Let the munching begin!

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

NVIDIA -- -- Write Up

SK Hynix -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Alpha Metallurgical Resources -- -- Write Up

REalloys -- -- Short Report

Celestica -- -- Write Up

Lululemon -- -- Write Up

SoFi Technologies -- -- Write Up

Inventiva -- -- Write Up

Comstock -- -- Write Up

Mastercard -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Sono-Tek -- -- Write Up (In French)

Consolidated Water -- -- Write Up

Bloom Energy -- -- Write Up

Netflix -- -- Write Up

ACM Research -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Concentrix -- -- Write Up

Bassett Furniture -- -- Write Up

Adobe -- -- Write Up

The RealReal -- -- Write Up

Pfizer -- -- Write Up

CareCloud -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Uranium Royalty -- -- Write Up

Cogent Communications -- -- Write Up

Lionheart Holdings -- -- Write Up

The E.W. Scripps Company -- -- Write Up

Cadre Holdings -- -- Write Up

Tenable -- -- $$$ -- Short Report

Energous -- -- Write Up

Noah Holdings -- -- Write Up

The Descartes Systems Group -- -- Write Up

Expeditors -- -- Write Up

Share

Paramount Skydance -- -- brief

Pool -- -- Earnings

Abbott -- -- Earnings

Meta -- -- Earnings

Allegion -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Microsoft -- -- Earnings

Via Transportation -- -- brief

Vistance Networks -- -- brief

SEACOR Marine Holdings -- -- brief

Rocket Lab -- -- brief

Lemonade -- -- Earnings

SAP SE -- -- Earnings

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners -- -- Earnings (In Spanish)

Kinsale Capital Group -- -- Earnings

FTAI Aviation -- -- brief

Apple -- -- Earnings

Markel -- -- Earnings

Yext -- -- brief

Lululemon -- -- brief

Pitney Bowes -- -- brief

Lending Tree -- -- brief

Duolingo -- -- brief

Costar Group -- -- Earnings

Alphabet -- -- brief

Cadence Design Systems -- -- brief

MercadoLibre -- -- brief

American Express -- -- Earnings

Cineverse -- -- brief

Lam Research -- -- Earnings

LKQ -- -- Earnings

Bridgford Foods -- -- brief

Floor & Decor -- -- Earnings

Grab -- -- Earnings

Uber -- -- Earnings

Coupang -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Global Payments -- -- Earnings

Amazon -- -- Earnings

Chipotle Mexican Grill -- -- brief

Seer -- -- brief

More Company Write Ups/Earnings/briefs

Read more

The inspiration came after listening to the book - The Holdco Guide by Peter Kang - I liked that book so much that I have both physical and audio versions.

Intro

A holding company is a parent company that owns other businesses or assets. The parent may own operating subsidiaries, public stocks, private companies, real estate, insurance operations, or minority investments. In some cases, very little happens at headquarters beyond financing, oversight, and capital allocation. In others, the parent also provides strategy, operating tools, talent, or shared services.

A good parent moves money from places where it is no longer needed to places where it can earn a better return. A bad parent adds another layer of executives, debt, fees, and complexity. The structure in itself is not as important as the management that allocates the capital.

This is why holding companies cannot be judged only by consolidated revenue or earnings. Investor has to understand the parent and the layers, where the cash is generated, how easily that cash can be moved, where the debt is located, and whether management is able to improve value per share over time. The best and easier example is Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett.

Why use a hold co structure?

The structure separates ownership from day-to-day operations. A subsidiary can have its own employees, customers, contracts, lenders, and management team, while the parent focuses on ownership and capital. That separation can help contain legal liabilities, organize financing, preserve control, and make it easier to buy or sell individual businesses.

The real attraction, however, is the internal capital market. A mature subsidiary may produce more cash than it can reinvest at attractive returns. Instead of leaving that money inside the business, parent co can use it to fund another subsidiary, buy a new company, repay debt, repurchase shares, pay a dividend, or simply wait for better opportunities. When this process is handled well, the parent gives shareholders something they could not easily reproduce by owning each subsidiary separately.

The same liabilities can hide the weaknesses and bad management. Headquarters may protect weak businesses, chase acquisitions to keep reported growth alive, or move capital according to internal politics rather than returns. Holdcos often go wrong not because the assets are bad, but because too much discretion sits with people who are poor allocators.

Visualization before doing the math

Before valuing a holding company, think over or put on spreadsheet details about corporate structure such as major subsidiaries, public stakes, private investments, joint ventures, special-purpose entities, etc. Next to each one, write down the ownership percentage, voting control, debt, minority owners, and any restrictions on sending cash to the parent. This is where putting pen to paper really makes a difference.

This simple exercise often reveals more than the income statement. A parent can report 100% of a controlled subsidiary’s revenue even though it owns less than 100% of the economics. Another parent may show little revenue while owning valuable minority stakes. Accounting presentation and economic ownership are not always the same.

Cash is also not simply “cash”. Money held inside a bank, insurer, regulated utility, foreign subsidiary, or partly owned company may not be available to headquarters. Some of it is needed for claims, working capital, regulation, or debt covenants. Consolidated cash is not the same thing as parent cash.

Debt cuts both ways

Debt must be separated by entity. Parent debt depends on dividends, distributions, or asset sales from below. If those cash flows stop, the parent can run into trouble even when its subsidiaries remain valuable. Subsidiary debt may be less dangerous when it is truly non-recourse, but guarantees, cross-defaults, collateral pledges, and reputational obligations can pull the risk back up to the parent. This is were footnotes and fine print is very important.

A diversified collection of businesses does not automatically make a holdco conservative. Near-term parent maturities combined with trapped subsidiary cash can be a serious problem. The best holdcos generally protect parent liquidity because financial flexibility is most valuable when markets are volatile.

Capital allocation is the main job

At the parent level, there are only a handful of choices: reinvest in existing businesses, buy new ones, acquire minority stakes, repay debt, repurchase shares, pay dividends, hold cash, or sell and spin off assets. Every choice competes with every other choice.

