The Growth Curve #005

Portfolio update and an interview with a previous Mercado Libre Director.

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Portfolio Update

The portfolio hit an all-time high of $98,804 on 8/12 but has dropped a bit this week. There were no trades this week and no contributions to the portfolio.

Next Tuesday new contributions will come into the portfolio, and I’ll be making the next purchase. Sign up here to get the buy alerts.

After the strong recovery in the portfolio and many growth stocks, I am now tracking some dividend-paying stocks that I believe offer the opportunity for capital appreciation and dividend growth for long-term investors.

I have no intentions of selling any of my current holdings due to elevated valuations. I’m tracking a select group of high-quality dividend stocks to buy opportunistically with new contributions.

Current holdings:

Watchlist stocks:

Growth:

Dividend:

How I will cover this many stocks

75% of my time will be focused on covering the companies in my portfolio and growth stocks in general. Because of the pace of innovation, they tend to have a lot more news to cover.

25% of my time will be focused on learning about new companies that I might want to add to the portfolio. This includes dividend-paying stocks. In general dividend stocks can be analyzed based on quantitative metrics like P/E ratios, dividend yield, payout ratios, dividend growth rates, etc. Simply Safe Dividends saves me a ton of time.

Expert Interviews

I pull these highlights directly from Stream by AlphaSense. Stream’s library of 17,000 expert calls on more than 3,000 companies across all major sectors is used by hedge fund analysts, portfolio managers, and strategic decision-makers to get unique insights and save a ton of time. Start your 14 day free trial here (no credit card required).

is definitely towards the top of my watchlist. However, this interview highlights some concerns I have about a potential drop in demand during recessionary times for buying activity in marketplaces like Mercado Libre's

Former Mercado Libre Unit Head believes has a very strong ecosystem in Mexico

Call Summary:

Expert believes MELI’s advertising business has 70% to 80% operating margins and could help improve overall profitability as advertising becomes a higher percentage of total revenue.
Expert believes MELI’s investments in logistics have created a competitive advantage for the company.
Expert believes MELI is better positioned in Mexico than because of its ecosystem that includes payment and other advantages
Expert discusses a possible threat to people buying in marketplaces due to economic pressures.