What are scuttlebits? I recently read Focus: The ASML Way by Marc Hijink, a book I’d recommend to anyone interested in getting up to speed on ASML. Among the many interesting anecdotes cited in this terrific book, the one that stood out most to me pertained not to its mind-boggling technology but its approach to […]

MBI and I recorded an episode of Never Sell recently (Global Payments, AI and Software, OpenAI and Anthropic Bubble?) (Spotify, Apple, YouTube, RSS feed) AI-generated podcast conversation: Spotify, Apple, direct link AI-generated summary: This report traces the rise, challenges, and current state of Align Technology in the clear aligner market. It shows how Invisalign transformed from a mocked niche product into the category leader […]

Hi Everyone,

After eight years of writing this blog, I’ve come to realize that habitual readership, essential to limiting churn, is difficult to foster with deep dives published every three weeks. The truth of the matter is that subscribers equate publishing frequency with value and, in their all too busy lives, also find it difficult to summon the energy to plow through long writeups on stocks they don’t own and that contain no immediately actionable insights or commentary on current events. Meanwhile, in the course of my day-to-day research, I often stumble upon developments pertaining to companies I’ve written about in the past that are interesting enough to merit brief commentary but not substantive enough to warrant a dedicated post.

Scuttlebits is my attempt to kill both birds. These posts, available to paid subscribers, will include digestible morsels of commentary and analysis, mostly related to notable developments on companies and industries I’ve already covered. They will also be a place for me to provide short updates and corrections to previous posts and sometimes sound off on interesting things I’m reading. I won’t be opining on the splashiest business headlines of the day. I won’t be offering thoughts on the latest AI drama or the newest LLM release. And I won’t be publishing notes on earnings calls if there is nothing unique or interesting to say.

You should expect scuttlebits to hit your inbox in the space between my deep dives, so maybe every 7 to 10 days. Thanks for being a subscriber. I hope this resonates with you!

(no, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a good stock) AI-generated podcast conversation: Spotify, Apple AI-generated summary: Global Payments’ $24bn acquisition of Worldpay is the latest installment in the long-running saga of merchant acquirers trying to scale their way out of obsolescence. Less than a year after publicly swearing off M&A, Global is now pursuing a […]

AI-generated podcast conversation: Spotify, Apple, RSS AI-generated summary: The text examines the lifecycle of oil wells, detailing the various waste streams generated during drilling, hydraulic fracturing, production, and post-production phases, with produced water being the most significant. It then shifts focus to SECURE Waste Infrastructure (SECURE), a major player in managing these waste products across […]

A few announcements: MBI and I discussed APi Group in last month’s Never Sell episode (Spotify, Apple, YouTube, RSS Feed) You can find a short NotebookLM-generated discussion about this post on Spotify, Apple, and many other podcast players (search for “scuttleblurb”). I planned on writing up ADP and Paychex next, but I’m going to pass. Maybe another time. […]

Folks, a few announcements: First, I’m creating short 5-7 minute AI-generated podcast conversations based on my write-ups using NotebookLM and making them freely available on the scuttleblurb podcast feed (Apple, Spotify). These are not meant to be replacements for the actual write-ups and, to be honest, they aren’t even perfectly accurate summaries of them. I’ve […]

(this is part 1 of a 3-part post on HCM and payroll processing software and services that will touch on a number of companies, including, but not limited to, ADP, Paychex, Paycor, Paycom, Paylocity, and Workday) I. Those familiar “day in the life” videos, the ones that blur professional diary and aspirational lifestyle content, with […]