Good capital allocators understand that doing nothing can be the right decision. They do not buy a business simply because cash is available. They sell when another owner is willing to pay more than the asset is worth inside the group. They repurchase shares when those are undervalued , and are willing to issue debt when numbers make sense.

Poor allocators tend to repeat the same mistakes: overpaying for acquisitions, issuing stock when it is cheap, using optimistic adjusted earnings to defend a deal, and rewarding management for company size instead of per-share value. The best evidence is not what management says its philosophy is. It is the record of what management actually did with the money.

The numbers that matter

The most important measure is growth in intrinsic value per share. Revenue, assets, EBITDA, and total enterprise value can all rise while shareholders become worse off. A company can grow by issuing undervalued stock, borrowing too much, or buying businesses at prices that leave little room for an acceptable return.

Supporting measures depend on the type of holdco. Investment holding companies are often judged on net asset value per share. Insurance holdcos require analysis of underwriting, reserves, combined ratios, and float. Bank holding companies require capital, credit, deposit, and liquidity analysis. Serial acquirers should be judged on returns on incremental capital, not simply the number of acquisitions completed.

Look-through earnings can be useful when the parent owns minority stakes. A company may receive only a small dividend while its share of the underlying business earns much more. But retained earnings deserve value only when the investee can reinvest them intelligently. Economic ownership matters more than where accounting rules place the earnings.

How to value a holding company

Most holdcos are best approached with a sum-of-the-parts valuation. Value each major asset using the method that fits: market value for listed securities, normalized earnings or discounted cash flow for private businesses, book-value and underwriting analysis for insurers, and sector-specific methods for banks, real estate, infrastructure, or asset managers.

Then subtract what belongs to others or sits ahead of common shareholders: parent debt, preferred stock, minority interests, pension deficits, taxes, and recurring corporate overhead. Taxes require judgment. A liability due next year is different from a deferred tax that may remain unpaid for decades. Headquarters expenses matter a lot (especially in early days) because a permanent annual cost is a permanent claim on value.

The resulting net asset value is only a starting point. A discount may be deserved when governance is weak, cash is trapped, assets are illiquid, disclosure is poor, or management has no credible plan for creating value. A discount is more useful when the company can compound through it by repurchasing shares, selling assets, paying distributions, or simplifying the structure.

Share

Different holdcos have different engines

This is not a full list of possible holdcos but a few major ones.

• Insurance based holdcos

Insurance-based holdcos combine underwriting, an investment portfolio, and sometimes a collection of non-insurance businesses. Their engine is insurance float: premiums are collected before claims are paid, leaving capital that can be invested in the meantime. Float can be extremely valuable when underwriting is disciplined and reserves are conservative, but it remains a liability rather than free money. The main questions are the cost, stability, and duration of the float, along with the risks taken in investing it.

Investment and family-controlled holdcos

Investment holdcos primarily own public and private stakes and are usually analyzed through net asset value per share. Family control can support patience and long-term decision-making, but it also raises questions about voting power, governance, and the treatment of minority shareholders. A discount to NAV is meaningful only after considering parent debt, taxes, corporate costs, liquidity, and management’s record of increasing value per share.

Asset managements

These holdcos sit at the center of an ecosystem that may include an asset manager, listed affiliates, private funds, carried interest, insurance-like capital, and direct investments. The advantage is the ability to scale through outside capital and earn recurring fees while retaining meaningful investment exposure. The drawback is complexity: investors must separate recurring fee earnings, performance fees, balance-sheet assets, minority interests, overhead, and leverage without double counting. This is also were you can find accounting shenanigans.

Decentralized acquisition compounders

Decentralized compounders repeatedly buy smaller businesses, leave operating decisions close to local managers, and centralize capital allocation. The engine works when the parent has disciplined purchase prices, a repeatable sourcing process, good measurement, and a large runway of targets. The risk is that success leads to larger deals, more competition, weaker underwriting, and potentially declining returns on each new dollar invested.

Diversified & emerging holding companies

Some public holdcos are built gradually around several unrelated businesses and investments rather than one dominant operating company. These can offer multiple ways to create value, but they also require careful separation of each subsidiary’s economics, capital needs, and maturity. Smaller holdcos should be judged especially closely on parent overhead, access to capital, dilution, and whether management is building a coherent compounding system rather than simply collecting assets.

Spinoffs and builder models

Another a bit different example are holdcos that emerge after selling or shrinking the business that originally defined them. The old corporate identity may matter less than the current assets and the parent’s record of recycling capital. Investors should focus on what was retained, what was bought or sold, and whether those decisions increased value per share.

Pros and Cons

The advantages are real, and they explain why the structure persists. Capital can move between businesses without the taxes and friction an outside investor would face moving money between two unrelated public companies. A permanent parent can hold a weak market patiently instead of being forced to sell on a fund’s timeline. Decision-making can be concentrated with a manager who has a long record of good judgment, and that manager can then operate across very different businesses instead of just one, and shareholders gets exposure to several separate cash flows through a single set of shares, which is convenient for someone who trusts management but does not want to research and monitor multiple different companies alone.

The risks are also too. Complexity makes company harder to value, and market often applies a large discount for that alone, whether or not it is deserved. Capital meant for the best opportunity can instead prop up the weakest subsidiary, especially when a management is reluctant to admit mistakes. Headquarters add permanent cost that a single-business competitor does not carry. And when people allocating capital also control the votes, outside shareholders have limited power to force a change if results disappoint for years at a time.

Governance matters > the org chart

Public shareholders in a holdco may sit several layers away from the assets. Control may rest with a founder, family, trust, dual-class structure, or management group. Long-term control can protect a company from short-term pressure, but it can also protect insiders from accountability.

