See how Lululemon items compare to Costco 'dupes' claimed in lawsuit

2 Bargain Stocks That Could Double Your Money

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Yahoo

2 Bargain Stocks That Could Double Your Money

Key Points Krispy Kreme offers substantial upside if management can stabilize sales and reduce debt. Lululemon's premium brand positioning in the sports apparel market is significantly undervalued. 10 stocks we like better than Krispy Kreme › Even with the stock market hitting new highs, there are plenty of industries with beaten-down stocks that could benefit from an improving economy over the next five years. Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: DNUT) stock is down 67% over the past year due to weak financial results, but the stock could soar if management's moves to improve profitability pay off. Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) stock is trading 57% off its recent highs over slowing growth and concerns about competition, but its recent financial results indicate that this brand is in a much stronger position than the market is giving it credit for. Let's dive deeper into why these stocks are underperforming, and why they could at least double from here. 1. Krispy Kreme Shares of Krispy Kreme haven't looked so crispy lately. The stock nosedived earlier this year after delivering disappointing revenue and earnings results. Making matters worse was the announcement that the company would suspend paying dividends to shareholders. But this just reflects the greater problem the company must solve to pay down its debt and shore up profitability. Krispy Kreme reported a loss of $33 million in the first quarter on $375 million of revenue, and revenue was down 15% over the year-ago quarter. It has restructured the leadership, and one of the initiatives is expanding the number of locations where doughnuts can be purchased. Global points of access grew 21% year over year in Q1 to 17,982, and management is aiming to reach 100,000 purchase locations in the future. While opening up more ways for customers to buy doughnuts can help strengthen sales, management is also focused on growing cash flow and paying down debt. The business is saddled with nearly $1 billion in debt and just $18.7 million in cash on its balance sheet. However, the business generated $42 million in cash from operations on a trailing 12-month basis, giving management resources to reduce debt. To strengthen sales, management is reducing reliance on discounting, being more diligent with marketing expenses, and focusing on higher-value options that drive higher margins. On the latter, it is looking to partner with grocery stores and mass retailers like Costco and Walmart's Sam's Club to sell large-volume doughnut packs. The high-volume sales at these locations could generate higher turnover and margins for the company to boost cash flow. Analysts expect Krispy Kreme's annual revenue to reach $2.7 billion by 2029. If the stock trades at a conservative price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 0.50, that would translate to a 2.5x return from the current $3.13 share price. A sales multiple of 1 would translate to a $16 share price, or 5x return. Krispy Kreme is not a pretty-looking situation, but you have to be willing to buy stocks that no one wants to own to land those elusive multibaggers. There is execution risk here, as there is for any turnaround situation. But if current leadership can stabilize sales and reduce debt, this is a promising turnaround play for a high return in the next four years. 2. Lululemon Athletica Lululemon stock delivered market-beating returns over the last 15 years, as its brand emerged in the mainstream with the leaders in a historically growing industry. Some investors might see Lululemon as being past its prime, but its trailing 12-month revenue of $10.7 billion is still a very small share of the athletic apparel industry. It's got a lot of growth potential that isn't reflected in the stock price. A number of new competitors have emerged over the past decade. Apparel is one of the most competitive industries out there, but Lululemon was still growing revenue at over 20% annually just a few years ago. A crowded market didn't prevent Lululemon from taking on industry leaders like Nike and Adidas to get to where it is today. The only thing that has changed over the past few years is the economic environment, which has weighed on sales across the industry. The economy has been through multiple headwinds over the past five years with the pandemic, rising inflation, and elevated interest rates, which have exasperated people's appetite for spending on non-essential items like new clothes. This is pressuring Nike more than Lululemon. Lululemon's revenue grew 7% year over year last quarter, while Nike posted a decline. Lululemon's sales have consistently outperformed the industry leader over the last 10 years. Wall Street doesn't give the company enough credit for this. Lululemon's brand strength is evident in its gross margin, which came in at 58.3% in fiscal Q1 2025, up from 57.7% in fiscal Q1 2024, and slightly higher than 57.5% in fiscal Q1 2024. In a stronger consumer spending environment, Lululemon's premium brand positioning is capable of delivering stronger growth. Lululemon's above-average margins and financial strength should allow it to weather sluggish sales trends, as well as any obstacles that tariffs on imported goods might present in the near term. Lululemon has $1.3 billion of cash and no debt on its balance sheet. The stock is trading at just 15 times this year's consensus earnings estimate, implying that analysts expect Lululemon to continue reporting a healthy profit. This is a bargain for a company that is still expanding into new categories, like footwear, and that has a lot of room to grow internationally over the long term. A combination of earnings growth and a higher price-to-earnings multiple could at least double the stock by 2030. Should you invest $1,000 in Krispy Kreme right now? Before you buy stock in Krispy Kreme, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Krispy Kreme wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,774!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,942!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,040% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale, Lululemon Athletica Inc., Nike, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Bargain Stocks That Could Double Your Money was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Yahoo

2 Bargain Stocks That Could Double Your Money

Key Points Krispy Kreme offers substantial upside if management can stabilize sales and reduce debt. Lululemon's premium brand positioning in the sports apparel market is significantly undervalued. 10 stocks we like better than Krispy Kreme › Even with the stock market hitting new highs, there are plenty of industries with beaten-down stocks that could benefit from an improving economy over the next five years. Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: DNUT) stock is down 67% over the past year due to weak financial results, but the stock could soar if management's moves to improve profitability pay off. Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) stock is trading 57% off its recent highs over slowing growth and concerns about competition, but its recent financial results indicate that this brand is in a much stronger position than the market is giving it credit for. Let's dive deeper into why these stocks are underperforming, and why they could at least double from here. 1. Krispy Kreme Shares of Krispy Kreme haven't looked so crispy lately. The stock nosedived earlier this year after delivering disappointing revenue and earnings results. Making matters worse was the announcement that the company would suspend paying dividends to shareholders. But this just reflects the greater problem the company must solve to pay down its debt and shore up profitability. Krispy Kreme reported a loss of $33 million in the first quarter on $375 million of revenue, and revenue was down 15% over the year-ago quarter. It has restructured the leadership, and one of the initiatives is expanding the number of locations where doughnuts can be purchased. Global points of access grew 21% year over year in Q1 to 17,982, and management is aiming to reach 100,000 purchase locations in the future. While opening up more ways for customers to buy doughnuts can help strengthen sales, management is also focused on growing cash flow and paying down debt. The business is saddled with nearly $1 billion in debt and just $18.7 million in cash on its balance sheet. However, the business generated $42 million in cash from operations on a trailing 12-month basis, giving management resources to reduce debt. To strengthen sales, management is reducing reliance on discounting, being more diligent with marketing expenses, and focusing on higher-value options that drive higher margins. On the latter, it is looking to partner with grocery stores and mass retailers like Costco and Walmart's Sam's Club to sell large-volume doughnut packs. The high-volume sales at these locations could generate higher turnover and margins for the company to boost cash flow. Analysts expect Krispy Kreme's annual revenue to reach $2.7 billion by 2029. If the stock trades at a conservative price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 0.50, that would translate to a 2.5x return from the current $3.13 share price. A sales multiple of 1 would translate to a $16 share price, or 5x return. Krispy Kreme is not a pretty-looking situation, but you have to be willing to buy stocks that no one wants to own to land those elusive multibaggers. There is execution risk here, as there is for any turnaround situation. But if current leadership can stabilize sales and reduce debt, this is a promising turnaround play for a high return in the next four years. 2. Lululemon Athletica Lululemon stock delivered market-beating returns over the last 15 years, as its brand emerged in the mainstream with the leaders in a historically growing industry. Some investors might see Lululemon as being past its prime, but its trailing 12-month revenue of $10.7 billion is still a very small share of the athletic apparel industry. It's got a lot of growth potential that isn't reflected in the stock price. A number of new competitors have emerged over the past decade. Apparel is one of the most competitive industries out there, but Lululemon was still growing revenue at over 20% annually just a few years ago. A crowded market didn't prevent Lululemon from taking on industry leaders like Nike and Adidas to get to where it is today. The only thing that has changed over the past few years is the economic environment, which has weighed on sales across the industry. The economy has been through multiple headwinds over the past five years with the pandemic, rising inflation, and elevated interest rates, which have exasperated people's appetite for spending on non-essential items like new clothes. This is pressuring Nike more than Lululemon. Lululemon's revenue grew 7% year over year last quarter, while Nike posted a decline. Lululemon's sales have consistently outperformed the industry leader over the last 10 years. Wall Street doesn't give the company enough credit for this. Lululemon's brand strength is evident in its gross margin, which came in at 58.3% in fiscal Q1 2025, up from 57.7% in fiscal Q1 2024, and slightly higher than 57.5% in fiscal Q1 2024. In a stronger consumer spending environment, Lululemon's premium brand positioning is capable of delivering stronger growth. Lululemon's above-average margins and financial strength should allow it to weather sluggish sales trends, as well as any obstacles that tariffs on imported goods might present in the near term. Lululemon has $1.3 billion of cash and no debt on its balance sheet. The stock is trading at just 15 times this year's consensus earnings estimate, implying that analysts expect Lululemon to continue reporting a healthy profit. This is a bargain for a company that is still expanding into new categories, like footwear, and that has a lot of room to grow internationally over the long term. A combination of earnings growth and a higher price-to-earnings multiple could at least double the stock by 2030. Should you invest $1,000 in Krispy Kreme right now? Before you buy stock in Krispy Kreme, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Krispy Kreme wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,774!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,942!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,040% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale, Lululemon Athletica Inc., Nike, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Bargain Stocks That Could Double Your Money was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Ballard raked in six figures from law firms targeted by Trump

Politico

21 hours ago

Politico

Ballard raked in six figures from law firms targeted by Trump

With Daniel Lippman LAW FIRMS PAID BALLARD $600K LAST QUARTER: A pair of top law firms that struck deals with the Trump administration to avoid retribution for their diversity, equity and inclusion policies shelled out $300,000 each to Ballard Partners during the second quarter, disclosure filings show. Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett both hired Ballard in March, within days of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission firing off inquiries to nearly two dozen law firms about their diversity hiring practices. — Brian Ballard, Syl Lukis and Justin Sayfie reported engaging the White House Office and the Labor Department on behalf of the firms to provide 'advice related to employment practices,' according to disclosure filings. The law firms paid Ballard $100,000 during the first quarter, which ran through March. — Ballard's advocacy appeared to pay off the next month, when Trump announced that five top law firms— including Kirkland and Simpson — had agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal work to support causes aligned with the president in exchange for dropping the EEOC probes. — Kirkland and Simpson weren't the only law firms that enlisted help from a Trump ally ahead of settlements with the White House. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom retained Miller Strategies on March 25, according to a disclosure filing. — On March 28, Skadden became the first law firm to strike a preemptive deal with Trump, setting off a flurry of additional dealmaking across Big Law. Skadden paid Miller Strategies $20,000 during the first quarter of the year and reported no lobbying activity during Q2. TGIF and welcome to PI. Send tips. Add me on Signal at caitlinoprysko.17, email me at coprysko@ and be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. BIG TECH'S AGE VERIFICATION FIGHT GETS MESSY: 'The biggest tech companies are warring over who's responsible for children's safety online, with billions of dollars in fines on the line as states rapidly pass conflicting laws requiring companies to verify users' ages,' per Bloomberg's Emily Birnbaum. — The debate has pitted platforms like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, against the owners of the world's two biggest app stores, Apple and Google. — 'As the lobbying battle over age verification heats up, influential big tech groups are splintering and new ones emerging. Meta last year left Chamber of Progress, a liberal-leaning tech group that counts Apple and Google as members. Since then, the chamber, which is led by a former Google lobbyist and brands itself as the Democratic-aligned voice for the tech industry, has grown more aggressive in its advocacy against all age verification bills.' — 'Meta tried unsuccessfully to convince another major tech trade group, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, to stop working against bills Meta supports, two people familiar with the dynamics said.' — In the meantime, Meta partnered up this spring with Spotify and Tinder owner Match Group 'to launch a coalition aimed at taking on Apple and Google, including over the issue of age verification. Meta is also helping to fund the Digital Childhood Alliance, a coalition of conservative groups leading efforts to pass app-store age verification, according to three people familiar with the funding.' FIRST IN PI — COURTOVICH SANCTIONED BY COURT: A federal court on Thursday ruled that lobbyist Jim Courtovich is in contempt of court for not providing financial information to Saudi-backed investors whom the court says he owes millions to, Daniel reports. — The judge, Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also said in the 'sanctions order' that Courtovich will be fined daily for contempt until he comes into compliance: $250 per day for two weeks and $1,000 per day after that, and potentially even more later. — Last year, Courtovich breached a settlement agreement he made to pay back the investment vehicle Woodland Drive, which had sued him over allegations of breach of contract and fraud. The court has previously ordered Courtovich to turn over financial information to the LLC as it attempts to collect its $4 million judgment against him. — 'Courtovich has repeatedly and flagrantly ignored the court's unambiguous orders and has failed to appear at numerous hearings scheduled by the court,' Nichols said in the order. 'Indeed, to date, he still has not complied with the court's February 5 order directing him to produce the documents requested by Woodland Drive.' — Courtovich declined to comment on whether he will comply with the court order and instead said he has an agreement with the Al Gosaibi family, which funds Woodland Drive, and not with Woodland Drive. But he added that Woodland Drive will get the proceeds of Courtovich's Hill house, which is for sale. — 'The company will not stop pursuing Jim Courtovich until he has paid every penny of the $4 million that he owes,' a representative for Woodland Drive said in a statement to PI. 'His excuses will not stop this from happening. The walls are closing in and he knows it.' THE INFLUENCERS ARE COMING: Strategic advisory firm Velocity Partners has teamed up with creator economy startup #paid to launch a new offering aimed at reaching stakeholders in Washington by mobilizing content creators and social media influencers around the country. — Content creators are 'incredibly effective at driving action,' Velocity co-founder Ali Rubin argued. 'We have been saying, if you could use that to convert that action, that behavior that they're driving, to a policy, regulatory or grassroots campaign, think about the impact you'd have.' — The #paid platform works by connecting brands with creators interested in sponsorship opportunities, and Velocity hopes to pair that functionality with its knowledge of Washington to put a D.C.-centered spin on digital campaigns focused on policy or regulatory objectives. — It feels like a natural next step following an election that cemented platforms like podcasts or TikTok as tools for campaigns to meet voters where they are, rather than relying on media that younger Americans are shifting away from, like live TV and newspapers. — For some clients, Rubin posited, that could entail enlisting a mom blogger who submitted a bid for the campaign and 'who may or may not have followers who care about politics' to sway public sentiment on an issue in their own voice. Or the influencer could call for their followers to contact their local congressional representative, instead of 'hiring a policy spokesperson or putting an ad in a local newspaper.' ANNALS OF ETHICS: The House Ethics Committee called on Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) today to divest his family's holdings in steel giant Cleveland-Cliffs, 'citing concerns around the appearance of wrongdoing,' per POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs. — The bipartisan panel has been probing whether Kelly's wife bought stock in Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs, which has a plant in the lawmaker's district, 'based on non-public information gleaned from Kelly's position as an elected official. Although Kelly's wife was not fully cooperative with the probe, the panel 'did not find evidence that [the lawmaker] knowingly or intentionally caused his spouse to trade based on insider information.'' — ''It is rare for the Committee to recommend divestment of stocks where there is a potential appearance of a conflict of interest,' committee members wrote in their report. 'As Representative Kelly himself noted, however, he is an 'insider' when it comes to Cleveland-Cliffs, by virtue of his position as the representative for his district.'' — 'The panel urged Kelly and his wife to divest their holdings before he takes any more official actions related to Cleveland-Cliffs,' while expressing concerns 'that Kelly's wife bought more stock during the investigation, and Kelly did not disclose the purchase in a timely manner — nor did he answer questions about it.' SPOTTED last night at a reception hosted by the Information Technology Industry Council featuring special guests from the Congressional Staff Association on AI, per a tipster: Margaret McCarthy of ITI, Alexandra Seymour and Ashley Truluck of the House Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, Patrick Ottenhoff of Visa, Parul Desai of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Alyson Sincavage of Cisco and Robert Hoffman of Broadcom. — And at a fireside chat on the White House's new artificial intelligence roadmap with OSTP Director Michael Kratsios hosted by the Consumer Technology Association, per a tipster: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Joel Miller of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Elena Hernandez, Dean Ball and Tim Kurth of OSTP, Will Burns of Rep. Jay Obernolte's (R-Calif.) office, Addie Cooke of Google, Melika Carroll of Cohere, Austin Carson of SeedAI, Andres Castrillon of Qualcomm, Ximena Gates of BuildWithin, Kevin Rambosk and India Herdman of Tesla, Kelsey Conradi of Samsung, Aya Kiy-Morrocco of AWS, Miranda Lutz of Cisco, Svetlana Matt of EchoStar, Melissa Wade and Charlotte McElroy of Aurora, John Mitchell of Workday, Pooja Patel of Siemens, Anarkalee Perera of HP, Sean Perryman of Uber, Kaya Singleton of Roku, Rebecca Steele of Toyota, Pat Thompson of Infineon, Melissa Tye of Verizon, Stefania Yanachkov of Waymo, Allison Cullin of Lyft, Jim Morgan of LG Electronics, Ashley Menzler of Dexcom, Tillie Fowler of EssilorLuxottica, Pat Pelletier of IBM and CTA's Gary Shapiro, Kinsey Fabrizio, Michael Petricone, Tiffany Moore and David Grossman. Jobs report — Kate Tyrrell is now chief of staff and senior deputy comptroller at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. She previously was senior managing director at Greystone. — Monument Advocacy has promoted Roberto Estrada Lobo to director of client acquisition and public affairs, Kaycie Goral to director of public affairs, Peyton Kelleher to senior manager of government relations and Chauncey Seeger to senior manager of government relations. — Michelle West is now a partner in the construction and project development practice at Burr & Forman in its new Washington office. She previously was counsel at Fox Rothschild LLP. — Jeff Hantson is now a managing director at FGS Global in its Washington office. He previously was deputy general counsel for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee. — Bert Kaufman is now senior counsel for autonomy and robotics at DoorDash. He most recently was a senior adviser at the Commerce Department. — Leslie Nettleford-Freeman is now associate general counsel and vice president of legal affairs and brand protection at the National Association of Realtors. She previously was associate general counsel at AARP. — Amir Nasr is now a public policy manager at Amazon. He was previously trade policy manager at the Computer & Communications Industry Association. New Joint Fundraisers Cortez Masto Senate Victory (Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, All for Our Country Leadership PAC, DSCC) Takano Victory Fund (Rep. Mark Takano, Inland Empire Strikes PAC; The) New PACs Draft Captain Mike Bouchard (Super PAC) PAC Punch (Super PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Brian Glackin & Associates LLC: Icebreaker Strategies, LLC (Obo Health Supply US) Clark Hill Public Strategies LLC: Riverside Energy Group Ervin Graves Strategy Group, LLC: Bayonne Drydock & Repair Corp. Government Solutions LLC: Custom Biometric Wearables, Inc. Kellen Company: International Food Additives Council New Century Government Affairs (F/K/A Terrence C. Wolfe): Polk County Public Schools Patterson & Meek: Cancercare Public Appeal LLC: Verp Holdings LLC Puzzle Box Government Relations: Boundary Stone Partners On Behalf Of Cauldron Molecules, Inc. The Nimitz Group LLC: Phronesis Global Training Solutions LLC, D/B/A Pgt Solutions Venable LLP: Incompas New Lobbying Terminations Capitol 6 Advisors: Apex Site Services Keller Partners & Company: Fairfield Medical Center Keller Partners & Company: Limestone University Stone Advocacy Solutions: Hualapai Tribe

See how Lululemon items compare to Costco 'dupes' claimed in lawsuit

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2 Bargain Stocks That Could Double Your Money

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Ballard raked in six figures from law firms targeted by Trump

See how Lululemon items compare to Costco 'dupes' claimed in lawsuit

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2 Bargain Stocks That Could Double Your Money

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Ballard raked in six figures from law firms targeted by Trump

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