May 17, 2016

Price of Stocks -- The Importance

Global Market post will have to wait, before we go deep into the investment world, we need to put one foot in. This blog post isn't putting your foot in but your toe in! Baby steps.

If you missed my last post -- Click Here
My friend said it's a diary post -- I don't agree, but I don't disagree either.

Prices of Stocks Aren't Always Important

This post is one of the most important posts I've made so far and it will likely stay that way for the rest of this blogs lifespan.

Please read this post 20 times so you can memorize it.

Amateur investors don't understand what the price of a stock means. When you see Amazon selling for $700 a share and Apple selling for $95 a share. People think Amazon is more expensive than Apple. To purchase 1 share, yes you are correct. But Amazon's market cap is $333 billion while Apple's market cap[italization] is $514 billion.

When a stock is expensive, it's because the market cap is far to high to justify the investment. Yes, to a certain extent, the price is important -- but the number of outstanding shares are important too. Also, companies do stock splits. Apple did a split in May 2014 -- if it didn't do that split, the stock would be about $700 a share.

Market Capitalization

Market capitalization is the total dollar market value of all of a company's outstanding shares. The formula for market capitalization is calculated by multiplying a company's outstanding shares by the current market price of one share.

Simple right?

So where do you find the number of outstanding shares? Well, there are many ways, but for amateurs -- Yahoo! Finance is the golden egg.

So .... I think the best way to explain this is with pictures. Oh boy, a picture post!

When you search a stock on Yahoo! Finance (at least on anything but mobile) you'll see something along the lines of this. Click Key Statistics. You can also click here -- that will take you to Amazon's summary page.

Once you've clicked key statistics, you should see something along the lines of this. You can also click here --that will take to Amazon's key statistics page.

That Was Easy!

Wasn't that easy? Now all you have to do is multiply 471.83 million shares by the current market price of the stock. As of this writing, the market price of Amazon is at about $705.

Market Cap = Outstanding Shares * Market Price for one share

Market Cap = 471,830,000 * $705

Market Cap = $332,640,150,000

Remember at the beginning of this post I said Amazon's market cap is at $333 billion? What do you know! I got $332.64 billion. Of course, the price of the stock is constantly changing -- but as long as your margin of error is no more than 3% then you're in good shape!

SO DO THAT INSTEAD OF SAYING AMAZON IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN APPLE! Now, I really can't comprehend how amateur investors invest their money when they don't even know something as basic as that. But I really get depressed when amateur investors don't know how to find basic things like market cap.

By the way, on the summary page of Yahoo! Finance, the companies market cap is listed in the table -- and it's easy to spot.

A Message To Amateur Investors

Please learn some of the basics about investing. I know many amateur investors have others handle their investments, but pick up a gosh darn book. Even if it's a small 100-page book. You don't even have to read a book, you can just read articles, but I personally like books. There are millions of articles out there. Yahoo! Finance has enough information for amateur investors who don't manage their own portfolios. If you manage your own portfolio, you'll need to dig a bit deeper, and Nasdaq is a great place to start! Become the great investor that others think is impossible to accomplish! Prove them wrong!! Maybe one day, I'll be taking advice from you. :)

Thanks For Reading!
Next Time I'll hopefully be less depressed and I'll give amateur investors some tips!

Until next time! Watch my YouTube Videos!
Channel: xHitoBiteZ
Let's Play: Digimon World Data Squad
Global Market Video: Dollar Will Collapse - Explained (It Won't Collapse)

May 16, 2016

Wish For It

Previously on xHitoBlog, xHitoBiteZ cautioned investors who are interested in Activision Blizzard.
Click Here To Read It

No investing today

Reader: What gives? Last blog post you teased about going deeper in the investing world.

Me: Yeah, but I went on an adventure yesterday after I posted that, and now I need to make a blog post about my wishlist.

Reader: The wait for that investing post better be worth it *Angry Face* I know, I'm bad at this.

Me: Don't worry, it'll be worth the wait. I'll give you a hint! It has to do with that dollar won't collapse video.
Click Here To Watch The Video!