The useful distinction is stewardship versus entrenchment. Positive signs include meaningful insider ownership, candid communication, modest headquarters costs, disciplined share issuance, and a record of treating minority owners fairly. Warning signs include related-party deals, excessive compensation, opaque reporting, repeated dilution, and transactions designed mainly to preserve control.

Culture matters because decentralized organizations cannot be managed by rulebook alone. Headquarters depends on subsidiary managers to act honestly and rationally. A company’s culture is revealed less by its annual-letter language than by what it does after a bad acquisition, during a downturn, or when the share price falls well below intrinsic value.

Succession risk is real … maybe

Many holding companies are shaped by a founder. That can be an advantage when that person has strong judgment and a proven record, but it also creates risk if too much depends on that just one person. A well built holdco should be able to function after that person leaves. It needs capable managers, clear responsibilities, strong incentives, and a board that protects the company’s long-term approach. Investors should look for signs that the culture and capital-allocation process are part of the organization (from day one) not just the personality of its leader.

Checklist

Okay, now that we spoke a bit about holdcos in general, here is a quick list to analyze a holdco:

1. Start by listing the assets and ownership percentages. Do not begin with the consolidated P/E ratio.

2. Identify where cash is generated and how much can actually reach the parent.

3. Separate debt and other claims by entity, maturity, recourse, and guarantee.

4. Normalize the earning power of each important business and distinguish maintenance spending from growth investment.

5. Build a conservative sum-of-the-parts valuation and subtract debt, taxes, minority interests, and capitalized overhead.

6. Study management’s record across acquisitions, sales, buybacks, dividends, debt decisions, and share issuance.

7. Assess governance, incentives, control, culture, and succession.

8. Stress-test the structure under lower earnings, restricted dividends, higher interest costs, or a failed acquisition.

In Conclusion

Owning a collection of businesses does not automatically make a holding company valuable. What matters is the quality of the assets, how effectively the parent uses the cash they produce, and whether management makes decisions that benefit shareholders over time.

A strong holdco can create value by moving capital to the best opportunities, keeping debt under control, and allowing good businesses to operate independently. A weak one can become a place where poor investments, unnecessary complexity, and insider interests are hidden. In the end, the success of a holding company depends less on its structure and more on how well it is managed.

Holdings Disclosure

At the time of this publication, I do own shares of in my main portfolio, while I also own tiny positions of $BRK.B and in my IRA account.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for informational and educational purposes only.

The information is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice or any other advice, is general in nature, and is not specific to you. Before using this article’s information to make an investment decision, you should seek the advice of a qualified and registered securities professional and undertake your own due diligence.

None of the information in this article is intended as investment advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any security, company, or fund. The author is not responsible for any investment decision made by you. You are responsible for your own investment research and investment decisions.

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

Uber -- UBER -0.43%↓ -- Write Up

Tyler Technologies -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Lumen Technologies -- -- Write Up

Buckle -- -- Write Up

InMode -- -- Write Up

SpaceX -- -- Write Up

RTB Digital -- -- Short Report

Mobile Infrastructure -- -- Write Up

Noodles -- -- Write Up

New York Times Group -- -- Write Up

Sunpower -- -- Write Up

Alphabet -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Netflix -- -- Write Up

Atlassian -- TEAM 6.13%↑ -- Write Up

Owlet -- -- Short Report

Wix -- -- Write Up

Chipotle -- -- Write Up

AppLovin -- -- Write Up

Tractor Supply -- -- Write Up

HF Sinclair -- -- Write Up

Affirm -- -- Short Report

MercadoLibre -- -- Write Up

FitLife Brands -- -- Write Up

Immix Biopharma -- -- Write Up

Constellation Energy -- -- Write Up

Sky Harbour -- -- Write Up

Lyft -- -- Short Report

LeMaitre Vascular -- -- Write Up

Amplitech Group -- -- Write Up

Heico -- -- Write Up (Part 1)

Heico -- -- Write Up (Part 2)

Fair Isaac -- -- Write Up

Alibaba -- -- Write Up

Miami International Holdings -- -- Write Up

Dauch -- -- Write Up

Bank OZK -- -- Short Report

CoStar -- -- brief

Forgent Power Solutions -- -- brief

ServiceNow -- -- Earnings

Eli Lilly -- -- brief

Intel -- -- Earnings

Stagwell -- -- brief

Circle -- -- brief

Mastercard -- -- brief

ASML Holding -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Duolingo -- -- brief

Mobility Global -- -- brief

Accelerant Holdings -- -- Earnings

Adobe -- -- brief

Crescent Energy -- -- brief

Warner Bros. Discovery -- -- brief

Lowe's Companies -- -- brief

Tapestry -- -- brief

Northrop Grumman -- -- Earnings

Transmedics Group -- -- $$$ -- brief

PayPal -- -- brief

Novo Nordisk -- -- brief

Owlet -- -- brief

Tesla -- -- Earnings

NVE Corp -- -- Earnings (In French)

Philip Morris International -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Intuitive Surgical -- -- Earnings

Integer Holdings -- -- brief

Talen Energy -- -- brief

Quantumscape -- -- Earnings

Sony -- -- brief

Medpace -- -- Earnings

Perma-Fix Environmental Services -- -- brief

Genie Energy -- -- brief

SPS Commerce -- -- brief

Domo -- -- brief

Grab -- -- brief

Wise -- -- Earnings

Snowflake -- -- brief

Chipotle -- -- Earnings

Cognizant -- -- brief

Rocket Lab -- -- brief

Full House Resorts -- -- brief

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More Company Write Ups/Earnings/briefs

