The Half-Year Scoreboard

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is Invest Talk from KPP Financial, helping investors make sense of the markets one day at a time. Here's your host, Justin Klein.

**Justin Klein** (0:16)
Good afternoon, fellow investors, and welcome back to another edition of Invest Talk. We are now into the back half of the year. It's crazy, right?
The second quarter is behind us. That means the first half is behind us.
A lot to unpack during this hour with you. Our job is to give you data and perspective. And today is a special day. And the fact that we're able to look back in the first half and start to think about what the second half might have in store. And usually, you start to see some trends begin in the second quarter that kind of propels us into the back half of the year. So we're going to look at that and much, much more on today's show. Now, let me thank all of you who participated in our wealth webinar yesterday on income, how to produce income, what are the pitfalls of various income generation sources. If you want to, if you missed it, you want to watch it again, you can go over to our YouTube channel. It is up over there. So make sure you go check that out. Now, just a bit, we'll talk about today's Mark Performance and run down the show topics. But as usual, we'll tackle this first caller question now.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:28)
Hello, Invest Talk. I was trying to reach out to you guys about the following ticker symbol, CLH. That's Clean Harbors Incorporated.
This is a stock that I've held. It's done very, very well. Do I need to trim my position? Do you think I should buy some more? I'll listen for your answer. Hope you have a good evening. Thanks.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:49)
Bye.

**Justin Klein** (1:50)
Looking at Clean Harbors, they're engaged in environmental, energy, industrial services.
As you would imagine, in this world where a lot of money is going into Adidas centers, their business is benefited, especially those environmental services, those industrial services, etc.
They work with landfills, they have treatment services, storage and disposal facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, and solvent recycling centers as well. So $16 billion market cap, it has been on a nice run because earnings are growing, and they're expected to grow 18 percent this year, 10 percent next year to $9.49. However, $290 stocks, so based on forward-looking earnings, you're talking about over 30 times forward-looking multiple, which is on the expensive side. Now, if you're looking at an enterprise value to even it, that's in about the 15-range, 14-range, shall we say, forward-looking, which is on the high side. It hasn't been this high since 2024
Zoom out here. Yeah, that's when you started a broader pullback from about 260 all the way down to 183 What I will say is technically, it looks like it's probably the beginning of a broader correction. Does that have a reason to sell it if you're a long-term holder? No, not necessarily, because this correction may be something similar, where it goes from 270 all the way down to 180 That was about a 30 percent correction. It doesn't feel great, but obviously it worked its way higher. It's a very good business with a strong balance sheet, return equity around 14.5 percent. Not amazing, but very solid, very consistent. It's taking that cash flow about 400 million per share, and they're buying back shares, so they're doing smart things with that cash flow. They don't pay a dividend, but their dividend is kind of that share buyback. So I like the business.
It wouldn't be a time for me to pick up more. I would wait until about the 250 range, the 290 now. I think it probably works its way down there over the coming 12 months.
Maybe not, but the technicals are telling me that, and so are the valuations. So I'd be very patient on it. I would be a long-term holder, because I like the business, but I wouldn't be adding to it until you get to 250 Thanks for the call. They were at a great show yesterday. We looked into a story about a teaching moment and how Wall Street targets are built, why they move, and how little they should drive your decisions. Luke got into that, and it was a great show.
He also answered questions on EQT Corporation. That is a natural gas producer, if I remember correctly. That was submitted via our YouTube channel. If you happen to miss it, go check it out. The best way to get every show is to follow Invest Talk wherever you get your podcast. Now, we have a lot of ground to cover today. Over the next 45 minutes and time permitting, we'll get to all of it. Our main focus point is reviewing the first half of the year. What were the expectations going into 2026 and how did the first half live up to the hype, shall we say? What shifted throughout those first two quarters? What does that mean for the back half of the year? What does that mean for setting up back half positioning in your portfolio? We'll dig into that. Then, I want to touch on the streaming wars and cable cutting, what this means for you, the viewer, but also the companies within the space, how profitable will they continue to be over time? We have another topic. I have it in front of me. Where is it? I'll find it. Don't have it in front of me, actually. I'll find it, but we have more to talk about. Yes, that's what it was. AI exuberance report from the BIS. We'll dig into that story as well. Most importantly, though, will be your calls. We have voice bank calls. One is on index performance as well as Vanguard Information Technology Index, VGT ETF. Then we have some questions that came in via the comment section over on the Invest Talk YouTube channel, as always. We're going to take a quick break, however. Please remember, you can call anytime. Leave your question on the Invest Talk voice bank. If you're listening via our live stream or possibly on AM 1220 in the Bay Area, you can call right now at 888-99-CHART. Up next, I will comment on today's market activity.