The Wishful Thinking List

I have many games on my wishlist, and there are many games I want that I don't have on my wishlist. I'm really bad when it comes to buying games. I always say I'm gonna buy a game and then I don't buy it. There are a few times where I JUST DID IT! and I recently just did it to buy Star Ocean: The Last Hope (PS3 edition). I was also in a Skype call with a friend and I remember very clearly -- regretting the purchase of the game for the rest of the night. That was a few weeks ago though. Today, I'm feeling okay. I haven't finished playing the game.. I'm actually only about 3 hours in ... Pretty sad for having purchased it 2 weeks ago... It's a good game though, and I think many people should buy it and play it -- if they haven't already. Although, there is a new Star Ocean game coming out on June 28, 2016 (US release) and that might be an even better game! I know I'll be purchasing that game if they ever decide to release it on PC.

Seriously, release it on PC :(

The Story

So, yesterday I was on an island (no seriously, I was) because I was inviting to some dinner thing. THE FOOD WAS GREAT

Anyway ... I was talking to some some guy and we had a conversation about satisfaction. He was telling me about buying houses and what not, but I told him that I have like 20 games on my wishlist and I know I'd be satisfied if I purchased half of them. But, he told me that I need to buy a house because then I can build equity and live a satisfying life. But I told him that I would live a satisfying life if I purchased half of those games on my wishlist.

Then he said, "Why don't you just buy all of those games, after all games aren't all that expensive."

I said, "I would if I wasn't so GOSH DARN FRUGAL!!"

He laughed and told me that being frugal is good, so use that money to buy a house instead of using to buy video games. Then I laughed and told him that $200 isn't going to buy me a flipping house.

At this point, he was a bit surprised and said, "Aren't games like $60? Doing some simple math 60 times 20 is $1200. If you have excellent credit score, that's almost enough down payment for a condo or an apartment."

I said, "Well, new games cost like $60, but the games I want cost between $15-$30... A few cost less than $3." He face palmed and that's where the conversation ended. I proceeded to the dessert bar afterwards -- spoilers the dessert was delicious.

My Wishing List

Most Expensive To Least Expensive. PC Edition For Every Game Listed Below!

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster $29.99
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation $29.99
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation $29.99
Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed $29.99
Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart $29.99
Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code $24.99
Disgaea PC $19.99
FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 $19.99
LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII $19.99
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing - Complete Pack $19.99
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II - Complete Pack $19.99
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III $14.99
Stardew Valley $14.99
LiEat $2.99
Sins Of The Demon RPG $1.99
Helen's Mysterious Castle $1.99
The Chosen RPG $1.99

Total: (if purchased at full price) $313.83

Why am I listing all the games on my wishlist list? To be completely honest, this entire blog post is for me to read 5 years from now and laugh at myself. I would bet that in 5 years from now, I'll own no more than 5 of those games listed above. You guys can laugh at me too because that's pretty sad. Anyway, that's it. Thank you very much for reading! Comment below if you are frugal like me. Or you have advice on how I can be less frugal. :)

For Real This Time: Next Time on xHitoBlog -- We'll go deeper in the world of investing! Don't miss it!

May 15, 2016

Activision Blizzard

Last Time I wrote about Starbucks (SBUX) and also Apple (AAPL)
Check Here To Read It

Today, it'll be about a lovely company called Activision Blizzard (ATVI) -- Most people know them as the Call of Duty guys.

I have to admit - I've pitched Activision Blizzard before and yes, both times I've pitched the stock -- the people I pitched it to decided to buy it. It was a small amount -- only 100 shares which represented about only 2-3% of their portfolio. If you think that because I've pitched the stock before, I will be biased in this blog, then I'll see you in the next blog! If not, then READ ON!

Activision Blizzard Leads (In terms of Market Cap)

The two big publicly traded gaming companies in America are Electronic Arts (EA) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI) -- Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) is also publicly traded, but they have a market cap of about 1/10 of EA's and ATVI's. But Activision handles things differently from EA. Activision's cash cow has always been WoW (at least since Activision merged with Blizzard in 2002, which closed December 2010)

Both Activision and EA have similar revenue over the past two years. It's been about $4.5B. However, this'll change this year. EA expects revenue to be about $4.9B while Activion expects revenue to be about $6.1B. Now, this might sound like a huge jump for Activision, but it's actually not. Activision might actually have less revenue in 2016 then it did in 2015. However, Activision acquired a new company for about $5.9B -- Known as KING. Know, I don't know all the details -- because I got a little lazy and only skimmed through their annual report. About $2B is likely to come from their newly acquired company KING! Which means that if KING's business brings in about $2B in revenue -- that's only $4.1B without KING.