Euroz Hartleys -- $ASX:EZL -- Write Up

Kaanapali Land -- $KANP -- Write Up

Henry Boot -- $LON:BOOT -- Write Up

Groupe Guillin -- $EPA:ALGIL -- Write Up

Saga -- $LON:SAGA -- Write Up

Nintendo -- $NTDOY -- Write Up

Lindt & Sprüngli -- $CHLSY -- $$$ -- Write Up

Vusion SA -- $EPA:VU -- Write Up

Smart Shooter -- $TLV:SMSH -- Write Up

Mowi -- $MHGVY -- Write Up

Stalprodukt -- $WSE:STP -- Write Up

Squeeze -- $TYO: 558A -- Write Up

Volkswagen -- $VWAGY -- $$$ -- Write Up

Kelly Partners Group -- $KPGHF -- Write Up

Europris -- $FRA:2RG -- Write Up

Amundi Prime Euro Government Bond 0-1Y UCITS ETF Acc -- $PRAB.DE -- brief

NamSys -- $CVE:CTZ -- Earnings (In French)

Alpargatas S.A. -- $ALPA3.SA -- brief

Vopak -- $VOPKF -- brief

GE Aerospace -- $BVMF:GEOO34 -- brief

Roko AB -- $STO:ROKO-B -- Earnings

Berkshire Hathaway -- $BRK.A -- brief

Aurelia Metals -- $ASX:AMI -- brief

Moury Construct -- $EBR:MOUR -- brief

Evolution -- $EVVTY -- Earnings

Company “Research” via Audio & Video Formats

Meta -- -- Podcast

Pulsenmore -- -- Podcast

SpaceX -- -- Podcast

Hilton -- -- Podcast

BriaCell Therapeutics -- -- Podcast

Rivian Automotive -- -- Podcast

Pinduoduo -- -- Podcast

Kaltura -- -- Podcast

Apple -- -- Podcast

Netflix -- -- Podcast

Nauticus Robotics -- -- Podcast

Comcast -- -- Podcast

Opendoor -- -- Podcast

Perimeter Solutions -- -- Podcast

Spartan Metals -- $SPRMF -- Podcast

Fairfax Financial -- $FRFHF -- Podcast

Paragon Advanced Labs -- $CVE:PALS -- Podcast

Subscribe now

Sky Harbour -- -- YouTube

ACCESS Newswire -- -- YouTube

Salesforce -- -- YouTube

Atlassian -- TEAM 6.13%↑ -- YouTube

Hims & Hers -- HIMS -16.54%↓ -- YouTube

Boston Scientific -- -- YouTube

Owlet -- -- YouTube

SpaceX -- -- YouTube

Intuit -- INTU 3.02%↑ -- YouTube

Kinsale Capital Group -- -- YouTube

PayPal -- -- YouTube

Coupang -- -- YouTube

Duolingo -- -- YouTube

IBM -- -- YouTube

Crexendo -- -- YouTube

ServiceNow -- -- YouTube

Alphabet -- GOOG 0.10%↑ -- YouTube

Kolibri Global Energy -- -- YouTube

Copart -- -- YouTube

Playboy -- -- YouTube

Universal Health Services -- -- YouTube

Netflix -- -- YouTube

United Healthcare -- -- YouTube

Wise -- -- YouTube

Creative Realities -- -- YouTube

Crocs -- -- YouTube

Archer Aviation -- -- YouTube

Adobe -- -- YouTube

Danaher -- -- YouTube

Microsoft -- -- YouTube

Badger Meter -- -- YouTube

United Parks -- -- YouTube

RenoWorks Software -- $ROWKF -- YouTube

Africa Bitcoin -- $JSE:BAC -- YouTube

Nova Leap Health -- $NVLPF -- YouTube

BuildDirect -- $BDCTF -- YouTube

Light & Wonder -- $ASX: LNW -- YouTube

Pony.ai -- -- Substack Video

North Arrow Minerals -- $NHAWF -- Video

Neo Performance Materials -- $NOPMF -- Video

Interesting Links

The Floor to the Boardroom

5 Setups Worth Watching by

The Top Hedge Funds of 2026 (So Far) by

Stan Druckenmiller: Defying the Laws of Finance by

Aerospace - The Most Beautiful Industry in the World by

etc.

SuperJoost Playlist

Will in-game ads work this time around?

In this week’s office-hour session, I dig into Xbox’s new test of ad-supported game streaming and why it might finally stick…

Listen now

21 days ago · 12 likes · 4 comments · SuperJoost

Skull Sessions

Skull Session: Hugo Navarro on Finding Misunderstood And Mispriced Small-Caps

After first meeting Hugo Navarro virtually as a Skull Session guest on GeoInvesting in 2025, I finally met Hugo in person at the Planet MicroCap Showcase in Las Vegas. Although he’s only 19, he’d already built a strong following through his Substack…

Listen now

a month ago · 7 likes · Skull Sessions and Maj Soueidan

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*Portfolio*

*I am NOT a financial advisor. I’m sharing my investing journey. Not investment advice. Do your own research.*

Portfolio (Basic):

Holding since:

2020 - LKQ 0.00%↑ - 03

2021 - SFM 0.00%↑ - 03 | VMD 0.00%↑ - 05

2022 - $NTDOY - 12

2023 - PYPL 0.00%↑ - 01

2024 - - 04 | - 09

2025 - - 01* | - 08 | $CR?? - 08 | $CR?? - 10 | - 10 | $EVVTY - 11 | - 12

2026 - - 02* | $DE?? - 03 | $M?? - 03 | $P??? - 06 | $N?? - 06 | $AC?? - 06

*IAC originally was purchased in 2021, but sold at the end of 2024 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*EVVTY originally was purchased in 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*MITK originally was purchased 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2026.

Complimentary Monthly Commentary - CMC

Before going into the portfolio, I want to do small announcement:

Moving forward I will be limiting access to my Monthly Portfolio Updates to show only * Portfolio * and everything below it will go behind paywall. You will still see the holdings and amounts but more of commentary and other things will go behind paywall. Reason for it is - it takes time from my day to day to do this (especially as my girls are growing and requiring more of my time) doing commentary for free and paid just takes too much time to some times that requires me having to update things "twice".

If you want to support me and give it a try, you can subscribe for one year at 50% discount

Get 50% off for 1 year

I have initiated a new position that I will discuss a bit more later on for paid subs.

