even a modest investment in the company in 1997 would have turned into a healthy contribution to anyone's retirement savings. In fact, with the new high of $2,050.50, the share price had grown more than 11,200% since its IPO.

To make sense of how a modest $100 investment can grow into such a hefty amount, it helps to understand the mathematics behind one of the most powerful facets of stock market investing: the split.

A stock split occurs when a company decides to issue additional shares to current shareholders in accordance with the number of shares already owned. A 2:1 split means shareholders receive an additional share for every share they already own. An investor who owns 100 shares, for example, ends up with 200 shares. Stock splits can be as generous as the company that issues them wishes, but 2:1 or 3:1 ratios are most common.

When a stock splits, its price is reduced by the same factor. A 2:1 split means shareholders have twice the number of shares valued at half the price so the total value of the shares remains stable. A 3:1 split means the stock price is reduced to one-third of the original value.

Companies may announce a split for numerous reasons, chief among them being the desire to keep stock attractively priced for investors, and arguably more liquid.

While the price of a share is initially reduced by a split, the value - or market capitalization - does not change much. What has changed is that an investor who used to own one share now has two or three depending on the split factor.

Amazon's stock split three times in quick succession: twice in 1998 and once in 1999.

The company announced its first stock split in April 1998, offering two shares for every one share held. That means the five shares an investment of $100 in the IPO would have bought now grows to 10 shares. The next one came just seven months later, a 3-for-1 stock split in November 1998. That would mean that the if you sold no shares, you would now own (10x3) 30 shares. Subsequently, Amazon announced another 2-for-1 split in July 1999, increasing your share ownership to 60 Amazon shares.

As of the close on Aug. 31, 2018, those 60 shares would have been worth $120,762, an increase of a whopping 120,662% over the initial $100 investment.

Investing in stocks or IPOs requires the use of a broker account. A stockbroker provides access to stocks and IPOs. Some brokerage firms require investors to meet certain criteria or qualifications before being allowed to invest in an IPO. While there is a possibility of impressive gains like with Amazon's story, IPOs are highly speculative and unproven. Investopedia's list of the best online brokers can help those looking to invest get a start.

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If You Had Invested Right After Amazon's IPO

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Amazon.com Inc. ( AMZN) became the second company to hit $1 trillion in market value on Sept. 4, 2018, close on the heels of Apple Inc., which achieved this feat in early August. But in the 20-plus years since its initial public offering (IPO), Amazon stock was not always the hot commodity that it is today.

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Google's parent company Alphabet ( GOOG, GOOGL) reported its Q4 2018 earnings on Monday, and while the tech giant beat analysts' expectations with $31.85 billion in revenue, spending increases in areas including cloud, hardware and its "other bets" put the squeeze on margins.

Despite the revenue and earnings beat, Google was down in after-market hours Monday, and continued the trend into the next trading day. But Google's spending is purposeful and could pay off significantly in the future, especially if it helps reduce the company's reliance on ad revenue as competition from Amazon ( AMZN) and Facebook ( FB) continues to heat up.

Building out the cloud

Google is a cloud business. Every time you interact with the company, you're accessing its cloud. But Google's commercial cloud business is surprisingly small. Amazon's AWS cloud platform pulled in $7.4 billion last quarter, while Microsoft's ( MSFT) Intelligent Cloud raked in $9.4 billion. Google doesn't break out its cloud services earnings, but instead lumps it in with hardware sales from its smartphones and smart home devices and Google Play Store sales. Combined, that segment produced $6.5 billion in revenue.

In other words, Alphabet's actual cloud revenue is even smaller than that. In the enterprise cloud arms race, Amazon is king, followed by Microsoft. Google, meanwhile is back in third place. Which is why the company is investing so heavily in its cloud offerings.

According to Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat, the company saw increased expenses in hiring for technical and sales employees related to the firm's ongoing cloud efforts. The truth of the matter is, if Alphabet is going to continue to compete meaningfully in the enterprise cloud market, then it's going to need to hire employees to ensure the cloud works, and bring on sales people who can sell businesses on the tech giant's services.

