Trends come and go, but one in fashion again is stock splits. Two years ago, there was a frenzy of splits in the tech space. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and even Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) all split their stock. But then the phenomenon died down last year. Now, it seems to be rebounding — with a twist.
While tech stocks are still splitting their shares (Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) recently split its shares 10-to-1), a lot of the upcoming stock splits are among more consumer discretionary stocks. It began earlier this year when Walmart (NYSE:WMT) split its shares 3-to-1. Uniform provider Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) will split its stock by a similar ratio in September and Sony (NYSE:SONY) will follow suit with a 5-for-1 split later this fall.
There are three more upcoming stock splits investors will want to keep an eye on, including one happening after the stock market closes today.
Although splits change nothing about a company, they offer positive signals about a company, and investors seem to like them. So, let’s see if the three upcoming stock splits below are worth buying now at the higher price or if you should wait til they are more accessible.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)
The first upcoming stock split is Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG). Currently trading over $3,200, the Mexican food chain’s stock will split by a whopping 50-to-1 after the closing bell today. Afterward, they will go for a more reasonable $64 a stub.
Chipotle is on a tear. Although shares slid 6% the other day, the restaurateur is still up 41% year-to-date and 57% over the past year. The stock has more than doubled over the past three years because business is booming.
Sales jumped 14% in the first quarter to $2.7 billion on a 7% jump in comparable restaurant sales. Operating margins widened 80 basis points (bp) to 16.3% from last year while restaurant-level margins expanded to 27.5% from 25.6% — a 190 bp gain.
Wall Street believes profits will keep flowing Chipotle’s way. Analysts forecast earnings will grow long-term at a compounded annual rate of 22% as the restaurant chain is seen as a good exchange for value. At this point, you may as well wait for the split to take effect tomorrow to add it to your portfolio.
Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
In just about two weeks, kitchen wares giant Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) will split its shares 2-for-1. The upcoming July 9 split will take WSM stock from just over $300 a share down to around $150 a share.
In announcing the halving event two weeks ago, the kitchen wares stock said the purpose is to make its stock more accessible to investors and employees. It is notable, though, that Williams-Sonoma stock has not really gone anywhere since it peaked at the end of March and the beginning of April. It actually trades 3% lower than it did three months ago, and even the split announcement did little to rally the stock.
Although the company typically caters to a more upscale customer, which normally shields a business from the worst effects of inflation and high interest rates, the retailer is having trouble gaining traction. It had to reach out to more middle-income consumers who are feeling the pinch more.
Sales were down 5% in the first quarter on a similar percentage decline in comparable brand revenue. Over a two-year period, the comp is down 11% and off 1.4% over three years.
Despite trading in the low triple digits, there doesn’t appear much need for Williams-Sonoma to split its stock. And until its business shows the kind of traction signaling long-term growth, I wouldn’t be a buyer before or after.
Broadcom (AVGO)
Investors have a little more time to think about Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), which isn’t set to split its stock until July 15. Currently trading at around $1,600 per share, the 10-for-1 upcoming stock split will put shares at a more attainable $160 each.
In March, I had anticipated the mobile device chip maker would announce an upcoming stock split even as it was trading about 16% lower than it is now. I noted at the time that “Broadcom’s network and server solutions for data centers are optimized for artificial intelligence (AI). That blends well with the AI chips it is developing as well. AI is a fast-growing business and generated $1.5 billion in revenue for the company last quarter.”
More recently, Broadcom shifted its focus from mobile chipsets to data center infrastructure. It began building custom accelerators and is finding demand among hyperscalers growing. In a bid to make its wares available to the widest possible customer base, the chipmaker is concentrating on the lowest power accelerators based on open standards.
There is no limit to its growth potential at the moment as it heads towards a trillion-dollar valuation. An investor could buy AVGO stock before or after the split and do well.
On the date of publication, Rich Duprey did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.