I’m also revealing one of my holdings that was not fully discussed before and that is Franklin Covey -

Previously did a quick write up on it

Another news to share is that Onfolio has initiated LOI with Paramount Helium which is why I think the stock been tanking lately … Onfolio and Paramount Helium have until July 24th to get the deal closed or its a no go - really out of the blue and something that I’m not in the best mood about and monitoring closely as it develops.

FC and EVVTY earnings:

Moving on GRVY finally announced they will be doing dividend the problem is we don’t know when and how much but at least we are moving in the right direction. Also on GRVY note, Ragnarok:Rebirth came out in N/A and I been doing some “due diligence” on it so that might have also something to do with why the monthly update come out a few days later…

Lastly there has been another shot at PYPL to get taken out at a lowball price by Stripe which I really think is a nothingburger unless Stripe and its partners go at least $70-80 per share … why that? I really don’t know (at 70-80 we at least getting around at least 70 billion, while at the 60 that they offered it just feels like there is too much pain and I don’t think CEO is incentivized to for anything below $75) just throwing a random price which is what everyone else do except they give you some fancy bullsh@t reason…

Planet MicroCap Conference in Las Vegas

This was my second time at Planet Microcap in Las Vegas and although this trip was shorter then last years, I still had a blast and there was a lot of companies that if it wasn’t for PlanetMicroCap I would probably didn’t check them out and would probably not heard of them until it would be late (if you know what I mean). I’m going to try to get to the one in Canada for next year.

Here are the presentations from a few of my favorite ones:

You can watch the rest of in playlist that Planet Micro Cap has created on their YouTube channel

Click here to go to YouTube

Private Investment getting traction

One of my private investment companies - Aries are in beta testing…

If you want to check it out, use my link here or just check it out below

Books

I realized that my descriptions of the books that I read may not always give them full credit as when I read these books and when I write about them, I only share one or two things that really stand out to me. So I have decided to also include a quick short description from Goodreads (no affiliations) so that way you get my thoughts but also more generic description to get a better feel for the books and in so hopefully adding them to your “to-read-list”.

This time around I finished four audiobooks:

The Memoirs of Walter J. Schloss: A Practical Guide to Life and Value Investing by Walter J. Schloss

YZ:

This short listen goes over life of Walter Schloss and his investing, I thought it was a nice quick listen on Mr Schloss’s life and although he did great for his period I think his style wouldn’t really work now (that is why he stopped/closed fund 2000-2003 … he did say so himself) with that said, I think a lot of us could learn about being humble from Mr Schloss.

“Play your own game and to your own advantage and if either of those go away, either try to evolve or stop, there is no shame in that.”

Novel Investor:

Walter Schloss shares stories and lessons from his life growing up in New York, getting his first job on Wall Street, enlisting in WWII, returning to work for Ben Graham, and successfully running his own partnership for 47 years.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Compounders: From Small Acquisitions to Giant Shareholder Returns by Adnan Hadžiefendić, Dybvad Oddbjorn, and Kjetil Nyland

YZ:

Actually while listening to The Holdco Guide I started to read physical book The Compounders but then I found copy of it on Audible and switched to audio. Great book to learn about Nordic Acquirers (and a few others) and just in general to learn what makes great compounders and to learn that there are many different ones. My main takeaway was that the most important is proper metrics / management / and some kind of niche.

Goodreads:

Every investor has heard of Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and Berkshire Hathaway. But what if there were other firms flying under the radar and taking their investing strategy to the next level—using powerful principles and techniques that you can learn from right now?The Compounders introduces these remarkable companies to a wider audience for the first time. Discover a select group of high-performing conglomerates, led by exceptional capital allocators. These firms, operating decentralized structures in fragmented markets, redefine acquisitive growth. Unlike conventional roll-ups or turnarounds, they target smaller private businesses, often family owned, with a precise, data-driven acquisition process. And while private market investors, they are publicly listed—avoiding the usual constraints of private equity.

At the heart of these organisations lies an astonishing reinvestment engine that seamlessly bridges top-tier capital allocation and the entrepreneurial drive of decentralized autonomy.

The Compounders reveals nine of these overlooked publicly traded conglomerates from around the world, united by a common vision of top-tier value creation—and explores in depth how these companies consistently outperform industry giants like Berkshire Hathaway and major stock market indexes.

Discover the strategies, learn from the success stories, and unlock the secrets of investing in acquisition-driven compounders—where diversity, resilience and scale come together to produce unmatched financial success.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Never Enough: From Barista to Billionaire by Andrew Wilkinson

YZ:

There are a few ways to learn about someone … you could ask them personally, learn about them from others, or you could read/listen to their autobiography. I mostly knew of Andrew Wilkinson from “others” aka twitter … which to be honest not always the best source, which brought me to wanting to learn more about Andrew since he took Tiny public and my interest in Daily Journal.

Before you judge someone from words of others, try to learn from the original source and no matter what anyone says Andrew has an interesting story … from meeting Steve Jobs at 15 to meeting/having dinner-lunch with Charlie Munger - Bill Ackman and taking Tiny public (lets not get into the performance). Social media or media in general will always magnify the good and the bad (that’s what they - did do and will continue do in the future) and after listening to the book (even though it sounded at times a bit glorifying) I have a bit different (in a good way) perspective on Andrew Wilkinson.

Goodreads:

Andrew Wilkinson, touted as the Warren Buffett of tech, pulls back the curtain on the lives of the ultra-rich in this memoir outlining Wilkinson’s rapid rise from barista to successful entrepreneur.

Readers will get fresh insights into building a successful business and a surprising, first-person account of what it’s actually like to become a billionaire.

By the age of thirty-five, Andrew Wilkinson had built a business worth over a billion dollars, but his path to success was anything but a straight line. Never Enough shares both the lessons Wilkinson has learned as well as the many mistakes made on the road to wealth—some of which cost him money, happiness, and important relationships.

