Archive

Even one of the most well respected firms on Wall Street can't dodge the 'At-Home Revolution'... As we discussed last month, the commercial real estate ("CRE") market is one of the prime targets for disruption by the massive societal shift we're seeing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Many people are realizing that working […]

• AAPL
• AMZN
• BX
• CHTR
• CMCSA

One of my mentors just published a new book focused on the corporate lifecycle... My team and I call him the godfather of adjusted accounting analytics, and it's not said tongue-in-cheek. Bart Madden developed the CFROI framework. It's one of the first methods to focus on something equivalent to what my team and I have […]

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During an economic crisis, there's a sneaky way your portfolio could be crippled... In late June, UC Berkeley hosted its annual "Fraud Fest" – completely online for the first time. This year, the 200 panelists had a lot to talk about... As one said, "the pandemic is the perfect storm for fraud." Due to the […]

• AAPL
• MSFT
• SUPN

The 'at-home economy' claimed another victim this month, as workers adopt their 'Zoom shirts'...  The retailer that claimed to "dress the president" since Abraham Lincoln was yet another company to fall to the "At-Home Revolution."  Earlier this month, Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy. It couldn't survive the lockdowns that closed its stores, nor the lack […]

This past weekend, we taught a course on corporate strategy... And once again, as usual, we learned something new. The class, which we call "Return Driven Strategy" ("RDS"), is focused on understanding the key tenets of a successful long-term value-creating corporate strategy. Uniform Accounting is essential to identifying "RDS companies," as we call them. These […]

• AAPL
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In late 2010, one of our largest clients called us in a panic... One of its biggest holdings, coffee maker Green Mountain Coffee, had just received a data request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") stating it was launching a formal investigation into the company's accounting.  Our client needed to know what to […]

• PG

One index's 'reconstitution' can often be a microcap kingmaker... Each year, the major stock indexes – from the S&P 500, to the Nasdaq 100, to offerings providers like MSCI – are all "reconstituted." This is a process when new members are added, and companies that no longer fit the index's criteria are removed. It might […]

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The 'At-Home Revolution' has meant more toys... and not just for kids. In early June, I wrote in Forbes that reduced travel due to the coronavirus pandemic has had trickledown effects. One big beneficiary has been golf and golf equipment. Wealthy people who would normally be vacationing in Europe, the Caribbean, or elsewhere are trapped […]

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Several household names all have something in common with some of the highest-upside stock ideas in the market right now... Even the largest companies have small beginnings.  Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Disney (DIS), Mattel (MAT), and Hewlett-Packard – now known as HP (HPQ) – all started in a garage. Facebook (FB) started in […]

• AAPL
• AMZN
• DIS
• EXPE
• FB
• GOOGL
• HPQ
• ISRG
• IYR
• IYZ
• MAT
• NFLX
• TRIP
• WMT
• XLY
• ZM

The 'impossible trinity' is one of the widely held beliefs in macroeconomic theory... Also known as the "trilemma," the logic is that an economy can't have all three of the following:  A fixed foreign exchange rate Free capital movement Independent monetary policy If you want two of these, you need to give up on the […]

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