Betting big on, bets, video and devices

Alphabet also spent heavily on research and development in the quarter, with the majority of the growth coming from new hires. The company's Other Bets losses also increased to $1.3 billion in the quarter, up from $748 million in the same quarter last year.

Other Bets includes Alphabet's various businesses such as its self-driving car unit Waymo, its health-centric Verily division and Google Fiber and Project Loon. Of the four offerings, Waymo looks poised to offer the most return on investment. Porat noted that Alphabet began offering its Waymo One self-driving cab service in December, which will provide much-needed data on now riders will use such services.

Beyond Alphabet's Other Bets, the company also saw increased spending for content acquisition for its advertising support content, as well as newer subscription offerings for YouTube TV and YouTube Premium.

But Alphabet's spending in each of these areas is a well-calculated move. If the company is going to push further into the enterprise cloud to take on the likes of Amazon and Microsoft, it's going to have to lay out some serious cash to grow its offering.

The same can be said of Alphabet's Waymo, which will require significant investments in the coming years. Finally, Alphabet's YouTube spending will ensure that the division's video offerings can compete with the likes of Netflix and Hulu, the later of which offers a live TV component like YouTube.

YouTube's ad revenue also continues to grow, so it behooves Google and Alphabet to put more money behind the service to ensure that it can get attract as many users as possible, and build on those numbers.

Alphabet also had to spend on marketing and sales of its Made by Google line of products including its Pixel smartphones, its smart speakers and its Nest smart home devices.

Google's smartphones, however, are unlikely to ever put up much of a fight for heavy hitters like Apple or Samsung. The handsets are more like reference designs for what Google's Android operating system is capable of. Its smart speakers, however, have the potential to take off if it can build greater name recognition. Amazon's Alexa certainly has it beat in the category.

But according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Google's marketshare in the smart speaker market has stayed relatively unchanged through the last few quarters.

It's clear that Porat understands how much cutting into the company's margins to build out its future services could scare off investors. In her statement during Alphabet's earnings call, the CFO explained that capital expenditures will begin to slow in 2019, which should help ease the minds of at least some investors.
More from Dan:
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@oath.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. Follow Yahoo Finance on , Twitter, , and LinkedIn.finance.yahoo.com/

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This is what may be spooking investors in Google's earnings

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Google's parent company Alphabet ( GOOG, GOOGL) reported its Q4 2018 earnings on Monday, and while the tech giant beat analysts' expectations with $31.85 billion in revenue, spending increases in areas including cloud, hardware and its "other bets" put the squeeze on margins.

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In spite of its massive size and omnipresent reach, (( Alphabet's NASDAQ:GOOGL) NASDAQ:GOOG) Google is still growing by leaps and bounds. Total revenue for Alphabet was up 22% in the fourth quarter of 2018, putting the wrap on yet another year of double-digit expansion in the top and bottom lines.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Nicholas Rossolillo and his clients own shares of Alphabet (C shares) and Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Unlike other bellwether stocks, Alphabet has not used its massive size and enviable profits to hasten the creation of a dividend, nor has it prompted a reduction in share count via a repurchase program to boost earnings -- at least not one like (Apple NASDAQ:AAPL) has opted to do.

Instead, Google is funneling cash back into the business to promote growth, especially outside of its advertising core competency. Given the company's one-dimensional nature and last year's controversy swirling around internet companies that deal in data, investors should be cheering the search giant on.

Some numbers for context

Google's operating expenses in the last year soared 30% to over $110 billion. Though much of those extra costs were related to advertising acquisition expenses (and included another fine from the European Union), Google shelled out almost an extra $5 billion on research and development, and almost an extra $4 billion on sales and marketing.

Additionally, capital expenditures (the purchase of property and equipment) for the year totaled $25.1 billion, a 91% increase over the $13.2 billion spent in 2017. On the fourth-quarter earnings call, management said it expects to continue its spend-happy ways on data centers and the like to increase its computing power.

