Over the past few years, two investments have surprised me.

We bought two large American companies that seemed left for dead. Some of our wholesale clients questioned the decision.

General Motors [NYSE:GM] saw a P/E ratio of around 4.5 at one point. It still paid a dividend, but faced some challenges. A looming strike. Slow entry to the EV market. Weak sales growth.

Yet buying the stock meant our position could be paid outright in just four or five years.

Then everything started to change:

 


Source: Google Finance

 

The Company started to beat earnings forecasts.

New platforms saw EV sales jump.

Today, the market sees growth for this business. It trades on a P/E of around 26 and a forward P/E around 6 — suggesting continued strong growth over the next 12 months. For a legacy US automaker!

As value investors, we bought the business because it presented some quality at a price we thought the market was discounting far too much.

Then another company we bought — also abandoned by the market — started its ascent last year:

 

Source: Google Finance

 

This was a strategic bet. Intel [NASDAQ:INTC] had American foundries. It was developing the smallest chips around — edging out TSMC — and had financial support from Biden.

Once Trump got involved, turning that support into a 10% equity stake, the potential of Intel flashed on Wall Street’s radar.

Yes, we got lucky on that one. Sometimes you do when the stars line up. But equally, we knew it was the right business for the time.

Well, there’s another US company that’s come on my radar…

 

Your first Quantum Wealth Report is waiting for you:

⚡🌎 Start Your Subscription: NZ$37.00 / monthly

⚡🌎 Start Your Subscription: US$24.00 / monthly