Hidden Value Part 2 - Cogent’s IPv4 Portfolio
In this post we discuss what we have learned (so far) about IPv4 addresses and Cogent’s opportunity to monetize them.
What Matters More - The Jockey or the Horse?
This Insight discusses the importance of quality CEOs vs. quality companies.
Narrative Changes, Part 2: Why the Cruise Sector Deserves a Narrative Change
In part two of our “Narrative Change” mini-series, we discuss why the Cruise sector could benefit from a narrative change in the near future.
What Drives Narrative Changes, Part 1
This is the first Insight in a two-part series in which we will discuss the reasons why narrative changes happen, positively and negatively, in public equities
Hidden Value – Cogent Communications
Cogent’s acquisition of Sprint Wireline is one of the most interesting deals we’ve ever seen. In this Insight we discuss how Cogent can unlock pockets of “hidden value” from Sprint.
Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s Private Island
In 2019, Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) introduced a $250m private island transformation called Perfect Day at CocoCay. All the major cruise operators own and operate private islands in the Caribbean, but RCL’s is the most impressive among them. According to the company, customer feedback around the on-shore experiences in the Caribbean was below RCL’s expectations for delivering consistently outstanding vacations. The company hypothesized that it could bring unique and highly satisfying experiences to customers through its private island transformation project. It has been overwhelmingly successful.
A Study of Luxury Companies
Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ferrari, Rolex. We know luxury when we see it, but can we cleanly categorize what’s luxury and what’s not? In this post, we will discuss some thoughts on luxury goods and services, and of course a few luxury stocks.
Anti-Models - Charter Communications
This post will discuss an anti-model for Recurve’s Builder Company framework: Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR).
AWI - Why do Ceiling Tiles Have Ferrari-like Margins?
This post will focus on a company with incredible pricing power: Armstrong World Industries (NYSE: AWI). AWI is the leading manufacturer of acoustical ceilings and walls in North America.
Pricing Power in Disruptive Companies
At the heart of a good business is a pricing curve that is more positive than a cost curve, hopefully driving a significant economic spread that widens over time.
Restoration Hardware’s Growth Inflection
In this post, we follow-up on our prior post about RH's buyback in June/July with our early look at RH's significant brand "relaunch" with significant new assortment available to customers across its core Interiors collection, as well as its new Contemporary line and its Modern line. The company expects this relaunch to drive an inflection in growth over the coming quarters.
Touring Carvana’s Operations
Over the last month, we had to opportunity to visit two of Carvana's (NYSE: CVNA) facilities - one Carvana Inspection and Reconditioning Center (IRC) and one ADESA auction site.
Cogent Communications - The Wavelength Opportunity
This post is about optical transport services, a specific and technical part of wireline telecom that is not well known to most investors, but is critical network infrastructure for cloud infrastructure providers (AMZN, GOOG, MSFT), AI companies (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.), content companies, and other cable/telco providers (CMCSA, CHTR, etc.).
The Stock-Picking Process
What unfolds in the future, relative to embedded expectations, will dictate future performance. The longer our investment horizon, the more likely it is that performance will roughly equate to growth in free cash flow per share. A lot of other factors seem important in the short term (economic cycle, geopolitical events, etc.), but their impacts diminish relative to growth in free cash flow per share as we extend the horizon. Ultimately, the approach should simplify to owning companies that you’d want to own privately on a long-term basis, through all the twists and turns of the global economy.
Carvana - A Vertically Integrated Powerhouse
In this post, we will use Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) as the subject of a study on how vertical integration can create sustainable competitive advantages.
Why Amazon’s AWS Revenue Slowdown is Good for Long-Term Returns: Understanding the Impact on AMZN, MSFT, and GOOG
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) recently reported AWS revenue growth of 12%, a far cry from its growth rates 2-3 years ago and its historic growth rates. In this post, we will walk through why we believe the short-term slowdown in the cloud computing industry is a positive indicator for future revenue growth and profitability for the cloud computing industry, especially Amazon but also Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG).
Insights on Restoration Hardware’s Massive Stock Buyback
Let's dive into the buzz around RH (NYSE: RH), a portfolio company better known as Restoration Hardware, a leading high-end furniture store that has recently made headlines by repurchasing nearly 3.7 million shares in June and July. With a track record of savvy capital allocation, RH's massive buyback spree is worth exploring. In this post, we will unpack their distinctive approach to stock buybacks, compare their strategy with other market leaders, and consider the implications of their latest big move.