The U.S. government is deploying trillions of dollars of stimulus money into infrastructure investments, boosting the prospects for a number of industrials in the Club portfolio. On the back of Covid’s impact on the economy, President Joe Biden enacted a slew of domestic funding bills in a bid to help the nation recover from labor constraints and financial losses due to the pandemic. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, was signed in late 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act, also referred to as IRA, became law in August 2022. Since being enacted, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act was slated to send $1 trillion over the span of five years to states and local governments for upgrading outdated roads, bridges and transit systems — projects that use the products and services provided buy our leading industrial names Caterpillar (CAT), whose stock has soared since June and trades around record highs. Looking ahead, Caterpillar also stands to benefit from a second wave of government spending when federal dollars from the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, designed to fund manufacturing and infrastructure investments, are released into the pipeline. Club names Honeywell (HON) and Emerson Electric (EMR) might also grab some of the IRA’s funding for green energy. Emerson has been on a roll since June. As for Honeywell, it mounted a comeback from the spring and into the summer but then fell on hard times after the company issued disappointing financial results late last month. Wall Street cheered the influx of funding. Morgan Stanley Chief U.S. Economist Ellen Zentner said that the increased spending forced the bank to make a “sizable upward revision” to its estimates for U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). “The economy in the first half of the year is growing much stronger than we had anticipated, putting a more comfortable cushion under our long-held soft landing view,” she wrote in a July note. As a result , Morgan Stanley estimates GDP growth for the first half of 2023 at 1.9% — nearly four times its previous forecast — and bumped up forecasts for real GDP growth next year at 1.4%. “The narrative behind the numbers tells the story of industrial strength in the U.S.,” Zentner added. Crediting the enormous amount of government stimulus, BlackRock’s Larry Fink said the U.S. will not tip into a recession in 2023. “Think about how many jobs infrastructure creates. Think about the demand for commodities as we build infrastructure,” the chief of the world’s largest asset management firm previously told CNBC . CAT YTD mountain Caterpillar YTD performance Caterpillar can thank the influx of stimulus for its blowout second-quarter results on Aug. 1, beating analysts’ estimates for revenue and earnings and sparking a much-deserved rally that day of nearly 9% to an all-time closing high of $288.65 per share. Construction sales surged 19% to $7.15 billion for the quarter, “driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories and higher sales of equipment to end users,” Caterpillar said. Gains were linked to a boost in demand for construction equipment because of the “once in a generation” Infrastructure bill. In last week’s conference after the earnings release, CEO Jim Umpleby said the firm expects “continued growth in nonresidential construction in North America due to the positive impact of government-related infrastructure investments and a healthy pipeline of construction projects.” “I remain convinced that federal largesse will fall into the lap of Club holding Caterpillar, and it’s wrong to ignore what will be a gusher into American-made earth-moving equipment and steel,” Jim Cramer wrote in an Investing Club column back in April. Caterpillar is the biggest maker of earth-moving equipment in the U.S. Shortly after Caterpillar’s Q2 earnings release, we boosted our CAT price target to $300 per share from $285. We kept our 2-rating at the time in deference to its surge. On Aug. 7, we took some profit s but still believe in the stock. HON YTD mountain Honeywell YTD performance Before the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill was enacted, Honeywell said in July 2021 that it would likely lead to “long-term economic growth ,” a dynamic playing out two years later as the government money begins to make its way to companies that make the industrial products, heavy equipment and machinery needed for these large-scale projects. While its Q2 results were not as robust as Caterpillar’s quarter, Honeywell did provide several reasons for optimism including a strong overall segment profit margin that helped the bottom line outperform and robust cash flow performance. Nevertheless, HON shares sank more than 5.5% on earnings day July 27, and they have only advanced three sesions out of the past nine. Honeywell’s crack at really benefitting from government spending may come when green energy programs funded by Inflation Reduction Act kick into gear. The stimulus, in