BMO Capital Markets

CNBC features Simeon Siegel, CFA in its long-form digital segment digging into Nike challenges, discussing among other things, his views on DTC vs. Wholesale, Nike’s competitive advantage via its size and scale, its industry-leading R&D and marketing budget, and its ability to convince the world to buy its products, even as public perception seems otherwise. “What makes Nike special? Being a technology company is not what makes you special. The mantra of tech is disrupt. Everyone wants to disrupt. If you’re doing a really great job, sometimes disrupting yourself is a bad thing. And so figuring out how to evolve, rather than break, is really important. Why does Nike win? Well, Nike has the largest Research and Development budget and Nike has the largest marketing budget. As long as they use that effectively it is very hard to compete against. That doesn’t mean new brands can’t emerge. It doesn’t mean new brands can’t take some share. But it does mean that Nike should always be able to get it back, as long as they have their eye on the ball.” Full segment here: http://spr.ly/6040aDfaO

BMO Analyst Simeon Siegel, CFA’s upgrade of Michael Kors parent company Capri Holdings Limited highlighted in WWD. Read the full article here: http://spr.ly/6048vhMcI

Brian G. Belski sat down with BNN Bloomberg to talk about recent market trends and his 2025 portfolio strategy. "I do believe that developed market money is coming back to North America, and I think that’s going to continue to be the major theme for the next 3 to 5 years." Full discussion begins at the 50:45 mark: http://spr.ly/6041v7YOt

Brian G. Belski joined CNBC this afternoon to discuss the stocks he’s watching and his thoughts around a dividend stock strategy. Lululemon, Delta and United Airlines: http://spr.ly/6048v40tC Synovus: http://spr.ly/6049v40th Dividend strategy: http://spr.ly/6041v40QB

Simeon Siegel, CFA joins CNBC on New Year’s Eve flagging his belief that despite broad fears, consumers spent during holiday, on both goods and services. “You give me a compelling service or you give me a compelling good and you are seeing people open their wallet. It’s December 31st and it’s Planet Fitness’ day to shine. This is the TJX of gyms that has been compounding its business. A more entry-level priced gym that has been flourishing. And they just raised price to $15. Planet Fitness is going to have their big New Year’s countdown soon and January really matters for them with New Years resolutions.” http://spr.ly/6040vmqng

Simeon Siegel, CFA joins CNBC to discuss Mastercard’s reads on holiday sales, offering some nuance on thinking through inflation. “The thing to keep in mind with the 3.8% is that obviously it is an average number. So, there are businesses seeing dramatically better than 3.8% and businesses seeing dramatically worse. And that is actually a good thing for business. Retailers don’t ‘raise their price’ with inflation. The price retailers set is what comes to represent the inflation number we see. Inflation is the higher amount that we spend. If, all of a sudden, lulu can charge 20% more, then on lulu goods there was 20% ‘inflation.’ It’s a scary thing when we talk about it in economist terms and call it ‘inflation’ but in retailer terms that just means higher full-price selling.” Watch the full segment here: http://spr.ly/6042v9HRi

Simeon Siegel, CFA speaks to The San Francisco Standard about the unique characteristics and strategies of off-price retailers that bunch their locations closer together than other retailers. “As wild as it sounds, off-pricers tend to congregate near each other and near themselves. Unlike a brand that might see cannibalization from adding another store nearby, off-pricers find that the more stores they have, the more they can sell.” Read full article here: http://spr.ly/6044vr0KC

A message from Alan Tannenbaum on the 2024 BMO Employee Giving Campaign:

Evan Seigerman joins CNBC Power Lunch to discuss how to position in the pharmaceutical space in 2025. “I think the obesity trade still works in 2025, but Lilly and Novo have to execute perfectly … any faltering in 4Q is gonna be a real problem. I think Pfizer got overshadowed; the guide was healthy. Bristol’s interesting; I’m watching the launch of Cobenfy. I think there are some value names in Pharma. I’m still sticking with Lilly, but it’s not my top pick for 2025 and that was a change in our outlook.” See the full segment here: http://spr.ly/6041vJ4Af

Simeon Siegel, CFA suggests to The New York Times that Bath & Body Works enjoys a powerful seasonal dynamic that pulls its customers into stores, on top of its replenishment nature. “People come in because it’s time for ‘’Tis The Season.’ Just like people walk in to get their pumpkin spice latte.” Read the full article here: http://spr.ly/6046vHSXI