Taking a “no secrets” approach to the story billionaires rarely tell, Wilkinson is unwaveringly honest about some of the unexpected downsides of wealth. Money’s toxic effect on personal relationships, how the lifestyles of the rich and famous aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and how competition with peers leaves everyone—even billionaires—feeling like they never have enough.

In this rare and deeply honest glimpse into the life of a billionaire, Wilkinson examines not only his journey to nine zeros but also what comes after that pinnacled number—something, as Wilkinson has come to realize, that money can’t buy.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

YZ:

This one is a bit different from others… and I would say this one is the most important listen from all others, because it hits somewhere where investing (no matter how much I love it) will not be and that’s the first place which goes to my family/my kids. I realized that I can multitask at a lot of things but one thing I cant multitask at is raising kids and doing other things. For my kids that’s all I must do (one thing at a time) otherwise I don’t give it my 100% and as my girls are growing day by day - year by year I must give them more of my attention, which brought me to this book as my oldest recently (ish) turned 8 and some of her friends are using phones (some of them were using phone/tablet before five) my girl only recently started using iPad and nothing else.

I (and a lot of you guys and gals) grew up right in the middle between two crucial generations when it comes to tech but my kids and your kids (and your future kids) will not have the same conscious luxury as we had.

As much as I think internet is awesome, there are things on it that are NOT awesome for kids and current tech with its advantages - are actually creating more disadvantages for this and next generations - unless we change the way we deal with tech on day to day basis.

If you have kids or if you are planning kids … I think this book is a must read/listen … and even if your kids are already grown up I think this is worth everyone’s time to get educated on what’s going on with current generations mental health and why kids are (probably / most likely) the way they are right now…

Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Coddling of the American Mind, an essential investigation into the collapse of youth mental health—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood

After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why?

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the play-based childhood began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the phone-based childhood in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this great rewiring of childhood has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the collective action problems that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.

Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot afford to ignore his findings about protecting our children—and ourselves—from the psychological damage of a phone-based life.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

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Let the munching begin!

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

Caretrust REIT -- -- Write Up (In Spanish)

StepStone -- -- $$$ -- Short Report

One Stop Systems -- -- Write Up

SAP SE -- -- Write Up

CrowdStrike -- -- Write Up

Micron -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Fair Isaac Corporation -- -- Write Up

Moonlake Therapeutics -- -- Write Up

MercadoLibre -- -- Write Up

Sadot Group -- -- Short Report

Molson Coors -- -- Write Up

Cooper Companies -- -- Write Up

Somnigroup -- -- Write Up

Voyager -- -- Write Up

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals -- -- Short Report

Hertz Global -- -- Write Up

Valero Energy -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Badger Meter -- -- Write Up

Kingsway -- -- Write Up

Celsius -- -- Write Up

Heico -- -- Write Up

Bloom Energy -- -- Write Up

Pagaya Technologies -- -- Write Up

Intuit -- -- Write Up

Qualcomm -- -- Write Up

Hub Group -- -- Write Up

The Walt Disney -- DIS -1.04%↓ -- $$$ -- Write Up

Bending Spoons -- -- Write Up

Kelly Services -- -- Write Up

Microsoft -- -- Write Up

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet -- -- Write Up

Build-A-Bear Workshop -- -- Write Up

Monday.Com -- -- Write Up

Hesai Group -- -- Write Up

Bloom Energy -- -- Short Report

Samsara -- -- Write Up

A.O. Smith -- -- Write Up

Atlassian -- -- Write Up

Comcast -- -- Write Up

Computer Modelling Group -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Agility Robotics -- -- Write Up

Kaspi -- -- Write Up

Salesforce -- -- Write Up

Paycom Software -- -- Write Up

Renew Energy Global -- -- Write Up

Redwire -- -- Short Report

Snowflake -- SNOW -3.70%↓ -- Write Up

Boston Omaha -- -- Write Up

Tripadvisor -- TRIP 3.39%↑ -- Write Up

Verisk -- -- Write Up

Summit Therapeutics -- -- Write Up

Magnum Ice Cream -- -- Write Up

Sprouts Farmers Market -- -- Write Up

Stryker -- -- Write Up

Karooooo -- -- Write Up

Share

Dave -- -- brief

Amazon -- -- brief

Nebius -- -- brief

ASML -- -- brief

Intuit -- -- brief

SoFi -- -- Earnings

Nomad Foods -- -- brief

Shift4 -- -- $$$ -- brief

IREN -- -- brief

Alibaba -- -- brief

Strategy -- -- brief

Ashland -- -- brief

Merlin -- -- brief

Seer -- -- brief

Broadcom -- -- brief

Shift4 -- -- brief

FactSet Research Systems -- -- Earnings

Quantumscape -- -- brief

Nike -- -- Earnings

Cognizant -- -- brief

Liberty Latin America -- -- brief

Costar Group -- -- brief

Meta -- -- brief

Crocs -- -- brief

T-Mobile Us -- -- brief

Liquidia -- -- brief

Versant Media Group -- -- brief

Fastenal -- -- brief

People -- -- $$$ -- brief

DMRC -- -- brief

QXO -- -- brief

NVIDIA -- -- brief

Wise -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

FuelCell Energy -- -- brief

S&P Global -- -- brief (In Spanish)

CrowdStrike -- -- brief

High Tide -- -- Earnings

Solstice -- -- brief

WD-40 Company -- -- Earnings

Uber -- UBER -0.43%↓ -- Earnings

PepsiCo -- PEP 1.22%↑ -- brief

Fiverr -- -- brief

Booking Holdings -- -- brief

Fervo Energy -- -- brief

Entravision -- -- brief

Cerebras Systems -- -- Earnings

Alphabet -- -- brief

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Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

Elastic -- -- Write Up

Ensign Group -- -- Short Report

Achieve Life Sciences -- -- Write Up

VersaBank -- -- Write Up

Veeva Systems -- -- Write Up

Belden -- -- Write Up

Amazon -- -- Write Up

Tripadvisor -- -- Write Up

Walmart -- -- Write Up

Velo3D -- -- Short Report

GEE Group -- -- Write Up

FST Ltd -- -- Write Up

Manchester United -- -- Write Up

Arista Networks -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Micron -- -- Write Up