But that doesn't mean they are going down the drain. Analysts who watch ATVI believe that the next Call of Duty is expected to be one of the best selling Call of Duty's! If they are right, then Activision will have another year to live! And the stock will go up and up and up. Personally, I don't think it's a worthwhile investment at $39 -- until they can prove to me that have covered their bases. 80% of Activision's profits comes from Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Skylanders -- World of Warcraft being the most profitable by a lot!

This post is a bit shorter than my post about Starbucks -- But as an investor I think people should be cautious when investing in Activision Blizzard. I don't believe they'll go out of business nor do I believe that they will have trouble using the ship out of Call of Duty to make them a decent amount of money over the next few years. But long term -- 10+ years -- I don't know where they stand. They are doing a great job diversifying but I also don't know if mobile gaming is as big of an industry most analysts believe it to be.

Recommendation

Woah, this is a knew one, you didn't make a recommendation for Starbucks. Dammit, and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids. :(

With the given information, I think investors should be cautious before investing in Activision Blizzard.
For 2 reasons
1. The stock has more than doubled in the last year -- it's likely to have a 10% to 15% correction in near term.
2. World of Warcraft won't be a cash cow forever -- they need a new cash cow and Call of Duty games have not been doing the best for the last few years. If the next Call of Duty really is amazing then I will blog about how I was wrong. But until then, I'll stand by my opinion.

Next Time on xHitoBlog -- We'll go deeper in the world of investing! Don't miss it!

May 6, 2016

Starbucks -- They Sell Coffee

Last Time On xHitoBlog-Z ... xHitoBiteZ Ranted About Digimon World 3.

Check out my Rant Blog Post Here

People like to hate on popular and successful corporations. I'll admit, there was a time where I hated on Apple. I've learned that when you hate on companies like these, you lose big.

Did you know that Apple and Starbucks are both publicly traded companies? Well, if you didn't know, then now you know. Both companies pay dividends, but you wouldn't invest in these companies for their dividend payout. Although, Apple is starting to seem like a stalwart and when companies become stalwarts, you generally invest in them for dividend payments. Either that, or you think it's a turnover stock.

Starbucks (SBUX)

What is Starbucks? Well, Starbucks is a pretty big company that sells coffee.. and other stuff.. but mostly coffee. They did buy out Teavanna towards the end of 2012 for about $620 million, but that doesn't account for much of their revenue. In Starbucks 2014, their tea business made about $1 billion in revenue (according to management) and plans to double it by 2020. You can get more details here. And there 2015 10-K here. Their 10-K form is about 110 pages, so make sure you give yourself 3-4 hours to read it. It's a lot to take in. I usually take a break for about 15 minutes after I read about half of it.

Starbucks has about 23,000 stores around the world. About 53% are company-operated and the remaining are licensed stores. However, their company-operated stores represent nearly 80% of total net revenues during fiscal 2015.

During fiscal 2015, 73% of company-operated revenue came from their beverages -- 19% from food -- 3% from single-serve coffees and teas -- and 5% from ready-to-drink beverages, coffee-making-equipment and other items.

So, why do people hate on Starbucks?

Well, they charge a whole lot for their coffee. But, they have the cleanest bathrooms ever. You can also sit their for as long as you want and use their wifi! Sure, you can argue that Dunkin Donuts allows you to do that, but at Dunkin Donuts they have signs that say -- 20 minute limit -- and if you stay much longer than that, they get angry and kick you out. Starbucks also has comfy sofas AND charging stations. You can charge your phone or laptop for no addition charge. Starbucks has wireless charging too -- that's pretty neat -- if your phone or laptop doesn't have that wireless charging thing built in though, it won't work. However, most phones nowadays have that feature built in. Not sure about laptops -- but that's because I don't laptop at Starbucks.

People also complain that Starbucks puts too much ice in their ice coffees and ice lattes. (such a first world problem) Then you have those haters who say Dunkin Donuts is way better. All I'll say is -- Have you ever drank a Starbucks coffee and Dunkin Donuts coffee side by side? If you're a hater and you haven't, then just go home. Seriously, just go home.

Now, Dunkin Donuts is cheaper than Starbucks. -- But I'm pretty lucky. I get a small coffee with caramel syrup. At Dunkin Donuts (in my area) a small coffee costs me $1.69 plus tax and at Starbucks (in my area) a small coffee costs me $1.79 plus tax. Only $0.10 more for coffee that tastes way way way better, and CHARGING STATIONS! Yes, I sit at Starbucks just to charge my phone -- Unless I'm in a rush.

