XL Media’s Salad Oil Scandal

The Salad Oil Scandal of 1963 was a crucial event in the career of Warren Buffett. In the aftermath of massive fraud, Buffett concentrated a large part of his portfolio in the stock of American Express (the victim of the scam) after its market value had dropped by more than half. For Buffett, the scandal … Continue reading XL Media’s Salad Oil Scandal

Is UpWork Profitable?

UpWork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) recently appointed Jeff McCombs as its new Chief Financial Officer. Now imagine that you are Jeff. You want to get a solid understanding of the business model, the drivers of value creation and profitability. A good place to start is to look at the income statement over the last few years.  UpWork … Continue reading Is UpWork Profitable?

Is Gamco Investors a Value Trap?

From most value investing metrics, the stock of Gamco Investors (NYSE:GBL) looks dirt cheap. Based on the trailing twelve-month earnings per share, GBL trades at a Price-to-Earnings ratio of about 5.3: 2Q20$0.421Q20$0.424Q19$0.913Q19$0.50EPS (TTM)$2.25Share Price12.11P/E Ratio5.38 If we use the 2019 Earnings per Share, the trailing P/E is about 4: 4Q190.913Q190.502Q190.881Q190.70EPS (TTM)2.99Share Price12.11P/E Ratio4.05 The operative … Continue reading Is Gamco Investors a Value Trap?

About that LTRPA NAV-discount

Liberty TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:LTRPA) is a publicly trading holding company that is effectively the controlling shareholder of TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP). Since the TripAdvisor stake is the company’s main asset, its fairly easy to track whether LTRPA stock is trading at a discount or premium to the current market value of TripAdvisor. Since 2018, Liberty TripAdvisor … Continue reading About that LTRPA NAV-discount

Overstock | Retail Value and Risk Factors

On May 15, Overstock (OSTK) filed a Form 4 with the SEC. The filing disclosed that Patrick Byrne, Overstock's CEO and Chairman, had sold 500,000 shares of common stock in the open market. That revelation sent Overstock down about 15% on the day. For me, going long Overstock has been a humbling experience. The thesis … Continue reading Overstock | Retail Value and Risk Factors

Renn Fund | Enter Horizon Kinetics

On June 13, 2016, Steven Stein, the President of Etude Capital, LLC sent an open letter to the Board of Directors of the Renn Fund. At the time, Etude Capital and its affiliates held 12.4% of the outstanding shares of the Renn Fund (NYSE MKT:RCG). Two months earlier, a shareholder meeting had voted in favour of a … Continue reading Renn Fund | Enter Horizon Kinetics

EXOR | FCA Monetization and Share Repurchases

On November 14, EXOR N.V. issued a press release whereby the company announced a €300 million share repurchase plan. Less than six months earlier, at the Exor annual meeting of shareholders, the board of directors had approved a share repurchase plan of €500 million, valid for the following 18 months. The additional repurchase plan comes … Continue reading EXOR | FCA Monetization and Share Repurchases

Overstock | A Special Situation

Overstock (OSTK) currently presents a Special Situation Investment Opportunity. As Overstock's founder has turned his focus on blockchain investments, the sale of the company's eCommerce operations is imminent. A review of recent M&A multiples in the eCommerce space suggests that at its current price, shares of Overstock are significantly undervalued. Overstock Decides to Sell Itself In 2014, … Continue reading Overstock | A Special Situation

Should Liberty Expedia Holdings Even Exist?

Liberty Expedia Holdings (LEXEA and LEXEB) is a holding company that was spun out of Liberty Interactive in 2016. The company owns two main assets, a controlling stake in Expedia Group and its wholly owned subsidiary Bodybuiding.com. A Classic John Malone Spin-off You might ask yourself why does Liberty Expedia Holdings even exist? The company … Continue reading Should Liberty Expedia Holdings Even Exist?