Coupang is a leading player in South Korea's e-commerce market, recently exceeding expectations with net revenues of $5.8 billion and a net income of $91 million in Q1. Factors contributing to its success include reduced Covid-related costs, economies of scale, supply chain optimization, and an improved sales mix. Korea's e-commerce market, one of the largest and fastest-growing globally, is projected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 9.7%, reaching about $167 billion by 2026. Despite facing intense competition and the challenge of retaining suppliers, merchants, advertisers, and customers post-pandemic, Coupang has consistently gained market share since its IPO and is seen as a long-term buy. The author expects Coupang to emerge as a dominant force in the market as it consolidates.

Gen Digital, a consumer cybersecurity firm known for its Norton anti-malware brand, has undertaken transformational steps such as the acquisition of Avast, which is anticipated to enhance revenue and margins. Despite facing challenges from a weaker consumer economy and declining subscriber numbers, the company is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing prevalence of connected devices and cyberattacks. The acquisition of Avast has expanded Gen Digital's range of cybersecurity services, enabling cross-selling to customers and global market expansion. The author is bullish on Gen Digital, forecasting a 12% non-GAAP EPS growth over the next two years. The company, which has a moderate financial strength rating, faces stiff competition in a commoditized market. Despite the company's shares currently trading near their annual low, the author maintains a BUY rating with a target price of $32, signifying optimism about the company's future performance.

The author argues that the AI potential of Google and Meta Platforms is undervalued compared to AI stocks like Microsoft. Google and Meta are priced as if they've lost the AI race, despite holding more cash and less debt. They, alongside Microsoft, invest heavily in AI research, with Google and Meta spending more than Microsoft recently. The competition among AI platforms such as Google's TensorFlow, Meta's LLaMA, and Chat-GPT is just beginning, with no clear winner yet. The author sees the AI competition as a long-term race, with all key players well-positioned to invest and stay competitive for many years. Both Google and Meta have high average returns on capital employed (ROCE) since 2017. While these companies face pressure to reduce R&D expenses and deal with potential economic and regulatory challenges, the author believes these risks are already priced into the stocks and views both as substantially mispriced. Both Google and Meta offer potential annual returns close to or exceeding 10%.

The author invested in Paramount Global at $15 per share due to its growing streaming business, low-risk situation, multiple upside scenarios, and long-term, fixed-rate debt. The management, owning significant stakes in the company, plans to invest profits from the declining TV products into the growing but unprofitable streaming assets. Four potential scenarios for Paramount's transition from television to streaming are discussed: becoming a top global streaming company, being partially successful, being sold to another company, or making poor asset allocation decisions that hurt the stock price. The author outlines three possible outcomes for the investment: a loss if Paramount fails to compete in streaming, potential earnings growth and a stock price increase of 24% to 43% if it becomes profitable and grows, or a return of 2 to 4 times the investment if it's sold to a bigger player. The author sees potential for success in all scenarios and believes there is a margin of safety. They also estimate Paramount's assets to be around $10 billion, potentially offsetting the debt, and consider the current equity price of $10 billion a good investment opportunity. Notably, GAMCO and Berkshire Hathaway also own significant stakes in the company.

Pipelines have strong market barriers that make them difficult for competitors to enter. The text argues that Enbridge and TC Energy are good investments due to their extensive pipeline networks across North America. However, Pembina Pipeline is highlighted as a potential investment to consider, despite its share price being affected by weak natural gas prices, interest rates, and growth uncertainties. Pembina is a large energy infrastructure company with a variety of assets and a history of sound capital allocation decisions that have led to superior long-term returns compared to Enbridge and TC Energy. The company's shares are currently trading close to a 52-week low. Pembina has managed its debt effectively, with spread-out maturity dates, and has consistently increased its dividend over time, growing it approximately 5% per year over the last decade. The author believes Pembina offers a better risk/reward scenario compared to Enbridge or TC Energy, due to its better long-term return, cheap valuation, and superior dividend growth potential.

