Warren Buffett once remarked, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” It’s a caution to investors to not just look at the cost of what a stock is charging you to buy it but to understand what you will receive for your money.
Penny stock investors quickly learn that lesson. They may be able to scoop up a lot of shares of thinly traded companies only to lose their entire investment in a pump-and-dump scheme. Meanwhile, an investment in Buffett’s own Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A, NYSE:BRK-B) 10 years ago would have set you back a cool $187,000 for a single share but today is worth almost $632,000. Which was the better price to pay? Who got more value for their money?
Oscar Wilde phrased it a bit differently. “[A cynic] knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” The sentiment remains the same. So, if you come across a high-priced investment, don’t dismiss it out of hand as not worth the cost. It may be a great deal regardless.
Below are three stocks priced above $1,000 and worth every penny.
Broadcom (AVGO)
Semiconductor stock Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) is steadily transforming itself from a chipmaker for mobile devices into an infrastructure solutions company. The closing of its acquisition of VMWare last year should be what finally allows it to happen. Broadcom expects about half of its revenue to come from infrastructure software this year.
The chipmaker has been a serial acquirer ever since Avago bought Broadcom in 2016 for $37 billion. It kept the Broadcom name and the Avago ticker symbol. In the seven years since that deal, the company sought to transition away from the cyclical chip business into the more steadfast software market. It gobbled up CA Technologies, Symantec and Brocade. Now VMWare pushes it towards completion.
Yet, Broadcom still heavily relies upon its mobile chip customers, most notably Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The tech giant represented 20% of Broadcom’s revenue for the past two years, though it is likely to be a smaller percentage going forward.
One share of AVGO stock will set you back around $1,300. But shifting away from the mercurial semiconductor business will offer Broadcom greater clarity into where its revenue comes from and where the business is heading.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)
Grab this one before it’s gone! Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) is currently priced at more than $2,800 a share, but a 50-to-1 stock split in June should bring the restaurant chain’s stock down into the $50 to $60 per share range. As nothing else changes about the business, the Mexican food company is still a growth stock to buy.
The force that drove CMG stock 63% higher last year and 225% over the past five years was the addition of drive-thru lanes at its restaurants. A surprisingly simple solution that really became imperative during the pandemic, adding Chipotlanes to its stores increased mobile digital orders. Customers could slip in and out quickly, improving Chipotle’s restaurant productivity, profit margins and returns.
In the fourth quarter, Chipotle opened 121 new locations, 110 of which had a drive-thru window. It is also retrofitting existing locations. Of the 3,400 restaurants in operation, the company expects as many as 1,000 to have a drive-thru installed.
Wall Street expects CMG earnings to grow at a 33% compound annual rate over the next five years. That makes its forward price-to-earnings ratio of 44 not wholly unwarranted. It’s likely earnings will expand at an even faster rate as more Chipotlanes are installed.
W.W. Grainger (GWW)
Industrial toolmaker W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) is a new member of the $1,000 per share club, but this is a long, steady grower that puts the S&P 500 to shame. Over the past decade, GWW stock has given a total return of nearly 300% compared to the broad market index’s total return of around 180%.
Investors have long appreciated Grainger’s extended dividend history and increases for over 50 years, making it a Dividend King. In the last 10 years, the industrial supplier’s dividend increased at about 7% CAGR while it grew free cash flow (FCF) more than 8% annually. With an FCF payout ratio of less than 25%, there is plenty of room for another 50 years of increases.
The company operates in two segments: high-touch solutions (HTS) and endless assortment. Silly names, but descriptive of what its maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) customers need. The former is for customers with complex buying needs who shop at its Grainger stores, while the latter is its e-commerce platform where customers can find millions of products.
W.W. Grainger derives over 80% of its $16.5 billion in annual revenue from the HTS segment, and with growing demand, GWW stock is worth the price tag it carries.
On the date of publication, Rich Duprey did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
