Author Archives: scuttleblurb

[EFX] Equifax

[EFX – Equifax] Investment Implications of Breach Fiasco
September 18, 2017

When an apparently moaty company eagerly renders itself the object of public opprobrium, my greed[...]

Podcast Blurbs

Podcast Blurbs [Chinese internet, Consciousness, Passive investing]
September 18, 2017

Planet Money, Ep. #647 (Hard Work Is Irrelevant) “To get a job [at Netflix] and[...]

[CB] Chubb Ltd.

[CB – Chubb Ltd] A Port in the Storm
September 13, 2017

[Re: Harvey/Irma disaster relief efforts, here are three charities that have been given top marks[...]

[SNA] Snap-On Podcast Blurbs

Podcast Blurbs [Snap-On short, Amazon black hole, Illusory self, LP incentives]
September 13, 2017

Invest Like the Best, Ep. 53 (Meb Faber – Factors, Dividends, and Angel Investing) Meb[...]

[FAST] Fastenal Quick Blurbs

[FAST – Fastenal] Notes from CFO Convo; [ASHG – Ash Grove] Constructive Cement Pricing, Stock Is Cheap
September 8, 2017

[FAST – Fastenal] Fastenal’s dense branch network affords scale advantages in distribution and service relative to[...]

[EFX] Equifax

[EFX – Equifax] Investment Implications of Breach Fiasco

Posted on by scuttleblurb
When an apparently moaty company eagerly renders itself the object of public opprobrium, my greed gene gets activated.  I was helplessly compelled to at least sniff this wet tar-and-feathered turd. [I think this stock is too expensive (more on this) and don’t own it, but thought I’d quickly share a crude rule I use for […]
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Podcast Blurbs

Podcast Blurbs [Chinese internet, Consciousness, Passive investing]

Posted on by scuttleblurb

Planet Money, Ep. #647 (Hard Work Is Irrelevant) “To get a job [at Netflix] and to keep it, you have to accomplish great things.  Here’s another slide [from Netflix’s presentation on its principles]…’We are a team, not a family.  And we are a Pro sports team, not a kid’s recreational team.’  In other words, if […]

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[CB] Chubb Ltd.

[CB – Chubb Ltd] A Port in the Storm

Posted on by scuttleblurb
[Re: Harvey/Irma disaster relief efforts, here are three charities that have been given top marks by charitynavigator.org: Helping Hand for Relief and Development, GlobalGiving Foundation, and ShelterBox USA.] When referring to the insurance industry, folks often talk about “hard” and “soft” markets – periods of strengthening and weakening premium prices, respectively – as though they […]
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[SNA] Snap-On, Podcast Blurbs

Podcast Blurbs [Snap-On short, Amazon black hole, Illusory self, LP incentives]

Posted on by scuttleblurb

Invest Like the Best, Ep. 53 (Meb Faber – Factors, Dividends, and Angel Investing) Meb Faber: “I saw a stat the other day that the average Robin Hood account checks his balance ten times a day…and so, all that does is create horrific behavior.” “There’s a lot of [fintech companies] getting funded that have great […]

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[FAST] Fastenal, Quick Blurbs

[FAST – Fastenal] Notes from CFO Convo; [ASHG – Ash Grove] Constructive Cement Pricing, Stock Is Cheap

Posted on by scuttleblurb
[FAST – Fastenal] Fastenal’s dense branch network affords scale advantages in distribution and service relative to Grainger, which has 2.5x Fastenal’s sales but only ~1/10 its branches and ~1/7 its field employees.  Local market density is especially important because fasteners, which comprise nearly 40% of the company’s sales and a greater proportion of gross profits, is […]
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[ELLI] Ellie Mae

[ELLI – Ellie Mae] SaaS With Class…But Still Too Expensive

Posted on by scuttleblurb
Several weeks ago, the stock of Ellie Mae, a SaaS that automates the grueling task of underwriting residential mortgages, got hammered when the company reported revenue weakness on lower than expected industry refinancing volumes and longer than expected ramp times for larger enterprise customers, prompting management to dramatically cut its full year revenue growth guidance […]
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SAMPLE POSTS, [MCO] Moody's Corp

[MCO – Moody’s] The Self-Reinforcing Standards Moat

Posted on by scuttleblurb

Moody’s is one of the big 3 Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs), a title bestowed by the SEC on a handful of credit rating agencies, the top 3 of whom act as an oligopoly in the US debt ratings gambit.  As you well know, Moody’s (and S&P and Fitch) fell into disrepute during the […]

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[GBX] Greenbrier

[GBX – Greenbrier] Valuation Update

Posted on by scuttleblurb
Greenbrier and Trinity (TRN) act as a duopoly in the North American railcar industry, together accounting for nearly 80% of total backlog, with both players taking market share over the last decade (GBX: 13% in September 2006 -> 33% today; TRN: 36% -> 44%; ARII: 21% -> 6%).  Needless to say, the railcar manufacturing and […]
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