DOBBIES will shutter one of its sites in Bristol in just a matter of months, devasting shoppers.

Its Little Dobbies store in Clifton is one of the 17 sites the retailer has marked for closure as part of a restructuring plan.

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Dobbies will also work with landlords to seek temporary rent reductions at a further nine sites.

The business began a financial overhaul back in August, which it warned would lead to shop closures.

Dobbies has many stores across the South West of England, but it has been confirmed that its location in Clifton, Bristol could now close.

The news has devasted shoppers, with one describing the move as “very sad”.

Another local said the decision to shutter the site was “such a shame”.

While a third said: “A shame that any shops have to close, especially that gardening became more popular during and following lockdown.”

It comes as Bristol locals have had to wave goodbye to a number of retailers in recent years.

House of Fraser shut its site at the Cabot Circus shopping centre back in August, and The Guild department store closed in May.

The full list of Dobbies stores set to close are:

• Altrincham
• Antrim
• Gloucester
• Gosforth
• Harlestone Heath
• Huntingdon
• Inverness
• King’s Lynn
• Pennine
• Reading
• Stratford-upon-Avon

Six Little Dobbies, which are smaller branches selling houseplants located locally rather than out of town, are set to close in these areas:

• Cheltenham
• Chiswick
• Clifton
• Richmond
• Stockbridge
• Westbourne Grove

If the restructuring plan is approved the 17 sites will close by the end of the year.

They will continue to operate as normal until the plan is approved.

The nine sites where its seeking rent reductions from landlords have not been named.

A spokesperson previously told The Sun: “Subject to the restructuring plan being successfully approved, we expect the affected sites to cease trading by the end of the year.

“Thereafter, Dobbies will operate 60 stores and continue to play a key role in the market, working constructively with stakeholders and suppliers, and having an active and committed role in the communities in which it’s based.”

The garden centre chain, which was bought by investment firm Ares Management last year, fell to a £105.2 million pre-tax loss in the year to March 2023, against a £7 million loss a year earlier, according to its most-recently filed company accounts.

Restructuring plans are often launched by businesses when they find themselves in financial difficulty to help shore up extra costs.

It comes as many retailers are struggling to keep their heads above water.

High inflation coupled with a squeeze on consumers’ finances has meant people have less money to spend in the shops.

Garden centres and home improvement businesses also boomed during the pandemic when customers were stuck at home.

But customers have been forced to cut back on spending since.

Back in August, Homebase announced that 10 of its stores would close and be transformed into Sainsbury’s supermarkets.

Homebase’s owner, Hilco Capital, is preparing to sell the company.

The retailer has closed 106 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.

A SINGLE mum-of-two has been forced to move house three times in one month and fears her kids aren’t safe.

Harlie Swann, 29, has been living in temporary housing for 13 years, along with her kids; Frankie, 8, and Finnlie, 2.

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The Croydon resident was first moved into temporary accommodation after having Frankie at 21.

Harlie told MyLondon they lived there for seven years but after Frankie’s ADHD diagnosis, the home was no longer suitable.

Finnlie also has complex learning difficulties and Harlie fears “constantly moving around” is taking its toll on them all.

The family are due to move into a property in Lambeth this week marking the third time in a month Croydon Council have ripped their stability away from them.

Harlie said the constant moves come down to discovering each home is unsafe – for anyone to live in, let alone children.

In a previous home in West Norwood, the family were exposed to sewage spurting up the sink, persistent mould, and damp.

Due to the extent of the problem, environmental health assessors had to get involved.

Luckily the next house and latest home was deemed “fine on the paperwork”, Harlie explained.

However, when they moved in they discovered a major leak problem and improper fire-safe windows.

According to Harlie, the council said “don’t unpack we’ll find you somewhere else, then they found me this place in Streatham this Monday (September 30).

“It’s an absolute nightmare,” she said.

A neighbour even told Harlie that the previous tenants put up with the same problems yet the council still deemed it safe to move into.

Harlie, who experienced being homeless as a teenager said: “I saw things that no 16-year-old should have seen by living in these horrible places, and around a lot of concerning people.”

