Category Archives: Quick Blurbs

FAST URI Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [Ashtead, FAST, MSM, URI, ZN]
July 24, 2017

[ZN – Zion Oil and Gas] Heard about this stock on a podcast; I doubt[...]

ASHG

[ASHG] CHEAP STOCK OR VALUE TRAP?
July 14, 2017

“People always think more about how new ground can be broken than they think about[...]

SAMPLE POSTS AMZN

[AMZN] EXPLANATIONS MATTER
July 6, 2017

 “Theories are nets cast to catch what we call ‘the world’: to rationalize, to explain,[...]

INTU

[INTU] KIND OF INTO IT
June 27, 2017

(4,382 words) It seems not too long ago, business arrangements between application providers were called partnerships….now[...]

SAMPLE POSTS VRSK

[VRSK] HIGH QUALITY CASH COW, LIMITED REINVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
June 16, 2017

(2,414 words) When evaluating the competitive advantage of a data-based analytics business, three important questions[...]

FAST, URI, Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [Ashtead, FAST, MSM, URI, ZN]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
[ZN – Zion Oil and Gas] Heard about this stock on a podcast; I doubt you can find borrow.  What is it?  Oh, just your run-of-the-mill ~$240mn+ market cap Nasdaq-listed oil and gas concern whose drilling activity is guided, nay, “inspired” by the Old Testament.  Here’s an excerpt from the company’s 2016 10K: Zion’s vision, […]
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CF, SIG, UHAL, Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [CF, SIG, UHAL]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,536 words) [SIG] I have zero interest in this stock, but sometimes it’s fun to reminisce on missed calls.  About a year ago, a friend who manages a long/short fund was considering shorting SIG and asked for my opinion.  I said I thought it was a bad idea.  At the time, the stock was ~$110. […]
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AMZN, OAK, Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [AAL, AMZN, GOOG, OAK, PSA]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,596 words) [AMZN] Per this PYMNTs article, Amazon Pay, which represents yet another instance of Amazon broadening and then tightening its grip on the e-commerce ecosystem, seems to be gaining rapid adoption.  Amazon Pay – like PayPal, Masterpass, and Visa Checkout – is a button placed on an e-retailer’s checkout page that enables quick and secure […]
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ADS, IBKR, KMX, Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [ADS, AXP, BAC, IBKR, KMX, SVU]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(4,146 words) [IBKR] Partly due to an exceptionally low volatility trading environment, which has made it difficult to earn profits and which Petterfy says may continue “indefinitely,” the company is winding down its options market making operations. While the company will use the excess capital from market making to further support its brokerage operations, the latter […]
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GBX, MSM, Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [DAL, GBX, MSM/FAST]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,130 words) [MSM: 4/6/17; FAST: 4/12/17] Recall that 70% of MSM’s sales come from manufacturing customers (esp. metalworking), who have seen their average daily sales decline by msd/hsd for each of the last 5 quarters prior to 4q16.  Last quarter, the company saw the beginnings of a recovery…. Management is reluctant to say that the […]
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Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [DLTR, EQC, PYPL, RUSHA, SQ]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(1,427 words) [DLTR: 3/1/17] Respectable quarter with positive comps and margin expansion at both Dollar Tree (+2.4% ex. fx, positive comps each month) and Family Dollar (+0.2%, avg ticket +30bps, traffic down, particular strength in the West and Northeast) driving total sales to the mid of the guided range and EPS above the top-end.  As expected, […]
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Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [CBG, EXPE, KR, PCLN, ROST, TGT]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,306 words) [KR: 3/2] Deflation (pharmacy disinflation, greater produce deflation, offset by some grocery inflation), which accelerated slightly q/q from 1.1% to 1.3%, was the main reason 4q comps came in -0.7%.  Without inflation, comps would have been positive.  Furthermore, 35 relocated/expanded stores were pulled out of the comp base, causing a 70bps headwind to […]
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Quick Blurbs

QUICK BLURBS [ARII, CF, H, HD, JCP, MCO, PSA, SAM]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,423 words) [JCP: 2/24] Fell short of sales and gross profit goals, but some budding signs of improvement.  4q comps -0.7% (but the 2Y stack +3.4%) with positive lsd comps in during December and January.  Good results from toys (offered toys this holiday season for the first time in years) and appliances (500 showrooms with […]
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