Michelin is seen as a strong long-term investment despite ongoing challenges such as COVID and the Ukraine conflict. The company reported strong Q1 2023 results with a sales increase of 7.4% and increased dividends to €1.25 per share. Michelin is appreciated for its strong operations, pricing power of the globally respected brand, and diversified sales drivers. Its financial stability is shown in a conservative financial leverage at 2.39x and an interest coverage ratio at 11.64x. Additionally, the company has a solid dividend yield of 4.5% and is trading at 9.5x forward P/E. The average ROE since 2008 is 12.5% and, with shares currently trading at a price to book value of 1.21x, the adjusted ROE for an investor's equity could be 10.4%, potentially increasing the total return up to 13.4%. The author considers the shares of Michelin to be attractive for long-term investors, and plans to increase their investment during any market weakness.

Nissan, a part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, has shown improving performance under the leadership of Makoto Uchida and the Nissan Next turnaround plan, which involves reducing overhead, re-establishing product strategy, and prioritizing profit over volume. However, they face challenges like the Ukraine war, the chip shortage, China's COVID-19 lockdowns, and increased costs from various inflationary pressures. Bulls argue that Nissan's economies of scale, lead in all-electric powertrain vehicle technology, and strategies for improving average pricing will enable margin expansion. Bears, on the other hand, are concerned about the competitive and cyclical nature of the industry, potential risk in China-Japan relations, and Nissan's difficulty in achieving a competitive advantage. Despite fiscal Q4 results and new fiscal 2023 guidance, the fair value estimate for Nissan remains at $22. Nissan's operating margin forecast averages at 5.2% during the Stage I forecast. The company's high fixed costs create wide profitability swings with changes in demand, which, along with other factors, contributes to its high uncertainty rating. Nissan's balance sheet is solid, and it has a history of appropriate shareholder distributions. The company benefits from the economies of scale provided by the Renault-Nissan Alliance and has made moves towards reducing keiretsu practices and increasing board diversity in line with the Japanese Corporate Governance Code. The author does not explicitly state their stance on Nissan's future prospects.

Repay Holdings Corporation (RPAY) is a technology-enabled payment processing business that has grown through acquisitions and is now focusing on organic growth. The company's business model, which is based on transaction volumes, is appealing to partners during economic uncertainty compared to fixed SaaS fees. RPAY focuses on underserved market segments, particularly credit unions, which presents an interesting growth opportunity. However, the company faces risks from potential recession effects and increased competition in the B2B segment. Despite operating at a loss, RPAY is considered undervalued and has recently approved a share repurchase program. The company has built enduring relationships through its integration into partners' platforms and aims to establish a durable competitive advantage through strategic leverage of its integrations, network expansion, and aggressive innovation. Warren Buffet has described RPAY as a "Wonderful Company at a Fair Price."

VF Corporation ended fiscal 2023 with modest results, and significant progress on its turnaround plans may not be visible until fiscal 2025. Despite recent problems, VF's key brands, including The North Face and Vans, remain strong, contributing to a fair value estimate of $60 per share. VF intends to enhance the Vans brand through new products and marketing and expand the Supreme brand geographically. However, long-term growth targets for Timberland and Dickies are uncertain due to inconsistent historical results. VF also faces challenges such as higher costs, unfavorable currency movement, excess inventories, and a slow recovery in China. The author's upside-case fair value estimate for VF is $84 (currently $19.50), assuming long-term growth in VF's active coalition exceeds market segment growth due to increasing popularity of the Vans brand and growth of Supreme. Risks include inconsistent results, exposure to declining physical retail stores, and debt from the Timberland tax case. VF is considering selling three of its smaller brands, JanSport, Eastpak, and Kipling, which could potentially fetch around $500 million.

Williams-Sonoma saw a 7% contraction in Q1 sales with negative comps across all brands, the most disappointing being a 16% decline for the West Elm brand. However, Q1 sales were still more than 40% above 2019's levels, attributed to a temporary shift in discretionary spending due to persistent inflation. Despite a contraction in operating margin, the company improved over 2019 levels due to efficiencies in advertising and distribution and improved pricing measures. Williams-Sonoma's strength lies in its customer loyalty, smart marketing and merchandising, and analytics. The company's expansion into whitespace categories and growth from franchise and e-commerce channels should help it reach $10 billion in sales by 2027. Despite soft demand and consumer uncertainty in the near term, the company's knowledge of customer purchasing patterns and marketing prowess should support consistent operating margins. The author considers the company undervalued with a fair value estimate at $211 per share (currently $112). The balance sheet remains strong, with a sound capital allocation and a deep talent bench. The company's investment strategy is deemed fair, with management returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividend increases.