Jabil Circuit, Inc. (JBL), FutureFuel Corp. (FF): 3 Earnings Reports That Caught My Attention Last Week

Despite the miss and the hatred of hardware by much of Wall Street, I think Jabil Circuit, Inc. (NYSE:JBL) represents a nice value play here. At some point, hardware companies like Jabil — assuming they can diversify their operations beyond the U.S. and into varying sectors — should be able to command a reasonable forward valuation. Jabil’s net debt of $592 million isn’t excessive given its consistent cash flow and 1.7% yield, and I feel the company could actually make for an attractive purchase with limited downside at these levels.

Despite these concerns, FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF) still managed to turn in a profit of $0.83 for the year and noted that it’s beginning to see a rebound in demand from the biodiesel and chemicals industry. My Foolish colleague Travis Hoium would prefer to avoid FutureFuel at the moment because the U.S. government is shying away from excessive spending. While I understand where he’s coming from, I also feel that alternative fuels are one of the few areas where subsidies aren’t in jeopardy of seeing big cuts. That would be great news for FutureFuel and Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) , an ethanol and biodiesel supplier, which both rely heavily on government subsidies to keep their expenses low and drive their bottom lines. I stand by my assessment that the fuel blenders tax credit will soon be on its way back, which should be a boon for both ADM and FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF).

The article 3 Earnings Reports That Caught My Attention Last Week originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of Guess? and Oracle, and recommends Guess?.

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