This Is The Most Expensive QQQ Has Been Since 2008

From 2009 to 2021, we skilled one of the highly effective bull markets in fashionable historical past. That is very true for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:QQQ) because it elevated its worth by 1290% (nearly 13 bagger) throughout this era till it topped in November of 2021 as you possibly can see beneath.

The humorous factor is throughout this era Nasdaq has by no means been as costly as it’s at present regardless of rallying relentlessly for 12 years. Beneath you will notice QQQ’s P/E historical past since 2009 and spot that it is P/E worth had been increasing from 10 to 35 from 2009 to 2021 which suggests we noticed a 250% a number of enlargement throughout this era however nonetheless QQQ was by no means as costly as it’s at present. Within the graph beneath you’ll discover that there was a time on the peak of 2021 the place QQQ traded for a P/E of 35 and that it’s at present buying and selling for a P/E of 30 so that you may be inclined to suppose that it’s cheaper at present than it was in 2021 however this is not so. You may surprise how come a P/E of 30 is costlier than a P/E of 35 and I’ll attempt to clarify this within the the rest of this text.

Initially, there isn’t a good strategy to worth shares. Neither is there a way on which all traders agree. If this was the case markets would not be so risky each day. There are a lot of completely different fashions and theories as to tips on how to calculate a inventory’s good worth. One of the widespread and most accepted strategies is Discounted Money Circulation technique which additionally occurs for use by legendary traders like Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham and Peter Lynch. Once more, even inside this system there are completely different colleges of thought and completely different nuances however the common thought is identical. You are taking an organization’s present earnings, its progress price, price of money (bond yields) and attempt to calculate its honest a number of worth with a view to see its honest worth.

Regardless of which mannequin you utilize, two issues are essential for calculations. First is the low cost price which is mainly the prevalent bond yield. The honest P/E worth for shares will likely be considerably completely different when rates of interest are at 0%, 5%, 10% and so forth. Because of this markets crashed onerous in Nineteen Eighties when Fed was aggressively climbing charges as a result of honest P/E values dropped like a rock. In 2021, Nasdaq’s when P/E ratio was 35, Fed’s funds price was 0.25%. At the moment when Nasdaq’s P/E ratio is 30, Fed’s funds price is at 5.25%. When Fed’s funds price jumps from 0.25% to five.25%, honest worth of P/E multiples drop from 10% to 50% relying on which mannequin you utilize to run your calculations. Let’s take mid-point and apply a 30% low cost price which suggests at present’s P/E ratio of 30 is equal of 2021’s P/E ratio of 39 (30% larger). Now our graph beneath seems a bit completely different (discover that it additionally seems barely completely different for 2018 and 2019 when Fed was climbing charges briefly).

There’s extra although. One other essential issue for calculating a good a number of of shares is their progress price. In spite of everything there’s a purpose why some shares commerce for a P/E of 10 whereas others commerce for a P/E of 100 as a result of traders are attempting to guess an organization’s future earnings and worth it in accordingly. Once more, there isn’t a agreed-upon manner of calculating what honest P/E a number of relies on progress charges however everybody agrees that larger progress charges justify larger multiples. Between 2009 and 2016, Nasdaq firms grew their earnings by about 15% on common. From 2016 to 2021, the typical progress price accelerated to 22% partly due to the increase throughout COVID interval the place individuals spent their money and time at dwelling on technological units, apps and companies. When tech firms have been rising their earnings at 15-20% price, a P/E of 25-30 may be justified however how about when their progress has fully stalled and in lots of instances truly reversed? At present Nasdaq firms are anticipated to see their earnings truly shrink by 5-10% and that is the primary time since 2008 that that is taking place.

At the moment Nasdaq’s P/E of 30 whereas its parts are seeing their earnings shrink seems costlier than when Nasdaq’s P/E was 35 however tech firms have been rising 20% 12 months over 12 months. The final time Nasdaq firms noticed their earnings shrink, the index had a P/E in low 10s not 30.

There’s a less-known metric that’s typically utilized in lieu of P/E ratio which is PEG. This metric takes an organization’s P/E ratio and divides it by the corporate’s progress price with a view to calculate its honest worth primarily based on its progress. PEG ratios beneath 1.0 are thought-about low-cost, PEGs round 1.0 to 1.5 are thought-about pretty valued and PEGs above 1.5 are thought-about costly. Beneath are the highest 8 firms in QQQ which account for 54% of the entire weight of the index. Discover that firms like Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) are seeing their PEG values at sky excessive ranges. There are solely 2 firms with PEG values beneath 1.0 however they don’t seem to be a lot beneath with one being at 0.948 and the opposite being 0.923.

Beneath you will notice PEG values loved by the identical firms a pair years in the past when Nasdaq’s P/E was as excessive as 35. You will discover that again in November of 2021, PEG ratios of the identical firms ranged from 0.27 to 1.67. For instance Microsoft had a PEG ratio of 0.83 versus at present’s 6.7 so despite the fact that Microsoft now has the identical P/E because it did in 2021, it is about 8 instances costlier at present than it was in 2021. One other instance is Apple whose PEG jumped from 0.40 to 2.43 since QQQ’s final prime in 2021. Again in 2021, even Nvidia had a PEG ratio beneath 0.9. At the moment the identical firm’s PEG is at 5.2. Additionally, you will discover that Tesla (TSLA) had a PEG of 0.71 versus at present’s 1.32.

Again then Nasdaq’s P/E of 35 was nicely justified contemplating 0% price atmosphere and 20-25% progress price. At the moment’s P/E of 30 will not be justified given 5.25% rates of interest and complete lack of progress. To ensure that Nasdaq to turn out to be cheaper than it’s proper now, both company earnings have to leap considerably or costs need to fall. At present many indicators present that the economic system is slowing down and though most tech firms beat analyst estimates, their ahead steerage requires additional drops of their income. It could possibly be 2-3 years earlier than company income return to the place they have been on the peak of 2021.

I did not even point out different elements reminiscent of declining liquidity ranges, ongoing quantitative tightening, rising prices, dropping margins, potential credit score crunch, chance of a recession and plenty of different elements that might end in even decrease honest multiples for valuations.

For the reason that starting of the 12 months, QQQ is up 25% with none pullbacks, corrections or significant dips. There hasn’t even been any profit-taking but. It has been going up in a straight line and we aren’t even accomplished with half of the 12 months but. As a lot as Nasdaq is worried markets are all greed and no concern proper now.

All in all, when you think about rates of interest and declining progress charges, QQQ is now costlier than it was at any interval since 2009. At the moment Nasdaq nonetheless trades as if Fed’s rate of interest is at 0% and tech income are rising 15-20% per 12 months however neither is the case. We are able to hold enjoying this “faux” sport and hold rallying on a number of enlargement alone whereas company income proceed to fall and rates of interest stay excessive however nobody is aware of how sustainable that may be in the long term.