I've SECRETLY Been Buying This Dividend Stock
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I'm usually an open book when it comes to my portfolio—or at least I try to be. But I have to admit, I’ve been keeping a little secret from you over the past few weeks.
In early September, I made a snap decision to add a new position to my portfolio and started buying shares of a company called Clear Secure (YOU). It’s still flying under the radar, so you might not have heard of the stock, but you’re probably familiar with the company if you’ve spent any time at the airport.
You know when you’re going through security and the TSA agent checks your ID and boarding pass? Well, instead of waiting in that line—which can sometimes take quite a long time to get through—Clear has its own special lanes that allow you to bypass the entire process.
In the Clear lanes, you just do a quick biometric scan to verify your identity. Once that’s done, a Clear representative escorts you straight to the front of the security screening area, which can save you a lot of time and frustration, particularly during times when the airport lines are like those at Disneyland.
In a nutshell, Clear helps to streamline the identification and security process, and while the company is most known for what it does in airports, this type of service isn’t limited to just aviation.
You’ll also find Clear at a lot of stadiums and event venues across the country, including Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena here in Las Vegas (see the full list here). Just like at the airport, Clear’s service lets you breeze through security when attending an event, and they're expanding into other sectors like healthcare and retail as well.
For example, Clear’s service is now being used to speed up check-ins at hospitals and doctor’s offices, eliminating the need to show your ID or insurance card. Instead, you can check in with Clear, which can be linked directly to your medical records and can eliminate the need to fill out any forms.
In retail, the company has a partnership with Home Depot where customers can use Clear to verify their identity when renting tools. Fun fact: Clear’s CEO actually sits on the board of directors at Home Depot.
Wherever you use Clear—whether you're flying to Scottsdale or borrowing a circular saw—it’s all about enhancing convenience and security. And judging by the rapid growth in their subscriber base, it’s clear (no pun intended) that those are things people are willing to pay for.
Source: Clear Secure Shareholder Letter (Q2 2024)
Now getting into some of the numbers, revenue and free cash flow growth have been tremendous so far, but it was only recently that the company actually turned a profit. With that said, a period of losing money isn’t unusual to see for a young company that’s still early in its lifecycle—Clear was founded in 2010 and only became public in 2021.
Another point worth mentioning is that there’s no outstanding debt on the balance sheet, and I’m an absolute sucker for a company with no debt. The risk of default is just one less thing you have to worry about.
Source: Snapstock
Now as far as my position goes, it’s pretty puny compared to the rest of my portfolio.
I only own 30 shares so far, but my plan is to dollar-cost-average into Clear until it makes up around 3-4% of my overall portfolio. That should put me at around 100 shares, which feels like a nice, even number to aim for.
Overall, I’m really excited about Clear. I think it’s a very interesting company with a lot of potential use cases, and it has all the financial makings to become a strong dividend growth stock moving forward.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into Clear’s financials, risks, and competitive advantages, check out my full coverage of the company here.
With that said, I want to hear from you: What was the most recent addition to your portfolio? Write to me here and let me know.
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IN MY PORTFOLIO 📈
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SINCE YOU ASKED 💬
"What are the top 3 books you would recommend for anyone who's into dividend investing?"
- John | Email Submission
That's such a great question. It's going to be hard to just pick three!
First, I would definitely put The Ownership Dividend by Daniel Peris on there. I read that on my honeymoon a couple of months ago and it gave me some insightful historical and financial context behind where dividends come from and why they're important. You can read my full book notes here.
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Have a question? Ask me here to see it featured in an upcoming newsletter.
HOT TAKES 🔥
In last week's newsletter, I asked readers which discounted stocks they have their eyes on right now. Here are some of the responses:
Brett said: I've just been averaging my way into SCHD. Especially with the stock split that happened this week, I wanted to pick up as many shares as I could.
Patrick said: CVX, MO, and a little bit of O as well.
Dan said: Even though it's started to climb back up again, I've been adding to NKE. It's still down a lot this year so I think it's a good one to buy.
LAST WORD 👋
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