Skip navigation
MOST POPULAR RELATED TAGS
  • TOPICS
  • SECTORS
  • COMPANIES
Funny Business Video Gallery
A look at what's likely to happen at the registers once the doors open on Friday, with Richard Hastings, Global Hunters ...
Whether the deals are better than what shoppers will usually see or if it is just another marketing tactic, with Hitha P...

SQUAWK BOX VIDEO

» More

Current DateTime: 03:36:38 26 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 31388230
Expiration DateTime: 11/26/2009 3:39:10 PM
    • Shopper & Investor Deals  25 Nov 2009

        A look at what's likely to happen at the registers once the doors open on Friday, with Richard Hastings, Global Hunters Securities; Richard Jaffe, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and CNBC's Jane Wells.

    • Black Friday: Bargain or Bust?  25 Nov 2009

        Whether the deals are better than what shoppers will usually see or if it is just another marketing tactic, with Hitha Prabhakar, Style File Group; Brad Wilson, BlackFriday2009.com and CNBC's Jane Wells.

    • Holiday Central  25 Nov 2009

        A discussion of the many ways retailers are preparing for Black Friday, live from K-Mart in Burbank, CA, with CNBC's Jane Wells.

    • Retailers Getting Ready for Black Friday  25 Nov 2009

        Retailers are getting ready for Black Friday, and CNBC's Jane Wells has the play by play. Stacy Janiak, of Deloitte, shares her insight.

    • Amazon vs. Wal-Mart  24 Nov 2009

        What began as a price war between Wal-Mart and Amazon over a handful of books has nos spread to a wide assortment of consumer goods. Lee Eisenberg, a noted retail expert and consumer behaviorist, and CNBC's Jane Wells discuss.

    • Prices to Be Thankful For  24 Nov 2009

        A decrease in food prices is something to be thankful for this holiday, reports CNBC's Jane Wells.

RSS FEED

» Help

Current DateTime: 03:36:40 26 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 31388237
Expiration DateTime: 11/26/2009 3:39:17 PM
powered by digg

Funny Business

Text Size
Oct.10
1:11 PM ET
Wednesday, 10 Oct 2007
The Ethanol Bubble?

Corn
Source. monsanto.com
Corn

Monsanto
[MON  Loading...      ()   ] stock hit an all-time high Tuesday going into earnings. Turns out earnings reflected a fantastic 2007. Sales hit a record $8.5 billion. Corn seed and traits sales rose 76% in the fourth quarter alone! The company reported a loss for Q4, which I'm told is normal, since they use that quarter to build up seed inventories -- like a really big squirrel storing nuts for the winter.

But Monsanto disappointed analysts in forecasting earnings growth for 2008. It only expects earnings to grow 10-20% (which, gee, you'd think is good). Analysts were looking for at least 25% earnings growth. Morgan Stanley had a best case scenario of 50% growth.

Now, traditionally Monsanto low-balls its full-year forecast, but does it see slowing growth? Are we missing something? The CEO says the company has to grow through market share. That's his biggest focus -- bigger than whether total acreage grows. Is that just being conservative or is it being pessimistic?

Analysts seem to think there's nothing to worry about. The company has plenty of steam left, despite the disappointing earnings projection.

From Goldman Sachs: "Indeed, MON remains the undisputed leader in the ag/biotech space, and we believe that the product pipeline is sufficiently robust to keep investors excited about the mid- to long-term opportunity."

From Morgan Stanley: "To be clear, given that there is absolutely no change in our expectations for F2008, we perceive any near term weakness as a buying opportunity."

From Bank of America: "We are not overly troubled by the lower than expected range since management has a history of 'over-delivering' vs. conservative guidance."

Maybe it's me, but with some ethanol producers now at risk of going bankrupt (despite a government subsidy), the fuel's inability to be transported through pipelines, the lack of ethanol stations in car-hungry California because it has to be trucked or trained here, Monsanto's sky high stock price, and all the analysts saying disappointing guidance is "OK," -- well, let's just say I'm going to sit back and watch this farming story unfold.

But I've learned to never underestimate the power of the corn lobby. Name me one processed food/beverage that doesn't have corn syrup in it. What corn has done for food, it may do for your car if it's the last thing farmers accomplish!

More Suggested Names for the Farm Report

Funny Business Comments:

Farmer John:
Fields of Dreams
Jane Wells, RFD (funny!)
Mother Earth's News

Mel C.:
"Wells FarmGo" (get it? heh, heh)

Jordan Belfort Update

My profile of convicted stock broker Jordan Belfort which has been airing on "Business Nation" has gotten quite a bit of response from you. I also blogged about Belfort last Wednesday and the many ways he defrauded investors at his firm, Stratton Oakmont, in the '90s.

Tony F. was a broker back in the day at an office where "there were so many 'Jordan Belfort' types in that office, it was scary":

"Overall Mr. Belfort's story is not unique and any book plans to be made into a movie would be a travesty to all investors that had invested with firms like Stratton. It's hard enough to get clients, but during that period of time, people like Mr. Belfort made it increasingly difficult to get new business in the door since most investors had a 'bad taste in their mouths' from dealing with these firms."

Comments? Funny Stories? Email

© 2009 CNBC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Tools:
PrintEmailAdd This share icon
Next Post
  • digg share
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 01:44:15 26 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:04:07 26 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 01:04:08 26 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:04:08 26 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters