Successful Investing V: Let's Talk Stock PANEL

This final session is like dessert for investors. Join some of the Better Investing community’s best Stockpickers as they give you a few of their best ideas for study and consideration. Joining our panel are Suzi Artzberger, BI Director of Online Stock Tools and Information Technology; Charlene Hansen, Director with the BI Mid-Michigan Chapter and former president of one of the Mid-Michigan Model Clubs; Ken Kavula, Director with the Mid-Michigan Chapter, investment club President and former Chairman of the BIVA Board; Anne Manning, Director with the BI Houston Chapter and Mark Robertson, managing partner of Manifest Investing and former senior contributing editor to Better Investing magazine. We will promise at least ten good ideas to ponder.

This stock selection panel, part of the Getting Started series, featured five volunteer investment club members discussing real stocks in real time. The panelists—Susie Artsberger, Charlene Hansen, Anne Manning, Mark Robertson (CEO of Manifest Investing), and Matt Spielman—shared their experience selecting and following stocks using fundamental analysis principles. The panel reviewed historical performance of stocks presented at previous sessions, demonstrating mixed but generally positive results when compared to the Wilshire 5000 benchmark. Importantly, the speakers emphasized that all presentations are for educational purposes only and encouraged viewers to conduct their own analysis before making investment decisions.

The panel began with a detailed presentation by Susie Artsberger on Expel Incorporated (XPEL), a small-cap company in the auto parts industry that manufactures protective films and coatings for vehicles. Artsberger highlighted the company's strong sales growth (34.2% over 10 years, 34% quarter-over-quarter) and recurring revenue model through software and cutting technologies. She noted the company's reasonable valuation metrics—trading at 31 PE with a 5-year average of 41 PE—and improving financial metrics including increasing margins and decreasing debt-to-capital ratios. However, she pointed out a recent headwind: Tesla discontinued using Expel's products on certain models in October, representing less than 5% of revenue but causing a notable stock price decline. The presentation demonstrated the panel's methodology of analyzing quality companies at reasonable prices while carefully monitoring competitive and customer risks.