part, provides production and investment tax credits for renewable projects. In a July note, Bank of America listed Honeywell as one of the stocks that stand to gain from the IRA because of the company’s relation to renewable power systems. EMR YTD mountain Emerson Electric YTD performance In a March note, Morgan Stanley analyst Josh Pokrzywinski upgraded industrial automation provider Emerson Electric to buy from hold, citing a growth in sales between 4% and 5% annually, in line with the industrials economy. Since the IRA gives companies new incentives for hydrogen use, the analysts say Emerson’s business is likely to benefit from that as well. The company is a leading provider of hydrogen solutions and automation. After being derailed by uncertainty around the friendly, then hostile, then friendly National Instruments (NATI) deal, Emerson shares have been making up ground. The National Instruments transaction is expected to close in the first half of next year. Last week’s release of strong fiscal third-quarter results and a guidance raise further boosted Emerson’s stock. Sales at the company’s two operating units beat estimates its fiscal third quarter: Intelligent Devices rose by nearly 11% to $3.95 billion and Software & Control increased nearly 22% to $983 million. The results are another example of how Emerson’s efforts to re-orient its portfolio around automation have helped its customers with their own energy transition initiatives in the areas of the aforementioned hydrogen space as well as liquified natural gas (LNG), nuclear, carbon capture, and renewables. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long CAT, EMR, HON. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Construction workers work on repairing an intersection on November 22, 2022 in Houston, Texas. The White House’s infrastructure plan estimates to set aside approximately $35 billion for Texas projects.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
The U.S. government is deploying trillions of dollars of stimulus money into infrastructure investments, boosting the prospects for a number of industrials in the Club portfolio.
The world’s largest EV battery maker warned that it expects to report less revenue in 2024 than the previous year, sending share prices down on Wednesday. CATL (SHE: 300750) stock dipped after its 2024 Annual Performance Forecast was released. Here’s a preview of CATL’s financials for last year.
CATL stock falls on lower 2024 revenue expectations
CATL released the forecast in a filing with the Shenzen Stock Exchange late Tuesday, previewing its full-year 2024 financials.
The battery giant expects annual revenue of between RMB 356 billion ($48.9 billion) and RMB 366 billion ($50.3 billion), suggesting an 11.20% to 8.71% decrease from 2023. This would mark CATL’s first time reporting lower annual revenue than the year before.
CATL said that although sales volume was up, the lower expectations were due to falling raw material prices, including lithium carbonate. Despite this, the company still expects to post annual net income of RMB 49 billion ($6.7 billion) to RMB 53 billion ($7.3 billion), which would be up 11.06% to 20.12% from 2023.
Excluding non-recurring gains and losses, CATL expects net profit attributable to shareholders between RMB 44 billion ($6 billion) and RMB 47 billion ($6.5 billion), up 9.75% to 17.23% from 2023.
CATL said the higher net profits were “mainly due to the company’s technological research and development capabilities.” It also said the competitiveness of its products continues to increase.
After launching a series of new products and technology while expanding its partnerships last year, CATL expects “steady growth” in performance.
Just yesterday, a local report from Jieman claimed CATL expected to announce plans for yet another EV battery plant in Europe as it expands its global reach. The new facility would be in addition to the one revealed last month with Stellantis and CATL’s fourth in Europe.
According to SNE Research, CATL remained the world’s largest EV battery maker, commanding 36.8% of the global market through the first 11 months of 2024.
CATL launched its new Bedrock Chassis last month, which it calls “the world’s first ultra-safe” EV skateboard chassis. It’s also aggressively expanding its EV battery swap plans with a new line of Choco-SEB batteries, which make swapping even quicker than filling a gas tank (within 100 seconds).
Despite the confidence and higher net profits, CATL’s stock slipped around 2% on Wednesday following the lower revenue expectations.
CATL shares are still up nearly 70% over the past 12 months, as the EV battery leader launched new products and expanded its global market lead.
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Electric submersible specialist U-Boat Worx has unveiled bonafide images of its flagship electric “Super Sub.” The revamped model, designed to provide customers luxury, speed, and depth at sea, has officially been launched and is available to interested marine explorers.
