Archive

This Company Can't Franchise Away Its Problems

By Joel Litman

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Dear reader, Let’s talk about one of America’s most beloved – and infamous – companies. But it might not be for the reasons you think… I’m not talking about its viral one-cent burger promotion. While I’m excited about it as a pescatarian, I’m not discussing this company’s partnership with meat-substitute producer Beyond Meat (BYND)… nor […]

Returns as Coherent as a Picasso Painting

By Joel Litman

Monday, October 14, 2019

Dear reader, There’s real estate, precious metals, natural resources, municipal bonds, and a litany of other “alternative assets” out in the markets. I often get questions about why our firm spends so much time looking specifically at stocks and bonds. There are so many other asset classes that can help diversify an investor’s overall portfolio. […]

A Collision of Banking and Coffee Culture

By Joel Litman

Friday, October 11, 2019

Dear reader, Imagine an open-air space with modern lighting, trendy furniture, and free Wi-Fi. You can buy coffee and pastries from the barista at the counter… and sit at a table and use the device-charging stations for your laptop or iPad while you crank out that novel you’ve been working on for the past few […]

Don't Throw the Baby out With the Bathwater

By Joel Litman

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Dear reader, Occasionally, a market event happens that’s so big it’s impossible to ignore. And not just impossible for investors to ignore, but everybody. The housing bubble and Great Recession are obvious ones, but several others in recent memory come to mind. The dot-com bubble of the late 1990s to early 2000s shook the public’s […]

Wall Street Is Getting This Health Care Stock Completely Wrong

By Joel Litman

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Dear reader, If you’ve been tuning in for a while, you should know I don’t trust Wall Street for stock advice. Regular readers know by now that my goal in Altimetry Daily Authority is to give you a different opinion from what you’ll find elsewhere. Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of intelligent […]

This Molecule Is Crushing an Industry

By Joel Litman

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Dear reader, Diseases can create companies and industries, and can just as easily destroy them. Owens Corning, Armstrong World Industries, and other insulation companies went bankrupt in 2000 because of asbestos lawsuits from mesothelioma outbreaks. Gilead Sciences (GILD) is worth about $80 billion today from its drugs that treat HIV, hepatitis, and other liver diseases. […]

Be Mindful, Not Fearful

By Joel Litman

Monday, October 7, 2019

Dear reader, The talking heads at CNBC and Bloomberg are once again in a frenzy. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the small-cap Russell 2000 Index, the S&P 500 Index, and the Nasdaq 100 Index all dropped, and most of the decline was driven by one datapoint. The Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index […]

Garbage In, Garbage Out

By Joel Litman

Friday, October 4, 2019

Dear reader, My first job when I got my CPA license was as an auditor in Chicago. I’d travel across the Midwest as part of my role, and I kept track of the best steaks in every small city within 500 miles of Chicago. One of my fondest memories of the companies I audited was […]

Even Smart Activist Investors Don't Always Get It Right

By Joel Litman

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Dear reader, At the height of the dot-com bubble, Internet darling AOL could do no wrong… When the company announced it was joining with media conglomerate Time Warner in January 2000, many people thought the merger was a smart move. AOL would gain access to Time Warner’s content and cable network, and Time Warner would […]

Maybe the CEO Was on to Something...

By Joel Litman

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Dear reader, It’s rare that I laugh out loud when I’m listening to an earnings call… In general, these quarterly calls are dull affairs. For every time you catch something like the Lehman Brothers CFO swearing on the company’s third-quarter earnings call in 2008 – and management having to re-edit the audio afterward to remove […]