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[...]

GNRC

[GNRC] VALUE COME, VALUE GO

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,400 words) In between diaper changes and infant tantrums, I finally got around to looking at GNRC this past week. Given the stock’s ostensibly low earnings multiple and a share price that has gotten hammered over the last several years on what appears to be mostly cyclical reasons, I wanted to like the company but couldn’t […]
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PYPL

[PYPL] BUSINESS MODEL AND COMPETITION

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,182 words) PayPal has moved far beyond its roots as an online auctions payment facilitator in the late 1990s/early 2000s (serving eBay, mostly), broadening and deepening its 2-sided network, expanding its reach to mobile (2006), offline transactions (2012), and increasingly, “contextual commerce” (i.e., consumers buying directly on Facebook rather than being redirected to the retailers site).  PayPal’s central […]
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MA

QUICK BLURBS [ADNT, JLL, MA, MRC, SNI]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,218 words) [MA] In 2009, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) launched an ambitious nationwide program to collect all 10 fingerprints, iris scans, a photo, and all sorts of personal information from each of its 1.2bn citizens in a central database, with a unique 12-digit ID number assigned to each record.  The goal was to […]
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ESRX

[ESRX] POST-ANTM THOUGHTS

Posted on by scuttleblurb
(2,410 words) [ESRX] After more than a year of acrimonious public squabbling, it appears ANTM will be terminating its relationship with ESRX: The Company’s current long-term PBM contract with Anthem expires on December 31, 2019, and Anthem is currently engaged in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for a PBM service provider following the end of its […]
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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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SAMPLE POSTS, GAIA

[GAIA] INTERESTING COMPANY, LESS INTERESTING PRICE

Posted on by scuttleblurb

(3,476 words) The ~$100mn float may render this jockey bet too illiquid for some of you hedge fund MoUs.  GAIA is a speculative enterprise with a questionable business moat run and 38%-owned by competent CEO/ascetic, Jirka Rysavy, who after spending years building and then paring away various businesses inside (as it is now called) GAIA, is […]

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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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