The numbers are big, but to say that Alphabet can afford it is an understatement. While spending spiked, so did ad business -- resulting in total expenses as a percentage of revenue rising to 81% compared with 76% in 2017.

Alphabet Metric

Full-Year 2018

Full-Year 2017

Increase

Spend, Google, spend!

In spite of its size, it's imperative that Google's parent organization funnels cash back into itself. The company made a great deal of headway in growing new lines of business in 2018 through its cloud computing and device sales, but over 80% of revenue is still derived from advertising.

The search giant is making progress, though, and piling cash into its growth initiatives could hasten that advance. Other Google revenues (viable business outside of ads) grew 31% to $6.5 billion in the fourth quarter alone, accounting for 17% of total sales. Google's Other Bets segment -- a smorgasbord of start-ups aimed at disrupting big, established industries -- is also making progress. Much of the "other net income" in the chart above came from equity gains in these start-ups. Though not making a profit yet, there are some recognizable names in there, like the self-driving car company Waymo, healthcare and data science experiment Verily, and remote internet access provider Loon.

Other Bets revenue grew to $595 million, racking up a $3.36 billion loss along the way. That's up from $477 million in revenue in 2017 and a loss on the start-ups of $2.7 billion. Again, big-time investments on Google's part, but these are small potatoes for the company. Eventually, a few of these start-ups could graduate to viable enterprises and earn back those dollars spent on them and then some.

Wall Street is showing some concern over the elevated investing activity; the stock is 12% off its all-time highs reached over the summer of 2018, even though search continues to grow at breakneck speed. I, for one, am cheering the investing spree. Investing is a fruitful endeavor over the long haul. Google can afford it, and it will yield results in due time.

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Google Is Investing Advertising Proceeds at a Record Pace -- Hooray! -- The Motley Fool

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In spite of its massive size and omnipresent reach, (( Alphabet's NASDAQ:GOOGL) NASDAQ:GOOG) Google is still growing by leaps and bounds. Total revenue for Alphabet was up 22% in the fourth quarter of 2018, putting the wrap on yet another year of double-digit expansion in the top and bottom lines.

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Investors sentiment decreased to 1.2 in Q3 2018. Its down 0.33, from 1.53 in 2018Q2. It dropped, as 31 investors sold LULU shares while 138 reduced holdings. 77 funds opened positions while 125 raised stakes. 97.93 million shares or 2.07% less from 100.00 million shares in 2018Q2 were reported. Qci Asset Mngmt Ny accumulated 40 shares. Teacher Retirement System Of Texas owns 145,568 shares. Sei owns 66,470 shares. Perkins Mngmt accumulated 3,500 shares. Tower Research Ltd Com (Trc) accumulated 0.01% or 581 shares. Swiss Bankshares holds 0.06% of its portfolio in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) for 324,855 shares. Hartford Invest owns 0.01% invested in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) for 3,028 shares. 66,859 were accumulated by Employees Retirement System Of Ohio. Hightower Advsr Limited Liability holds 8,932 shares or 0.01% of its portfolio. 17,264 are held by Sg Americas Secs Limited Co. Natixis owns 479,256 shares or 0.45% of their US portfolio. Citigroup Inc, New York-based fund reported 125,317 shares. Bnp Paribas Asset Mgmt Sa reported 117,755 shares stake. Citadel Advisors Limited Liability holds 0.05% or 709,866 shares. Gardner Lewis Asset LP reported 39,443 shares.

Since January 9, 2019, it had 0 insider purchases, and 3 selling transactions for $674.67 million activity.