One night, she even slept in a police cell because she was so young.

She continued: “I feel like I’ve gone through so much but still, nobody is willing to give me and my kids somewhere stable and safe to live.”

Harlie’s eldest, Frankie, who has regular ADHD therapy needs extra care right now as he cannot attend school.

She said: “He needs that permanent stability.

“I go to Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) three times a week with him, he is in intense therapy.

“There’s a shortage of ADHD medication at the moment, which means he’s not taking his medication.

“The school have said they can’t have him there any more because he had an issue with the teachers.

“Because of this I’m having him stay with me at home, but this is all going on at home and they’re expecting me to deal with all of this.

“It’s too much.”

Temporary accommodation or interim accommodation is organised by the council and exists for people who are at risk of becoming homeless.

People will live there until a permanent home can be found.

Harlie said: “They can make me move out in 24 hours because it’s classed as interim emergency accommodations.

“It’s not even temporary accommodation, it’s the lowest of the low basically.

“If they then decide I’m moving you again I will have to pack up all my stuff again.

“I’m in a constant state of not knowing what the hell I’m meant to be doing.”

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Harlie feels she is experiencing “one problem after another” and the family “need to be in a set routine”.

She continued: “The kids also get a lack of attention as well, because my time feels like it’s constantly filled with emails to the council.”

Harlie feels the council don’t truly understand the trauma her family are experiencing.

She said: “I have so many letters from the GP, CAMHS, the school and social workers.

“Nothing like that seems to make a dent with them, nothing seems to help with me getting a more permanent place to stay.

“I don’t care where they place me, they could place me anywhere.

“However, because I’ve got them it makes it that much bit harder, especially with all of their requirements.”

In an attempt to secure a forever home, for the past nine years Harlie has bid for council housing via the local bidding system.

Each time she has been left empty handed.

She said: “I don’t understand why I haven’t been given that yet.

“I know everybody’s circumstances are different but it hurts.”

Harlie is also a trained teaching assistant and has qualified as a parent group leader for local children’s centres but due to Frankie’s needs and her housing situation, she’s had to put her career on hold.

She told MyLondon that having to move so much is putting pressure on her financially.

Having to pay for three moving vans in two weeks has left her with “no money left”, she said.

She hopes her new home will give the family the stability they need but fears it could result in yet another disappointment.

Harlie said: “I’m a good tenant, I’ve always looked after my properties.

“There just must be a mark against my name, because I constantly feel like I’m at the bottom of the pile.”

Croydon Council have been approached for a comment.

BRITS have just hours left to tell HMRC if they need to register to make a Self Assessment tax return.

You must tell the tax office by today, October 5 if you need to complete a tax return and have not sent one before.

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The assessment is used by the government body to collect income tax.

This tax is usually deducted automatically from people’s wages, pensions and savings.

However, people and businesses with extra income must report it in a tax return.

It is worth noting that this is not the date you need to file your Self Assessment, just the date you need to register your intention to file.

If you are not sure whether you need to register you can complete a simple assessment on the gov.uk website.

It is particularly important to register this year especially if you sell clothes or other items on websites such as eBay or Vinted.

That is because since the beginning of 2024 firms like Vinted have to pass on customer data to HMRC if a user sells 30 or more items, or earns over £1,700, in a year.

While the reporting rules have changed, this is not a new tax.

Those who earn more than £1,000 outside their regular employment were already required to file a Self Assessment tax form with HMRC.

The deadline to submit the return for the 2023/24 tax year – and pay any tax you owe – is January 31, 2025 online.

But there’s an earlier deadline of October 31 this year if you file via post.

It is worth bearing in mind that HMRC will fine you £100 for failing to file your return by the deadline.

Then, a £10 daily fine applies every day you don’t submit your tax return.

When do I need to file a tax return?

It is not just online sellers who are required to fill out a tex return.

