Has SodaStream Become the Perfect Stock?

Every investor would love to stumble upon the perfect stock. But will you ever really find a stock that provides everything you could possibly want?

One thing's for sure: You'll never discover truly great investments unless you actively look for them. Let's discuss the ideal qualities of a perfect stock, then decide if SodaStream (SODA) fits the bill.

The quest for perfection
Stocks that look great based on one factor may prove horrible elsewhere, making due diligence a crucial part of your investing research. The best stocks excel in many different areas, including these important factors:

• Growth. Expanding businesses show healthy revenue growth. While past growth is no guarantee that revenue will keep rising, it's certainly a better sign than a stagnant top line.
• Margins. Higher sales mean nothing if a company can't produce profits from them. Strong margins ensure that a company can turn revenue into profit.
• Balance sheet. At debt-laden companies, banks and bondholders compete with shareholders for management's attention. Companies with strong balance sheets don't have to worry about the distraction of debt.
• Money-making opportunities. Return on equity helps measure how well a company is finding opportunities to turn its resources into profitable business endeavors.
• Valuation. You can't afford to pay too much for even the best companies. By using normalized figures, you can see how a stock's simple earnings multiple fits into a longer-term context.
• Dividends. For tangible proof of profits, a check to shareholders every three months can't be beat. Companies with solid dividends and strong commitments to increasing payouts treat shareholders well.

With those factors in mind, let's take a closer look at SodaStream.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Total score = number of passes.

Since we looked at SodaStream last year, the company has held onto its six-point score. The stock has also stayed reasonably fizzy, gaining about 25% over the past year.

With its home carbonator systems, SodaStream has done an excellent job of bucking the trend of relatively weak results for more established traditional soft-drink makers. Both Coca-Cola (KO 0.15%) and PepsiCo (PEP -2.97%) have seen their sales growth fall to low single-digit percentages over the past year, as particular weakness in North America continues to water down growth opportunities elsewhere across the globe.

Key to its growth in 2012 has been SodaStream's ability to line up retail partners. Wal-Mart (WMT -1.75%) added itself to SodaStream's list earlier this year, opening up a whole new market for its carbonators, and helping to improve its distribution of syrups and other accessories.

SodaStream recently decided to take a big gamble in its push for growth, announcing plans to buy a Super Bowl ad spot. A 30-second spot could cost the company $4 million, but it will fit well with SodaStream's global reach, given the worldwide popularity of the game.

Despite constant comparisons to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR.DL), it's important to draw distinctions. With K-Cups going off-patent, Green Mountain has to constantly innovate, whereas it's much harder to go to generic alternatives to SodaStream's carbonators.

For SodaStream to improve, it needs to demonstrate its ability to sell not just initial carbonation systems, but also the consumables that drive higher margins. Therefore, 2013 should be an interesting year for SodaStream, as it tries to make its growth story fizz even higher.

Keep searching
No stock is a sure thing, but some stocks are a lot closer to perfect than others. By looking for the perfect stock, you'll go a long way toward improving your investing prowess, and learning how to separate out the best investments from the rest.

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