Jag Capital Management Llc increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) by 21.61% based on its latest 2018Q3 regulatory filing with the SEC. Jag Capital Management Llc bought 29,337 shares as the company's stock declined 25.37% with the market. The institutional investor held 165,083 shares of the apparel company at the end of 2018Q3, valued at $26.82 million, up from 135,746 at the end of the previous reported quarter. Jag Capital Management Llc who had been investing in Lululemon Athletica Inc. for a number of months, seems to be bullish on the $19.07B market cap company. The stock decreased 1.20% or $1.77 during the last trading session, reaching $145.12. About 488,741 shares traded. Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) has risen 59.71% since February 6, 2018 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 59.71% the S&P500.

More notable recent Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) news were published by: Investorplace.com which released: "5 Top Stock Trades for Tuesday: Citigroup Earnings, Lulu Guidance - Investorplace.com" on January 14, 2019, also Nasdaq.com with their article: "Interesting LULU Put And Call Options For February 2019 - Nasdaq" published on December 13, 2018, Nasdaq.com published: "Lululemon (LULU) Q2 Earnings: What to Watch - Nasdaq" on August 29, 2018. More interesting news about Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) were released by: Nasdaq.com and their article: "Forget Nike (NKE), Lululemon (LULU) Stock is a Strong Buy Right Now - Nasdaq" published on September 25, 2018 as well as Nasdaq.com 's news article titled: "Lululemon (LULU) 2nd Quarter Earnings: What to Expect - Nasdaq" with publication date: August 30, 2018.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Ratings Coverage

Among 19 analysts covering Lululemon Athletica ( NASDAQ:LULU), 15 have Buy rating, 0 Sell and 4 Hold. Therefore 79% are positive. Lululemon Athletica had 28 analyst reports since August 15, 2018 according to SRatingsIntel. The company was maintained on Thursday, September 27 by Oppenheimer. FBR Capital maintained it with "Neutral" rating and $128 target in Wednesday, August 15 report. Barclays Capital maintained the shares of LULU in report on Friday, August 31 with "Overweight" rating. Argus Research upgraded Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) on Thursday, August 16 to "Buy" rating. The rating was upgraded by Wedbush on Monday, October 15 to "Outperform". The company was upgraded on Monday, December 17 by Stifel Nicolaus. The firm has "Buy" rating by M Partners given on Monday, December 3. The firm earned "Neutral" rating on Monday, August 20 by Buckingham Research. Deutsche Bank maintained it with "Buy" rating and $138 target in Monday, August 20 report. The firm earned "Neutral" rating on Wednesday, September 5 by UBS.

Receive News & Ratings Via Email - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings with our FREE daily email newsletter.

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lululemon athletica inc. - (nasdaq:lulu)

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Lululemon Athletica INC (LULU) Position Has Increased by Jag Capital Management Llc | Thorold News

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Investors sentiment decreased to 1.2 in Q3 2018. Its down 0.33, from 1.53 in 2018Q2. It dropped, as 31 investors sold LULU shares while 138 reduced holdings. 77 funds opened positions while 125 raised stakes. 97.93 million shares or 2.07% less from 100.00 million shares in 2018Q2 were reported.

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Keeping a telecom stock in your income portfolio is a good long-term strategy. Telecom operators are a great example of "cash cow" businesses, which produces recurring cash flows for their investors and usually avoid big swings in their share prices when the market volatility is high.

In Canada, we have three top telecom players having a major share of the country's telecom market. Among them, Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B)(NYSE:RCI) and BCE (TSX:BCE)(NYSE:BCE) are the two largest operators. Let's find out which stock has the potential to offer better returns.

Rogers vs. BCE

No doubt Rogers has produced much better returns than BCE since early 2017 when both stocks diverged. Since then, Rogers shares gained 27%, outperforming massively both BCE and the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index.

The company has been a great investment for long-term investors in an environment when income stocks in general remained under pressure, as the central banks in North America began to hike interest rates.

Rogers's strategy to expand aggressively in the wireless space also benefited its stock. The company, in the most recent quarter, displayed the strength of its portfolio when it reported strong, new additions of wireless and internet customers, beating analyst expectations for revenue and profit. It also provided an upbeat financial forecast for 2019.