Intuit -- -- Write Up

EquipmentShare -- -- Short Report

Vera Therapeutics -- -- Write Up

Zoetis -- -- Write Up

CoStar Group -- -- Write Up

BlackLine -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

SAP -- -- Write Up

Palantir -- -- Write Up

Adobe -- -- Write Up

Hubbell -- -- Write Up

Hyliion -- -- Short Report

Sea Limited -- -- Write Up

Wingstop -- -- Write Up

Pinduoduo -- -- Write Up

Celsius Holdings -- -- Write Up

Freecast -- -- Short Report

ServiceNow -- -- Write Up

enGene Therapeutics -- -- Write Up

Alphabet -- -- Write Up

Broadcom -- -- Write Up

Industrial Logistics Properties Trust -- -- Write Up

Adobe -- -- Earnings

Micron -- -- Earnings

Accenture -- -- Earnings

Nokia -- -- brief

PayPal -- -- $$$ -- brief

Cerebras Systems -- -- Earnings

Oracle -- -- brief

Copart -- -- brief

Fox -- -- brief

Darden Restaurants -- -- Earnings

Barnes & Noble Education -- -- Earnings

Apple -- -- brief

Lifeway Foods -- -- brief

Arista Networks -- -- brief

Lockheed Martin -- -- brief

MercadoLibre -- -- Earnings

Uber -- -- Earnings

Take-Two Interactive -- -- brief

AnaptysBio -- -- brief

Liquidia -- -- brief

Rubrik -- -- Earnings

Costco -- -- brief

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More Company Write Ups/Earnings/briefs

Obrascon Huarte Lain SA -- $BME:OHLA -- Write Up

Selamat Sempurna -- $IDX:SMSM -- Write Up

Besi -- $AMS:BESI -- $$$ -- Write Up

Distribution Finance Capital -- $LON:DFCH -- Write Up

Xplora Technologies -- $FRA:86P -- Write Up

Urbana -- $URNAF -- $$$ -- Write Up

Investment AB Latour -- $STO:LATO-B -- Write Up

Lum Chang Creations -- $SGX:LCC -- $$$ -- Write Up

Adyen -- $ADYEY -- Write Up

Trend Micro -- $TMICY -- Write Up

Churchill China -- $LON:CHH -- Write Up

Aimia -- $AIMFF -- Write Up

Proservice Building Servcs -- $LON:PRO -- Write Up

Edenred -- $EDNMY -- Write Up

Rockpoint Gas Storage -- $RPGSF -- Write Up

Harmonic Drive Systems -- $TYO:6324 -- Write Up

Aurum Proptech -- $NSE:AURUM -- brief

INDITEX -- $IDEXY -- Earnings

Tencent Holdings -- $TCEHY -- $$$ -- brief

Tekmar Group -- $LON:TGP -- brief

SDCL -- $LON:SEIT -- brief

Hydreight Technologies -- $HYDTF -- brief

Aurora Spine -- $ASAPF -- $$$ -- brief

Midea Group -- $SHE:000333 -- brief

Berkshire Hathaway -- $BRK.A -- brieft

Company “Research” via Audio & Video Formats

Mobilicom -- -- Podcast

Salesforce -- -- Podcast

Calidi Biotherapeutics -- -- Podcast

Intel -- -- Podcast

Copa Holdings -- -- Podcast

Dlocal -- -- Podcast

Snowflake -- -- Podcast

Terra Innovatum -- -- Podcast

Maison Solutions -- -- Podcast

SpaceX -- -- Podcast

Build-A-Bear Workshop -- -- Podcast

Rave Restaurant -- -- Podcast

American Tower -- -- Podcast

Paramount Gold Nevada -- -- Podcast

ZenaTech -- -- Podcast

Arq -- -- Podcast

The Walt Disney -- -- Podcast

Evolution -- $EVVTY -- Podcast

Kits Eyecare -- $KTYCF -- Podcast

Lenovo -- $HKG:0992 -- Podcast

Honeywell Aerospace -- $HONAV -- Podcast

Holcim -- $HCMLY -- Podcast

Cizzle Brands -- $CZZLF -- Podcast

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Netflix -- -- YouTube

Onfolio -- -- YouTube

Figure Technology -- -- YouTube

Chegg -- -- YouTube

Nvidia -- -- YouTube

Conagra Brands -- -- YouTube

Papa John's -- -- YouTube

Micron -- -- YouTube

T-Mobile -- -- YouTube

SPGI -- -- YouTube

Alibaba -- -- YouTube

Aduro -- -- YouTube

Versant Media Group -- -- YouTube

Adobe -- -- YouTube

Fiserv -- -- YouTube

Alphabet -- -- YouTube

Oracle -- -- YouTube

PepsiCo -- -- YouTube

Krispy Kreme -- -- YouTube

Texas Pacific Land -- -- YouTube

Strawberry Fields REIT -- -- YouTube

CoreWeave -- -- YouTube

CrowdStrike -- -- YouTube

YouGov -- $LON:YOU -- YouTube

Ascentech -- $TYO:3565 -- YouTube

IC Group Holdings -- $CVE:ICGH -- YouTube

Zest -- $BIT:ZEST -- YouTube

Kraken Robotics -- $KRKNF -- YouTube

Interesting Links

Gems from the Magic Screen by

etc.

That’s crazy we hit 100th edition! Thank you everyone who has been reading and supporting From100kto1m and BWM segment, I really appreciate it!

Let the munching begin!