The rule applies to the following:

• Your income from self-employment was more than £1,000
• Earned more than £2,500 from renting out property
• You or your partner received high-income child benefits and either of you had an annual income of more than £60,000
• Received more than £2,500 in other untaxed income, for example from tips or commission
• Are limited company directors
• Are shareholders
• Are employees claiming expenses over £2,500
• Have an annual income over £100,000

You can register online via the GOV.UK website.

To register online you must log on to your business tax account on the HMRC website and select ‘Add a tax to your account to get online access to a tax, duty or scheme’.

If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them when you sign in for the first time.

If you do not want to register online you must send a form to the following address: Self Assessment, HM Revenue and Customs,
BX9 1AN, United Kingdom.

After you submit your form you will then get a unique taxpayer reference code (UTR) and activation code from the HMRC.

It’s a 10-digit number and it might just be called a tax reference.

This tends to arrive in the post 15 days after you register for a tax return.

Upon receiving the UTR you can then file a Self Assessment tax return online via the GOV.UK website or by post.

If you file by post the deadline is October 31 2024.

However, if you file online you have up to January 31, 2025.

Check out our step-by-step guide on filling out a tax return here.

Is Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock overvalued? This question, while simple on the surface, is extraordinarily hard to answer.

Many investors use a valuation metric called a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. This popular metric is useful because it measures the stock price against a company’s profits. And in Nvidia’s case, its P/E ratio of 57 certainly looks expensive, considering it’s roughly double the P/E ratio for the S&P 500.

Then again, context is important. Nvidia stock might look expensive now. But it actually trades at a steep discount to its average P/E ratio valuation over the last five years, as the chart below shows.

Many say to avoid stocks with a high P/E ratio. But Nvidia’s high P/E over the last five years didn’t prevent the stock from rising over 2,700%.

Nvidia stock is now cheaper than its five-year average valuation. Moreover, it’s not even the most expensive constituent of the S&P 500. In fact, Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON) and CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) trade at higher P/E ratios, as of this writing. And even Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) has been more expensive than Nvidia at times in recent weeks.

Axon provides hardware and software to law enforcement agencies. CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity specialist. And Costco is a grocery and home-goods retail chain known for its membership-business model and low prices. As the chart below shows, none of these companies are necessarily cheap when looking at the P/E ratio.

Should investors sell stocks when their valuations are high? Should they only buy stocks that trade with below-average valuations?

If the path to long-term wealth were this simple, all investors would be rich. The entire investing process could be automated to sell when a P/E ratio was high and buy when a P/E ratio was low. But it’s not that simple. As I said at the start, it’s extraordinarily hard to say when a stock is actually overvalued.

Famous investor Bill Miller succinctly explains why valuing a stock is difficult. Miller has said, “100% of the information you have about a company represents the past, and 100% of the value depends on the future.”

Imagine for a moment a company valued at $10 billion and that has only made $1 million in profit. That stock would look extremely overvalued using the information we have from the past. But Miller reminds us that value has to do with the future. If this same $10 billion company earns $100 billion in profit over the next five years or so, then the stock is a screaming value stock.

In my opinion, whether Nvidia is overvalued or undervalued today largely depends on how sustainable its profit margins are. As the chart below shows, its margin has soared as artificial intelligence has fueled demand for its hardware products.

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I believe it’s reasonable to expect more growth from Nvidia in coming years. And if the company can defend its current profit margins, then the stock likely has more upside. But if its margins drop back down to more normalized levels, the stock might not fare as well. That’s a question that every Nvidia investor needs to answer.

But what about the other three companies that are as expensive or more expensive than Nvidia when looking at the P/E ratios? Well, here’s how I think about their valuations.

Two stocks I’m not so sure about today

Costco is a fantastic business, enjoying stability from 137 million membership card holders with a greater-than 90% renewal rate. But one thing it’s not is high growth. It only had 5% top-line growth in its fiscal 2024, which ended Sept. 1. This led to 14% growth for operating income, which is respectable. But investors shouldn’t expect these growth metrics to materially improve in its fiscal 2025.

That’s why I’m not a fan of the valuation of Costco stock today. Its valuation implies better-than-average long-term growth with the business whereas it’s more likely to be modest.

