So I was looking over General Mills' (NYSE:GIS) quarterly earnings report this morning, planning to cover it in today's article. I never made it past the first paragraph. I mean, what could be more boring than cereal?
The problem with buying stocks of companies that aren't growing is that you can't be wrong about them. As we discussed yesterday with InterActive Corp (NASDAQ:IACI), you don't want to overpay for a stock (see "InterActive and the Permanent Tax"). But the beauty of investing in a growth company such as Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), or Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is that, as long as you are looking to buy at a sufficient discount to your approximation of fair value, you have some leeway.
In other words, you can be wrong about fair value and still not be off by more than a few quarters.
Start with the industries that you're interested in. If you like solid online businesses such as Google and eBay, wait for them to make a mistake and try to buy the stock on the cheap(er). If you're into video games, look at Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI). There's a good chance that other people are also interested in trading used goods online or playing video games and that you're looking at growth companies (as is the case).
If you're having trouble coming up with ideas, you might try out David Gardner's new newsletter.
The one drawback to this approach is that you are less likely to find deep values. Just be patient, keep valuation in mind, and be ready to pounce when you find a good opportunity, and the time you spend on your investments can be both intelligent and exciting.
Amazon, eBay, Electronic Arts, and Activision are all Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. Learn more by signing up today for six months, risk-free.
Fool contributor Jeff Hwang owns shares of InterActive Corp, eBay, and Electronic Arts.
