Scorecard # 40 – Reversals of Fortune
“There are a million ways to get wealthy… but there’s only one way to stay wealthy: some combination of frugality and paranoia”
Scorecard # 30 – Flashback
“As Mark Twain so aptly put it, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. The current market environment — especially in certain tech stocks — reminds us a little of the late ‘90s stock market.
Scorecard # 29 – The Bear
COVID-19 pulled a bear market out of hibernation and humanity took its place.
Scorecard # 25 – Booking.yeah
We made our initial investment in Booking Holdings (Nasdaq:BKNG) in late 2017 and recently added to our position. While we have previously disclosed that we owned the stock, we have not discussed its business in any detail. Here is a snapshot of our investment thesis.
Home Capital Group
… The unfolding Home Capital saga is both tragic and full of irony. We have owned the stock in the past, but haven’t for some time. Over the past year, Home Capital’s stock is down 84% and the company has lost over $2 billion of market value. Over a billion dollars of that decline happened in the past 7 days. The reason? A classic run on the bank.
Scorecard #18 – Cruel, Cruel Irony
… Over the past year, Home Capital’s stock is down (84%) and the company has lost over $2 billion of market value. Over a billion dollars of that decline happened in the past 7 days. The reason? A classic run on the bank. From my prior investment banking experience, I know the sector and the company very well. However, it has been so long since a bank failed in Canada that I actually had to look it up (1996 it seems).
Scorecard #12 – The Red Dragon and King Canute
… Plunging markets provide the environment in which the seeds of future capital gains are sown. In a declining market, we acquire more earnings power for each incremental dollar invested. Accordingly, lower prices reduce the riskiness of an investment.
Scorecard #8 – Unconventional Wisdom
… Cisco Systems is the world leader in the design, manufacture and sale of high-performance networking equipment for the Internet. Their products are ubiquitous and most often the industry standard. In an era of increasing usage of smartphones, tablets, and connected devices (the “Internet of Everything”) data transfer and consumption should continue to increase exponentially.