Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 CORN TORTILLAS: In November, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that the country would phase out all genetically modified organisms (GMO) corn by 2024, citing health and farming concerns. According to The Daily Upside, President Obrador’s decision does not sit well with the US government and the agriculture industry because Mexico is the second-largest importer of American corn, and 90% of American corn is genetically modified.

#3 CHURCH ATTENDANCE: The COVID-19 pandemic touched nearly every aspect of American life, including religious participation for millions of Americans. Before the coronavirus pandemic, 75 percent of Americans reported attending religious services at least once a year, including about one-quarter who attended regularly. By spring 2022, roughly two-thirds of the public reported attending religious services at least once a year. There was little change among the most religiously engaged Americans. Conservatives, adults aged 50 and older, women, married adults, and those with a college degree were more likely to attend than were young adults, liberals and moderates, and Americans without a college degree. – Survey Center on American Life at AEI and the Nonpartisan and Objective Research Organization (NORC) at the University of Chicago.

#4 OVER-PROMISE: 97% of speculative-grade companies that announced acquisitions in 2019 fell short of forecasts in their first year of earnings. According to S&P, about 77% of buyouts and acquisitions from 2019 were still short of their projected earnings, with companies consistently overestimating debt repayment.

#5 FINALLY, SOME RELIEF: “We have also reduced the construction costs of our homes. Homes started in Dallas during December and later have savings that average approximately $40,000 compared to homes started in the second and third quarters of 2022. The savings vary based on product line and floor plan and primarily resulted from significantly lower lumber prices and reduced labor costs. On average, our cycle time has been reduced by 30 days from peak 2022 levels, and we believe it should continue to improve slightly,” Jim Brickman, CEO and Co-Founder of Green Brick Partners.                                                                         

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