U-Boat Worx is a Dutch submersible manufacturer that has become one of the industry leaders in luxury electric sub design.
The company has introduced nine different electric submarine series. These include the nine-passenger NEXUS series we previously covered and a three-passenger Super Sub, which first debuted in 2021.
In the fall of 2022, we shared that U-Boat Worx redesigned the all-electric Super Sub to bolster its speed below the water’s surface. It claimed its updated version could cruise as quickly as 10 knots, 3-4 knots faster than the bottlenose dolphin.
U-Boat Worx originally planned to launch the revamped version of the Super Sub in 2023. Over a year later, it officially unveiled the luxury electric sub with new, genuine images of the vessel instead of renderings.
U-Boat Worx begins sales of its electric Super Sub
U-Boat Worx shared the images seen above alongside a press release detailing the official (late) launch of its three-passenger Super Sub. As you can see, the design features a droplet-shaped hull and advanced wing configurations, which, according to U-Boat Worx, helps make it one of the most hydrodynamic submersibles ever crafted.
The electric sub’s streamlined design is complimented by a four-thruster propulsion system that delivers 100 kW of thrust and speeds up to 9 knots (~10 mph) underwater. The vessel can also complete 45-degree climbs and “impressive inclined underwater maneuvers.” Roy Heijdra, Marketing Manager at U-Boat Worx, elaborated:
The Super Sub is a marvel of engineering and luxury. It’s more than a submersible — it’s a first-class ticket to explore the ocean like never before, combining speed, safety, and sophistication in every dive.
In terms of interior luxury, U-Boat Worx says the electric Super Sub offers a comparable experience to first-class travel – a step up from the “business-class comfort” of its other models.
Inside, two passengers and a pilot can enjoy spacious and ergonomic seating with a five-point harness system for comfort and safety during the electric sub’s high-speed maneuvers using a unique SHARC controller developed for the Super Sub to deliver intuitive maneuverability at any angle or pitch. Looking outward, a panoramic ultra-clear acrylic hull offers passengers 360-degree views.
The Super Sub is powered by a 62 kWh battery pack that offers up to 8 hours of exploration using electric propulsion and hydrofoil technology. If you’re wondering how much a luxury three-passenger electric submarine costs, well we’re not sure either. We asked, but U-Boat Worx says it only shares pricing with its applicants. Do any billionaires want to apply and report back? Thanks
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Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller sees Elon Musk’s politics as an opportunity to steal sales from Tesla as many owners are looking at other electric vehicles.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s meddling in politics hasn’t been winning him many fans outside of the US lately. In Germany, we reported on a boycott effort that is gaining ground.
Michael Lohscheller, Polestar’s CEO, sees it as an opportunity.
Being German himself, he finds Musk comments promoting AfD, a far-right party in Germany, “unacceptable”. He said in a Bloomberg interview:
“For Germany, somebody outside of Germany endorsing right-wing political parties is a big thing. You want to know what I think about it? I think it’s totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. You just don’t do that. This is pure arrogance, and these things will not work.”
The CEO says that a lot of people are turning on Tesla because of this.
We get a lot of people writing that they don’t like all this. It’s important to listen closely to what they say. And I can tell you, a lot of people have very, very negative sentiment.
Some surveys showed as many as a third of Tesla owners have sold or are looking to sell their vehicles due to Elon Musk’s antics.
That could indeed be an opportunity for Polestar and the company needs it.
Sales have been lacking behind target and its stock has suffered – 92% of its value since going public.
It managed to secure some funding late last year and scaled back spending to extend its capacity to operate. It now plans to go to a more traditional dealership model to move cars.
But the biggest difference maker is the expanding lineup of vehicles that Polestar is launching.
Electrek’s Take
It is certainly an opportunity. I’m seeing more and more Tesla owners saying that they would never buy another Tesla.
Those people aren’t likely to go back to a gas car, and therefore, it is an opportunity for all other EV automakers.
I haven’t had a lot of time in Polestar vehicles. I think they look cool, but my opinion stops there. I am going to test them all next month and I will report back.
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