A Portfolio Review Pt. 2
Okay, we are now onto the second part of my portfolio review. Also, a new font/color for the site. I hope you guys like it. I do not love it, but I am not sure if that is because it is just new, or because it is actually bad. So just email me your opinions if you are a loyal Pax-Romana fan, and we can re-assess. Also, sorry if my writing is a little worse during this. I am currently writing this during an extremely lengthy and annoying meeting I have to sit in on.
Okay, first up, Block. Block is a company that I keep buying because the price kept falling/not increasing as fast as I would have wanted. The company makes up about 15% of my portfolio at an average price paid of $66, and I have like a 1% gain. My initial price paid over six months ago was in the mid-$70s, but the price fell down into the mid-$50s, and I just could not resist. I have been buying all the way down, and I just love this company. Block is in a bunch of stuff, and I love/do not mind, everything they are in. Block owns all the Square payment processing systems, and they pick up a commission on every payment done over their software. These bad boys are everywhere. Next time you are buying anything in-person, nine times out of ten, you will slide your card through one of their signature white chip-readers, and you will see their grey square logo. Square also owns Cash App, which is popular among the highschool cohort because their is no age requirement. Cash App used to be extremely shady, but as the platform has become more mature, it has shed some of that negative branding. Cash App is used as an investment program, one of the only major crypto, peer-to-peer transfer, apps, and it is now used as a bank as well, with credit cards offered. Block also has a few buy-now-pay later apps, which I think will be big in the future, espescially during economic downturns, something that gives them some cushion.
I am currently registering a profit with this position, something that I have not done since early this year. Honestly, I would buy more now if it was not already a worryingly large amount of my portfolio. I truly believe this stock could double its price in the next 12 months. There is so much room for growth in this company, and Jack Dorsey, the Block Chairman/CEO of Block is good. I used to sort of hate him, just for his Coachella general vibe, but after I got past his appearance and silicon valley vibe, I realized he is actually pretty good.
Microsoft is our next company. Microsoft used to be the number two company in my portfolio, and while I love them and pretty much everything about them, they have fallen down the pecking order just because some other positions have more room for growth I believe. That said, Microsoft is 15% of my portfolio. They used to be much more, but they have had a bit of a rundown. I have a 143% unrealized gain on the stock, as I bought at $178. As I said, Microsoft is an incredible company. They are the largest company in the world on a good day, but their revenue is growing by 16% y/y, which would be unbelievably for a company 1/3 of their size. Microsoft is in everything tech, but they are critically, in everything growing in tech. AI most importantly, but cloud services, cutting-edge software, and exponentially improving hardware. And I have not even mentioned their leadership yet. Satya Nadella might be the single best manager in the world. He is everything Elon Musk is not (drive by), smart, measured, ruthless, insightful, and not insane. Satya Nadella is incredibly smart, and he is incredibly tapped into the tech world. Microsoft is a buy at any price.
That said, all of the optimism for big tech will face some headwinds in the future. Microsoft is big in AI, and AI, I believe, will have a mini-internet bubble event. If you buy now, I am not worried about Microsoft doubling your money in five years, but I would be worried about the next 18 months.
Okay, we might have to go into a part three. We are approaching 800 words, and I still have two positions left. Usually, 1000 words is the hard cutoff, and I am not sure I can control my verbosity.
To summarize, Microsoft is a buy anytime, but I do not think you are buying wild growth in the short-term. You are buying steady, 20% a year growth, but next year, that might be more like 5%, just because of some AI-fears. Block is a buy right now, less than at $55, but Block is still absolutely a buy now. I bought at $56, I bought at $65, and I have bought at $77. I was wrong none of those times.
