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In this segment from the Motley Fool Money podcast, host Chris Hill asks senior Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser, Matt Argersinger, and Ron Gross to give us the lowdown on some companies that caught their attention recently. Their picks this week: leading data center operator Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX), distance medicine leader Teledoc (NYSE: TDOC), and South America's leading online travel agency, Despegar (NYSE: DESP).
A full transcript follows the video.
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This video was recorded on Aug. 3, 2018.
Chris Hill: Let's get to the stocks on our radar. Our man behind the glass, Steve Broido, is going to hit you with a question. Ron Gross, you're up first. What are you looking at this week?
Ron Gross: I have Equinix, EQIX. It's a real estate investment trust that's the largest operator of data centers in the world. Strong competitive advantage because of that installed base. Obviously capitalizing on the growth in data consumption and cloud outsourcing. Strong management team. 61 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. Again, it's a real estate investment trust, so you have a nice dividend that I think will grow over time.
Hill: 61 consecutive quarters?
Gross: You got it!
Hill: [laughs] That's a nice little streak there.
Gross: I probably just jinxed it.
Hill: Steve Broido, question about Equinix?
Steve Broido: Where is real estate going in the next ten years? We look like we have prices that are very high, homes are very expensive. Commercial real estate, going up or down?
Gross: I think it's an interest rate play here. If I had to guess, I would say there'll be some tough times, but the trend over our lifetime, for the next 20, 50, 100 years, will be up. But, there will be some blips as we get some interest rate hurt on the way.
Hill: Jason Moser, what are you looking at this week?
Jason Moser: I feel like I'd be letting Mac down if I didn't bring up Teladoc, so I'm going to go ahead and bring up Teladoc, actually Teladoc Health now, ticker TDOC. Teladoc released earnings this week and they chalked up another very strong, if not predictable, quarter. One of the nice things about the business is, when you have a membership model like that, it can be fairly predictable.
They are adopting a new corporate brand, as I mentioned, Teladoc Health. It's a subtle difference, but it speaks to their ultimate strategy, the goal of being a comprehensive provider in the telehealth space. It's going to utilize the acquisitions they've made recently like Best Doctors and Advanced Medical, trying to become more than just that one app on your phone that you use if you have a sore throat or something.