No longer the lone oracle for wisdom-hungry investors, Warren Buffett has some hot competition from a couple of states over. The Oracle of Milwaukee is for commodity investors what Buffett means to the value crowd, and I believe that Fools consulting the Milwaukee mystic will reap great rewards.
Milwaukee-based Joy Global
As Joy Global continues to work its way through an order backlog that peaked around $3.17 billion before conditions soured, the company posted a 10% increase in net sales and a whopping 67% increase in net earnings. The company's efforts to reduce operating costs clearly have paid off, with operating income at an impressive 20% of net sales versus 14% in the prior-year quarter. Competitor Bucyrus
Near-term red flags for the equipment manufacturing industry include Joy Global's tally of $300 million in cancelled orders over the past three quarters, $525 million in existing orders considered at risk of cancellation, and a 47% reduction in new order bookings. Joy cautions that China's major restocking efforts for resources like copper and iron ore are not likely sustainable at these rates … suggesting the possibility of a near-term correction for miners like Freeport-McMoRan
Further Foolishness:
- Beware the Tyrannosaurus Terex.
- Keeping equipment investments focused.
- Peabody's play within a play.