I know most people get more "advanced" drinks (Great coffee terminology, eh?) but I don't understand much of that so I just get basic coffee. Unless I'm with my sister, she knows a lot about Starbucks drinks so she get's me the good stuff... Not sure how much they cost because I'm usually sitting at a table while she orders.

Anyway, if you're an investor -- never hate on a company -- because then you'll never get those 10, 20, or 30 baggers. Starbucks has had 6 stock splits since it went public in June 1992. It's also been paying a steady dividend every quarter since 2010. It's a low dividend yield, but Starbucks (in my opinion) is still a growth company. Growth companies generally don't pay dividends -- if they do, however, it's small. Starbucks dividend yield is about 1.42%. Let's talk about Apple! :D

Apple (AAPL)

Why am I talking about Apple when this blog is about Starbucks? Well, I was a hater once, and I thought I'd include a bit about Apple since I hated on them. Why not just blog about Apple and not include Starbucks? Well, the new company people like to hate on now is Starbucks.

In the beginning of 2007, Apple was trading at about $12 per share. It shot way up to $28 per share. However, in 2008/2009 we had The Great Recession / Financial Crisis and Apple dropped back down to $12 - $13 per share. But now, the stock trades at about $100 per share. AND in 2014, there was a 7-1 stock split. That means if you bought 100 shares before the split, you would have 700 shares after the split. So, for people who weren't hating on Apple, bought it before recession for about $12 or after the recession for about $12-$13 are pretty darn happy right now.

For people who bought 100 shares of Apple at around $12 per share -- paid about $1200. ($12 per share * 100 shares)

The stock trades around $100 per share today, but had a 7-1 split in 2014 -- so that means your 100 shares are now 700 shares.

$100 per share * 700 shares = $70,000. Yes -- today your $1200 is worth about $70,000. That's a 57 bagger! -- Yes, your investment is worth 57 times more then the initial amount.

Until my next blog -- Watch my Digimon World Data Squad Let's Play

Next Time On xHitoBlog-Z ... xHitoBiteZ Will Blog About Activision Blizzard (ATVI)

May 4, 2016

Digimon World 3 RANT!

Not Actually A Rant Bad Title and Header -- I know

I've been having dreams about the Digimons lately. No, not Digimon Data Squad -- Yes, Digimon World 3. The dreams are coming more frequently. It's like my subconscious is trying to tell me something.

What could it possibly be trying to tell me? I have absolutely no idea..........

That was only a half joke. What's a half joke? Well, a half joke is kinda like half and half -- half milk, half cream -- except in this case it's half joke, half seriousness.

Why so serious? Well... I HAVE TO FINISH DIGIMON 3. I KNOW. OKAY. I KNOW. Dreaming about it is only going to scare the crap outta me when I wake up.

If only finishing Digimon 3 was simple and clean -- but it's not. It's a long game. Of course it's a great game -- we all know that. Well..... If you don't Digimon 3, then you don't know that it's great!

What's the point of this post? Well, it's just a rant. A FLIPPING TABLE RANT! I have no idea what a table rant is, but I assume it's similar to what people call Small Talk.

Why is each "paragraph 1-2 lines? How the heck am I supposed to know? **I don't know, maybe because you're the flipping table writer**

What the heck is a flipping table writer? Does he or she flip tables as he or she writes? To be honest, that sounds pretty darn coolio!.

coolio! - The act of being cooler than Cooler from DBZ.

Why Doesn't This Post Make Any Sense?

I don't know, I just wanted to blog about Digimon 3. I know people want me to finish the game -- I want to finish my let's play of it too! :D So we're all in the same boat-ish. I don't boat with others, because I'm not a coolio! I am not allowed to boat with others until I become coolio! It's written in my contract.

What contract? Well.... it's not really a contract, I just made that up. I just wanted to be coolio! Don't judge me. :(

What's The Point of This Post?

There is no point... I guess I just wasted your time.

Watch My Let's Plays! :D

Digimon World 1
Digimon World 2
Digimon World 3
Digimon World DS
Digimon World Data Squad

Next Time on xHitoBlog-Z, xHitoBiteZ (that's me) Will Blog About Starbucks