Is US Steel a Buffett Stock? Warren Buffett attracts a lot of attention. As the world's third-richest person and most celebrated investor, thousands try to glean what they can from his thinking processes and track his investments.
While we can't know for sure whether Buffett is about to buy US Steel (NYSE: X ) -- he hasn't specifically mentioned anything about it to me -- we can discover whether it's the sort of stock that might interest him. Answering that question could also inform whether it's a stock that should interest us.
In his most recent 10-K, Buffett lays out the qualities he looks for in an investment. In addition to adequate size, proven management, and a reasonable valuation, he demands:
1. Consistent earnings power. 2. Good returns on equity with limited or no debt. 3. Management in place. 4. Simple, non-techno mumbo jumbo businesses.
Does US Steel meet Buffett's standards?
1. Earnings power Buffett is famous for betting on a sure thing. For that reason, he likes to see companies with demonstrated earnings stability.
US Steel's earnings took a hit during the recession and have yet to fully recover.
2. Return on equity and debt Return on equity is a great metric for measuring both management's effectiveness and the strength of a company's competitive advantage or disadvantage -- a classic Buffett consideration. When considering return on equity, it's important to make sure a company doesn't have an enormous debt burden, because that will skew your calculations and make the company look much more efficient than it actually is.
Since competitive strength is a comparison between peers, and various industries have different levels of profitability and require different levels of debt, it helps to use an industry context.
US Steel doesn't appear to be generating incredibly high returns on equity. Its debt level is on the higher end of its peers'.
3. Management CEO John Surma Jr. has been at the job since 2004.
4. Business Steel production isn't particularly susceptible to rapid technological disruption, though it's worth noting that disruption can (and has) occurred in the industry over longer time frames.
The Foolish conclusion Regardless of whether Buffett would ever buy US Steel, we've learned that, while it has tenured management, it doesn't particularly exhibit the other characteristics of a quintessential Buffett investment: consistent earnings and high returns on equity with limited debt. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/06/20/is-us-steel-a-buffett-stock.aspx
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