Turning to Axon, its growth is far superior to Costco, and it should stay robust for quite some time. The company has a competitive advantage because it sells its hardware in a package with its cloud-software services. Agencies are eager to renew their contracts with Axon because they don’t want to find a new solution for all their data. And there are still plenty of places that aren’t using Axon yet that could in the future.

However, I still think there’s room for caution with Axon stock today. Its growth rate has been higher at times in the past. But by contrast, its price-to-sales valuation is almost double its 10-year average.

A clear winner?

CrowdStrike stock is by no means the cheapest stock on this list when using various valuation metrics. But once again, value is about the future. And CrowdStrike’s potential is still so large because of its market. Management projects that the market for its security platform will skyrocket from $100 billion in 2024 to $225 billion in 2028.

For perspective, CrowdStrike only has $3.5 billion in trailing-12-month revenue. In other words, it doesn’t even need to grab a significant portion of this market to have significant growth. Moreover, it has an easy path to growth. Only 29% of its customers use seven or more of its software products, whereas it has more than 20 options to chose from.

Cross-selling to existing customers is an easy path for growth for CrowdStrike. And what’s stunning is that its pipeline for new deals has completely recovered from its catastrophe earlier this year when a software defect caused a massive IT outage. The speed of its rebound strongly implies that its customers love its cybersecurity platform and products.

CrowdStrike stock is quite expensive when looking at the valuation metrics that measure its past results. But when considering its path for future growth, I believe the stock could still be a good value today and perhaps the best value of the four stocks mentioned here.

Should you invest $1,000 in CrowdStrike right now?

Before you buy stock in CrowdStrike, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and CrowdStrike wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $752,838!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 30, 2024

Jon Quast has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Axon Enterprise, Costco Wholesale, CrowdStrike, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Think Nvidia Stock Is Expensive? These 3 Members of the S&P 500 Trade at Even Higher Valuations. was originally published by The Motley Fool

(Bloomberg) — Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.’s revenue growth accelerated last quarter, sustaining a bounce-back as demand for the servers that drive AI development offset weak smartphone sales.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Apple Inc.’s main manufacturing partner, also known as Foxconn, reported sales rose 20.2% to NT$1.85 trillion ($57.9 billion) for the three months ended September from a year earlier. That compares with the average analyst projection of NT$1.78 trillion compiled by Bloomberg.

The company said the third-quarter sales figure was a record for that period and exceeded its own expectations for growth, without specifying the estimate. Sales increased 19% in the June quarter, the Taiwanese company’s first revenue gain since early 2023.

Foxconn’s sales is helped by a growing business supplying servers containing Nvidia Corp.’s AI chips. In August, it said it expected revenue to grow for the rest of the year. The company’s shares are up more than 85% in 2024.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

Hon Hai’s sales growth could accelerate in 2024-25 as the proliferation of AI emerges as the company’s key growth engine and iPhone demand stabilizes. Its vertical integration and global footprint put it in a favorable position as AI server complexity increases and demand for local production rises. More upside could be unlocked in the next few quarters as the supply of Nvidia’s GPUs improves and new models such as Blackwell GB200 are launched. Smart consumer electronics and computing products, which together accounted for 64% of total sales in 1H, could stabilize as smartphone and PC demand bottom out. Its EV contract manufacturing business might be lackluster amid a slowdown in global EV demand, and the contribution to sales could remain marginal.

— Steven Tseng and Sean Chen, analysts

Click here for the research.

Hon Hai and other hardware suppliers are riding a wave of spending on servers and data centers from big tech firms including Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet’s Google. But questions are bubbling up about how long the spending will last without a home run AI application that can bring the tech firms a return on the massive infrastructure investment.

As the world’s biggest assembler of the iPhone, the Taiwanese company’s business still remains closely tied with Apple’s. In the second quarter, about 40% of Foxconn’s revenue was still from the Smart Consumer Electronics category including the iPhone, while Cloud and Networking Products including AI servers, contributed to about 32%.

