Fear And Uncertainty Creates Opportunity

Earnings season is upon us and in case you haven't noticed there have been some serious pullbacks in certain dividend growth stocks. Companies have been busy publicizing their Q3 earnings and revenue numbers and it seems that the weakened economy have hurt some. It's times like these that you have to ask yourself if you're really in the market for the long-term or not.

For instance, McDonald's (MCD) recently posted its worst quarterly sales growth in nine years and shares sold off by 4.46% on Friday. McDonald's global sales at new restaurants fell below 2% for the first time in almost 10 years. So, is this the time to sell MCD or is this an opportunity to purchase shares? Are you a trader or an investor?

I look at uncertainty as opportunity. MCD had a lousy third quarter. So what? The question really becomes whether or not you believe this company will be selling more of its products to more people around the world 10 years from now as the global population grows and as MCD enters new markets. That's really the question one should be asking oneself.

Whenever I decide to invest some of my hard earned capital with a company I plan on holding on to those shares forever. As long as the company continues to behave in a way that rewards loyal long-term shareholders and raise its dividends at a comfortable pace (usually a pace that exceeds inflation) then why would I sell shares? Are people still going to need eat next year and the following year and every year thereafter?  Of course. Are a large number of these people going to choose McDonald's? You betcha.

McDonald's will continue to sell its products to consumers here at home and abroad as it always has, and it will continue to share that success with shareholders. It will continue to innovate with new products, even as competitors copy them, and McDonald's will continue to spread its brand name food to all corners of the world. 

McDonald's and its almost 5% drop on Friday is but just one example where uncertainty and fear creates opportunity for the long-term investor. As short sighted traders and market participants that trade on trends move out of solid blue chips that fail to meet some obscure analyst's predictions for three-month performance, this is the time for long-term investors to buy up these shares and lock in attractive long-term prices with great entry yields. For instance, MCD now yields a full 3.47%! Or, you could lock up your money for a decade with a 10-year treasury that yields less than half with fully no chance of capital appreciation. The choice is yours. 

How about you? Do you see uncertainty and fear as opportunity?

Full Disclosure: Long MCD 

This article was written by Dividend Mantra. If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to my feed [RSS]