Stock Thoughts

• 5.3% Dividend Yield with 5% dividend growth.
• Strong long-term production profile, expecting a 4% CAGR output increase to 2030 with breakeven below $30/boe (barrel of oil equivalent).
• Long-term focus on LNGs (Liquified Natural Gas), expecting to grow export capacity by more than 50% by 2030, with 6 Mt/y (million tons per year) in long-term supply contracts signed with Asian importers.
• Trades at an attractive valuation at just 7.8x earnings.
• Committed to $2 billion in buybacks each quarter of 2025.

• 2.0% Yield.
• Strong secular volume tailwind from aging population, with Medicare Advantage holders having a higher average revenue-per-test.
• AI (Artificial Intelligence) in pathology testing should drive high margin growth.
• Tailwind from more bespoke testing, with genetic testing seeing a market-wide spending growth of 8% and 5% volume growth according to Avalon.
• Increasing leverage to 2.5-3.0x debt to EBITDA to enable more freedom in aggressive acquisitions.
• Strong M&A profile, purchasing Canadian provider LifeLabs for $1 billion, which will generate $710 million in additional annual revenues by 2025.

• 2.84% Yield.
• Industry-leading 90% of revenue comes from working timberland rather than leasing it for harvesting rights (stumpage)
• Largest timberland holdings in North America with more than 10.5 million acres.
• Long-term tailwinds from historic pent-up demand and lows in new housing.
• Timber assets generally appreciate with inflation and tree growth.

• 5.0% Yield.
• Offering services to enhance margin including more small-business mix and specialized medical logistics services.
• Consolidating 200 sorting centers, with the new automated counterparts offering a reported 30% efficiency improvement.
• Expects to generate $5.8 billion in free cash in 2024, adding to its already massive $6.3 billion cash position.
• Industry-leading capital efficiency, with a return on invested capital median of 27% for the last 3 years.

• FedEx’s DRIVE and Network 2.0 programs aim to streamline operations, saving $6 billion annually by 2028 without sacrificing top line growth.
• Despite a recent 9% stock price drop, FedEx offers a 4.0% buyback yield and 2.1% dividend yield, making it attractive for long-term investors.
• The expiration of the USPS airmail contract poses short-term challenges but could improve margins through better fleet utilization and cost management.
• FedEx maintains strong financials with $5.9 billion in cash and a net debt to EBITDA of 1.9x, ensuring stability amid economic uncertainties.

• 2.2% Yield.
• LW holds #1 market share in North America, and #2 for the rest of the world for frozen-potato products.
• Dominance in the frozen-potato product market, being the provider for French-fries for customers such as McDonalds, Chic Fil A, Arby’s and Sonic.
• Transitioning to a volume-focused growth strategy rather than pricing-focused.
• Expects headwinds in restaurant traffic to begin to alleviate in the middle of 2025.

• 2.7% Yield.
• Kroger agreed to purchase Albertsons for $24.6 billion in October 2022.
• If approved, Albertsons shareholders will receive $27.25 per share, a 48.3% premium to the current stock price.
• Albertsons holds 6.4% of total grocery market share in 2023, while Kroger holds 10.1%.
• $600 million claw back provision to be paid to Albertsons if the merger does not go through, recouping its costs.

• 2.94% Yield.
• Expanding margins despite sales slump, increasing gross margin by 160bps.
• Deleveraged balance sheet down to 1.8x net debt to EBITDA, down substantially from 2022 highs.
• Approaching holiday season will buoy results until rate cuts begin to impact consumer spending habits back toward discretionary goods.
• Resumed share buybacks, authorized outstanding buybacks are 13.6% of outstanding shares.
• Stock is a hold post August 21st earnings release as the stock has popped 22.5% since its August 5th lows.