Story continues

Investors had anticipated a rebound in smartphone demand in 2024, though some analysts warn initial signs suggest the latest iPhone hasn’t spurred as much demand as expected.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

It’s always a good idea for individual investors to look at what institutional investors, also called the smart money, are choosing. You should never base your decisions solely on others without doing research, but institutional investors have been professionally trained, and they often have decades of experience and the returns to back it up.

Following these successful investors is also a good way to find new ideas and check your thesis. Still, too often, I feel like individuals are only looking at two or three of the best investors instead of casting a wider net.

Warren Buffett and Bill Ackman certainly come to mind. I have nothing against Buffett or Ackman, who are certainly two of the best ever, but here’s the billionaire I think people should be following.

A strong record despite fundamental shifts

David Einhorn manages hedge fund Greenlight Capital, which he launched at the age of 27 after raising about $900,000 from family and friends. Einhorn rose to prominence from betting against — or short-selling — Allied Capital in 2002 when he questioned the company’s accounting practices.

Years after he announced his short position, the Securities and Exchange Commission validated Einhorn’s thesis, finding that Allied did indeed break securities laws due to its accounting practices.

Einhorn also played a key role during the Great Recession when he shorted Lehman Brothers in 2007 due to the company’s underwater securities holdings.

But like many of the greats, Einhorn also is known for his value investing approach, in which he looks for stocks trading below their intrinsic value. Earlier this year, he said that he believes the practice of value investing might be dead due to the broken market structure and the rise of passive investing:

This shift in market structure has led him to change his investing philosophy for his larger company holdings. Now, he focuses on companies that look cheap in value and return capital to shareholders through repurchases or dividends. It’s always a good sign to see even the best investors adapt, even though Einhorn is probably frustrated by this shift in market structure.

Despite changing his strategy, he has generated strong long-term returns. Greenlight has average annual returns of 13.1% since its launch in 1996, compared to 9.5% for the broader benchmark S&P 500. That equates to a total return of over 2,900% compared to the S&P 500’s 1,117%.

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Einhorn’s big winner

The largest position in Greenlight’s portfolio is a homebuilding company called Green Brick Partners (NYSE: GRBK). He founded Green Brick in 2006 with experienced real estate investor and homebuilder Jim Brickman.

In 2008, amid the housing market collapse, Einhorn and Brickman started a real estate equity fund, where they initially began buying land and lending to distressed builders. By 2013, the housing market had bounced back and their fund had amassed a lot of land. Needing capital to grow, the two took the fund public, and it became Green Brick Partners. Brickman became chief executive officer and Einhorn became chairman of the board.

Greenlight Capital began purchasing Green Brick shares in the fourth quarter of 2014 at an average price of $7.20. Its first purchases amounted to roughly $112 million. While Greenlight has been in and out of the stock over the years, the position is currently valued at about $950 million.

Einhorn and Greenlight still owned more than 25% of its shares, according to Green Brick’s most recent proxy. The stock has almost doubled in the past year and is up more than 670% during the past five years.

All of those land purchases since 2006 have been a differentiator for Green Brick in the homebuilding business. At the end of the second quarter of 2024, it owned more than 28,500 lots, most of which are in the growing market of Texas. As inventory and land have become more limited and competitive to acquire, especially in strong and desirable housing markets, this strategy has paid off handsomely.

A value investor with plenty of runway

When I look at Einhorn’s current holdings, I see that he still owns plenty of value stocks, which I always find to be the most interesting to evaluate because they trade at attractive valuations and their futures depend on their ability to pay down debt, generate cash flow, and transform the trajectory of their earnings.

However, Einhorn is cognizant of changing market dynamics and is willing to adapt, an important characteristic for any investor. At just 55 years old, he has plenty of runway left in his investing career, I believe, and is a smart person with a unique viewpoint that individual investors should watch and study.

Should you invest $1,000 in Green Brick Partners right now?

Before you buy stock in Green Brick Partners, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Green Brick Partners wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $752,838!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 30, 2024

Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Green Brick Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Here’s the Billionaire Investor You Should Be Following — and He’s Not Warren Buffett or Bill Ackman was originally published by The Motley Fool