One major difference between Rogers and BCE during the past two years was that the company focused on improving the quality of its balance sheet and has avoided hiking dividends since January 2016. The company said it was necessary to contain its debt leverage after spending heavily on wireless spectrum (the airwaves used to build cellular networks), on the national broadcast rights for the NHL, and on acquiring startup carrier Mobilicity.

Now, Rogers says its debt-to-leverage ratio (the company's adjusted net debt divided by its adjusted EBITDA) is 2.5, down from 2.7 at the end of 2017. When Rogers paused the dividend three years ago, debt leverage stood at 3.1.

BCE focused on acquisitions to propel growth in its large customer base and has continued to pay growing dividends during the past three years. Being the largest operator in the country, BCE shares are also more vulnerable to new competition from Freedom Mobile, which is increasingly threatening the established wireless companies. Due to expectations of higher dividends, BCE has also limitations to spare more cash for its future growth.

That strategy hurt the company's shares, especially in 2018, when the Bank of Canada started to hike interest rates, diminishing the appeal of its over 5% dividend yield.

Which stock is a better buy?

I find both Rogers and BCE solid long-term investments that are suitable for income investors. You can equally divide your investment between the two stocks and reap the benefits of growth and income.

That said, Rogers has a much better chance of offering you a higher total returns due to its non-committal dividend policy. The company hiked its dividend 4.5% last month for the first time in four years. Investors in BCE stock won't be able to get higher capital gains, but it is in a good position to offer more than 5% growth in its payout each year.
More reading Fool contributor Haris Anwar has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canada's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019

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Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B) vs. BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE): Which Is a Better Buy?

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Keeping a telecom stock in your income portfolio is a good long-term strategy. Telecom operators are a great example of "cash cow" businesses, which produces recurring cash flows for their investors and usually avoid big swings in their share prices when the market volatility is high.

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Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Calin Rovinescu became the CEO of Air Canada ( TSE:AC) in 2009. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Air Canada

How Does Calin Rovinescu's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Air Canada has a market cap of CA$8.4b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of CA$9.0m. (This number is for the twelve months until 2017). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at CA$1.4m. We examined companies with market caps from CA$5.3b to CA$16b, and discovered that the median CEO compensation of that group was CA$5.6m.

As you can see, Calin Rovinescu is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Air Canada is paying too much. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Air Canada has changed over time.

Is Air Canada Growing?

On average over the last three years, Air Canada has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 39% each year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 11% over last year.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Air Canada Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 326%, over three years, would leave most Air Canada shareholders smiling. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

In Summary...

We examined the amount Air Canada pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. Even better, returns to shareholders have been plentiful, over the same time period. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. Shareholders may want to check for free if Air Canada insiders are buying or selling shares.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

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Does Air Canada's (TSE:AC) CEO Pay Reflect Performance?

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Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Calin Rovinescu became the CEO of Air Canada ( TSE:AC) in 2009. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size.

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Air Canada Inc [ACDVF:US] | Air Canada Inc Stock Price History | TMXmoney

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Rogers Communication Inc. [RCI:US] | Rogers Communication Inc. Stock Price History | TMXmoney

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lululemon athletica inc. [LULU:US] | lululemon athletica inc. Stock Quotes | TMXmoney

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Exchange: Nasdaq Global Select | Feb 7, 2019, 1:09 PM EST

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Aritzia Completes $100 Million Secondary Offering of Subordinate Voting Shares

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Alphabet Inc. [GOOGL:US] | Alphabet Inc. Stock Quotes | TMXmoney

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Exchange: Nasdaq Global Select | Feb 7, 2019, 1:09 PM EST

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Stock Market Quotes | Stock Market Quotes and Symbols

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About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX® Best Market, the OTCQB® Venture Market, and the Pink® Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link® ATS, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services.

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Tethyan Resources Announces Delisting from AIM

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JERSEY, UK, Nov. 10, 2017 /CNW/ - As previously announced on September 8, 2017, Tethyan Resources plc (TSXV: TETH) ("Tethyan" or the "Company") will delist its ...