[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[...]

[DF] Dean Foods

[DF – Dean Foods] Levered Commodity Processor, Impending Challenges
March 4, 2016

Dean is a levered commodity processor sandwiched between fragmented but price-protected dairy producers and consolidated[...]

[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[...]

[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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[PYPL] Paypal, Quick Blurbs

Quick Blurbs [MSCI, Paypal, S&P Global]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
[SPGI – S&P Global, MSCI – MSCI Inc.] New indices are created every day as passive strategies flourish and investors invent ways to track exposures across asset classes, geographies, sectors, and market caps.  They are stamped with the imprimatur of a well-known provider, validated with fresh pools of capital, and before long, become indispensable benchmarks or […]
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[DOOR] Masonite Intl

[DOOR – Masonite Intl] Reasonable Valuation, So-So Moat

Posted on by scuttleblurb
[DOOR – Masonite Intl] This stock got smoked last week post-earnings.  DOOR is now back to where it was at the start of 2014, when the company was generating less than half the pre-tax cash profits it does today. If you’re unfamiliar, Masonite and Jen-Weld (JELD) are vertically integrated duopolists in the US residential interior door manufacturing […]
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[SAP] SAP SE, [TRIP] Tripadvisor, Quick Blurbs

Quick Blurbs [SAP, Tripadvisor]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
[TRIP – Tripadvisor] This stock had a few crazy trading days last week, opening down 8% before closing up 2.5% on the first full trading day post-earning and then rallying again days later, apparently sparked by rustlings of a take-out [TRIP’s chairman Greg Maffei stoked such hopes a few months ago].  At least one investor already […]
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[TRIP] Tripadvisor

[TRIP – Tripadvisor] Good Asset, Fumbled Monetization Strategy

Posted on by scuttleblurb
For many years prior to 2012, Tripadvisor was accused of “over-monetizing” its site, bombarding visitors with “pop-up” windows that redirected visitors to the sites of its OTA and hotel ad partners.  In late 2012/early 2013, TRIP began replacing the antiquated pop-up model with in-line meta (so visitors could compare rates across different OTA and hotel […]
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[EQC] Equity Commonwealth, [OAK] Oaktree, [PPG] PPG Industries, [UAL] United Continental, Quick Blurbs

Quick Blurbs [Equity Commonwealth, Oaktree, PPG Industries, United Continental]

Posted on by scuttleblurb
[EQC – Equity Commonwealth] A few weeks ago I read Am I Being Too Subtle, authored by real estate maven Sam Zell and infused with the unquavering bluster I’ve come to expect in these business autobiographies.  I thought it was great.  I think he’s great.  Inspired by the book, I briefly revisited EQC, a US office […]
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[AHT] Ashtead, [FAST] Fastenal, [URI] United Rentals, Quick Blurbs

Quick Blurbs [Ashtead, Fastenal, MSC Industrial, United Rentals, Zion Oil & Gas]

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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[ASHG] Ash Grove Cement

[ASHG – Ash Grove Cement] Cheap Stock or Value Trap?

Posted on by scuttleblurb
“People always think more about how new ground can be broken than they think about how existing institutions can be sustained or existing facilities can be maintained.  It leads to a constant trap where we underinvest in old things, then old things disappoint us, then we feel a need for new things, then to satisfy […]
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