January 2022 - Unity (U) Stock Pick and Glenmorangie (The Original) Whiskey Pairing

Unity (U)

January 2022

Authors: Allan Maule, Byron Harrell

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Website: unity.com

Twitter: @unitygames

CEO: John Riccitiello (appointed 2014)

Founders: Nicholas Francis, Joachim Ante, and David Helgason

Market Cap at Time of Article: $42B

Current Analyst Recommendations (12 analysts’ price targets median): $185

Revenue: $772.4 million (fiscal year ended Dec. 2021); Q3 revenue up 43% year-over-year!

Insider Ownership: 1.66% (Would certainly like to see higher than this, but Unity has many other marks in its favor.)

What makes Unity worth your hard-earned money for the next decade or more?

We’ve written about the immense earnings of video game-related stocks before, and Unity is another worthy entrant in that family of high-earning companies. Unity provides one of the most popular 3D engines (prebuilt code in a platform designed to streamline game and digital art development). Especially popular among mobile game developers, Unity licenses its technology to nearly half of the world’s video games, 60% of augmented and virtual reality experiences, and countless 3D design projects in film, interior design, architecture, and other industries.

Business-wise, this positions Unity as a great investment now that the metaverse is reentering the public eye. The global AR and VR market is rapidly growing, along with mobile gaming and other 3D animation work. With Unity’s dominant position as a go-to 3D design platform for both large companies and startups, they should continue to see big revenue growth in the near and long term. While CEO John Riccitiello isn’t one of Unity’s founders, he was the former CEO of gaming giant Electronic Arts so he knows how to scale companies in the gaming space. Add in a smaller market cap compared to many top stocks, and it’s not hard to see why Unity is an easy recommendation from WW.

Why talk about Unity to all your friends and family?

If you’ve seen any 3D animated asset in the last decade, you’ve experienced Unity’s technology firsthand. They provide the 3D platform that powers a huge chunk of gaming, AR/VR, and animation on movies and TV. So if you’re excited about the future of the metaverse or just believe that 3D animation will continue to be popular, Unity is a great investment that will prosper as digital entertainment keeps growing.

How is this company disruptive?

One of our favorite attributes of Unity is their grassroots approach to developing successful 3D-animation driven companies. True to their roots in the open-source community for graphics development, one of Unity’s core goals is the democratization of development in a thriving ecosystem of developers and designers. This has led Unity to offer its Unity Learn platform with more than 700 hours of training and education content to help master Unity’s technology. Unlike Epic Game’s Unreal engine, Unity’s license is relatively affordable for startups and smaller operations. They also offer free student accounts to foster creative development for the next generation of developers—who will go on to rely on Unity once they get jobs in the high-growth industries of AR/VR and gaming.

Conclusion

There’s a saying in investing: You don’t get rich in a gold rush by buying the right mine, but by buying into companies that sell picks and shovels. Unity is an excellent example of a pick-and-shovel company for several high-growth industries: VR/AR, video games, and 3D animation. By investing in Unity, you don’t have to worry about picking the right metaverse or gaming company—you can simply invest in the company whose technology all those firms will rely on for the core of their business.

Whiskey pairing: Glenmorangie (The Original)

43% ABV

$39.99

The Reflection

After a year when my emotions swung on a pendulum from excitement to disappointment, I would like to bring in 2022 with some balance. I experienced some balance when doing this whiskey review with a buddy and his girlfriend.

I was excited for my first time with this new bottle, as neither my buddy nor I had ever tried Glenmorangie. We were giddy. There is a shared feeling of freedom when you first explore the nose and pallet of a new scotch with someone. Your thoughts, opinions, and preferences can differ, but you nonetheless share a common experience of a new spirit that neither of you has ever encountered.

I was then disappointed because my buddy’s girlfriend could not share in the festivities and celebration, as she doesn’t drink much. She doesn’t really enjoy whiskey or beer, but we still wanted her to be involved. How do you find balance in the excitement of your comradery while faced with the disappointment of her ignorance?

And, so, I ask you the question, fellow scotch lovers: Would you rather drink bad scotch with someone that enjoys scotch or good scotch with someone that cannot appreciate it? It’s a romantic question, but we all know the right answer.

The Nose, Pallet, and Finish

I poured us all a glass to experience the nose together. My buddy and I took in the aroma and explored the fragrance of fruits in a creamy caramel medley. It was as if an apple pie was baked in a garden.

We opened our eyes slowly to his girlfriend, wincing at the smell, barely tasting it, and finishing with a grimace. I then understood how my wife feels about vacuum cleaners.

Let me explain: We have a vacuum on all three floors of our house, as well as handhelds in the closets. When she cheerfully tells her husband about her new vacuum cleaner and I react like my buddy’s girlfriend did to this whiskey, I now know my wife must feel pity for my ignorance. She thought I would never understand, but here I am, finally getting it.

The Conclusion

The Glenmorangie Original is a good, balanced scotch that everyone should have on the shelf. You can be excited at the price ($40) without any disappointment when shared with scotch lovers.

I had the good fortune to also try the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (14 Year) on the same weekend that I tried the Original (10 Year). While Quinta Ruban is slightly above my price point, I will say I enjoyed it a bit more than the Original. It was more complex and offered a subtle improvement. The scent settled into a bit more of a mandarin orange flavored s’more, with hints of nutty chocolates.

When I think of the different ages of the Glenmorangie, I think of a fruit that could start sour and pungent and ripen into sweet dessert. Here’s to a sweeter, more balanced 2022 for us all.

SCORE – 3/5