Speaking of that, I believe that Netflix is still a solid investment. The major reason is because it has shown again and again that it can grasp and utilize new technologies and adapt its business model accordingly. The secondary reason is because Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is investing heavily into new streaming content and amping up its business.
The company’s future is dependent on striking deals with content creators, and this is precisely what Netflix is doing. Your share price and earnings multiple thresholds may be different than my own, but Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) still has strong growth prospects over the long term. I would suggest picking a price that appears to be a decent deal and plunging in.
Making mountains out of mole hills
Lately the auto companies haven’t been doing as well as in their heyday. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has gotten a lot of bad press, much of which it hasn’t deserved. While the big auto companies have had to deal with recessions, changes in consumer tastes and labor issues, among other things, on the whole they’ve still managed to do decent business and pull in massive revenue.
Many of my fellow Fools have noted that Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is actually on a positive turnaround trajectory. While it would be easy to point out that Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) have both had serious losses in the European market, those losses appear to be shrinking. Also, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s plan to get its act together is working well in the US — and may end up translating well into both the European and Asian markets.
Yes, Ford and other automakers have had trying times in recent years. But when you consider that several of these companies are more than 100 years old and rolled right through the Depression, a missed beat or a poorly-received product here and there is nothing to get in a twist over.
The past is great, but Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is coming back right now. The F-Series pickup is the best-selling vehicle in the country. The Focus is in seventh place. The Fusion is in 10th. The average increase across these three vehicles was 45% as of February, which is better than any other company is managing.
The lesson I think we should all take from this is to accept that there is no such thing as a perfect investment. Every company has its problems. The trick is to suss out which problems are relatively minor versus which ones are likely to torpedo the company’s value. This is a challenging undertaking, to put it mildly.
The Foolish bottom line
Research is the key to both good articles and good investing. It is every investor’s responsibility to put in the due diligence, spot the great but hidden opportunities and dodge the value-killing bullets. I will do my best to keep this in mind as I continue to write articles in the future.
The article The Importance of Deep Research originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Chris Hodge.
Chris Hodge has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford and Netflix. Chris is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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