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

VSE Corp -- -- Write Up

MannKind -- -- Write Up

Innventure -- -- Short Report

Qualcomm -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Alico -- -- Write Up

Salesforce -- -- Write Up

Rollins -- -- Write Up

Sea -- -- Write Up

Astrotech -- -- Short Report

Sky Harbour -- -- Write Up

Vertiv -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Nokia Oyj -- NOK 4.20%↑ -- Write Up

Wix.Com -- -- Write Up

Apollo Global Management -- -- Write Up

Oportun Financial -- -- Write Up

Compass Therapeutics -- -- Write Up

Nelnet -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

KBR Inc -- -- Write Up

Limoneira -- -- Write Up

Toast -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

MarineMax -- -- Write Up

Shell -- -- Write Up

Nasdaq -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Fulcrum Therapeutics -- -- Write Up

Gildan Activewear -- -- Write Up

Oscar Health -- -- Write Up

Optimum Communications -- -- Short Report

Rave Restaurant -- -- Write Up

Mid-America Apartment -- -- Write Up (In Spanish)

Intuit -- -- Write Up

Edgewise Therapeutics -- -- Write Up

Celsius -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Titan America -- -- Write Up

Wise -- -- Write Up

VISA -- -- Write Up

Spotify -- -- Write Up

Mastercard -- -- Write Up

Solstice Advanced Materials -- -- Write Up

El Pollo Loco -- -- Write Up

Paycom Software -- -- Write Up

Fiserv -- -- Write Up

Proficient Auto Logistics -- -- Write Up

Ensign Group -- -- Short Report

Chime Financial -- -- Write Up

Share

NVIDIA -- -- brief

Airbnb -- -- brief

Lululemon Athletica -- -- Earnings

Alphabet -- -- brief

Advance Auto Parts -- -- Earnings

Kinsale Capital Group -- -- brief

Broadcom -- -- Earnings

Salesforce -- -- Earnings

New Era Energy & Digital -- -- brief

CrowdStrike -- -- brief

Charter Communications -- -- brief

Microsoft -- MSFT -0.27%↓ -- brief

UiPath -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Oddity -- -- Earnings

Five Below -- -- brief

Alphabet -- -- brief

Philip Morris -- -- brief

Rubrik -- -- brief

Synopsys -- -- Earnings

Lululemon Athletica -- -- brief

Markel -- -- $$$ -- brief

Oracle -- -- Earnings

Restoration Hardware -- -- brief

Adobe -- -- Earnings

Zeta Global -- -- brief

Unity -- -- brief

Zscaler -- -- Earnings

Meta Platforms -- -- brief

Perma-Pipe -- -- Earnings (In French)

Snowflake -- -- Earnings

Bloomin’ Brands -- -- brief

Eli Lilly -- -- brief

TransMedics -- -- brief

Micron -- -- brief

Strategy -- -- brief

Ollie’s Bargain -- -- Earnings

Amazon -- -- Earnings

Palo Alto -- -- brief

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*Portfolio*

*I am NOT a financial advisor. I’m sharing my investing journey. Not investment advice. Do your own research.*

Portfolio (Basic):

Holding since:

2020 - LKQ 0.00%↑ - 03

2021 - SFM 0.00%↑ - 03 | VMD 0.00%↑ - 05

2022 - $NTDOY - 12

2023 - PYPL 0.00%↑ - 01

2024 - - 04 | - 09

2025 - - 01* | - 08 | $CR?? - 08 | $CR?? - 10 | - 10 | $EVVTY - 11 | $F? - 12

2026 - - 02* | $DE?? - 03 | $M?? - 03 | $P??? - 06 | $N?? - 06

*IAC originally was purchased in 2021, but sold at the end of 2024 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*EVVTY originally was purchased in 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*MITK originally was purchased 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2026.

Complimentary Monthly Commentary - CMC

I will be keeping this month’s commentary short, but there is a few things to say.

I have started position in two holdings that I will give more color on for paid subs and although I have not sold anything fully I have moved capital around a bit so if you are not paid subscriber things don’t fully reflect the above pictures but its close enough if you don’t really care too much.

Also I want to say that I have read bunch of letters from bunch of HF/PM and everyone is down like -10% or even some -20& YTD blaming chips and tech or w/e … I don’t know just feel like maybe they shouldn’t be writing 10 pages about it but then again I don’t really do macro…

On Monday its my birthday and I will be going to Las Vegas for Planet MicroCap that’s happening next week from Tues-Thur. If you are planning to attend it, lets meet up! Also if anyone of the companies that attending pick your interest and you want me to ask them some questions hit me up with your questions in DM, I don’t mind asking them, I will also be doing a few 1on1’s and will tell how things went in the next update.

Books

I realized that my descriptions of the books that I read may not always give them full credit as when I read these books and when I write about them, I only share one or two things that really stand out to me. So I have decided to also include a quick short description from Goodreads (no affiliations) so that way you get my thoughts but also more generic description to get a better feel for the books and in so hopefully adding them to your “to-read-list”.

This time around I finished two audiobooks:

How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets by Felix Dennis

YZ:

This is a book that has mentioned on X as being under appreciated and I thoughts I would listen to the audiobook and I must say that I agree. Even in 2026 I think its worthy of being read or listen to.

For me personally it was even more interesting to listen to because Felix Dennis was from UK so the rags to riches story was not the “usual USA story” which aspect of I really appreciated.

Goodreads:

Felix Dennis is an expert at proving people wrong. Starting as a college dropout with no family money, he created a publishing empire, founded Maxim magazine, made himself one of the richest people in the UK, and had a blast in the process.

How to Get Rich is different from any other book on the subject because Dennis isn't selling snake oil, investment tips, or motivational claptrap. He merely wants to help people embrace entrepreneurship, and to share lessons he learned the hard way. He reveals, for example, why a regular paycheck is like crack cocaine; why great ideas are vastly overrated; and why "ownership isn't the important thing, it's the only thing."

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Holdco Guide: How Entrepreneurs Structure & Build a Holding Company That Lasts by Peter Kang

YZ:

This book peaked my curiosity since unintentionally I realized I’m drawn to holdcos. CVS, BRK/A, MRK, IAC, BOC, ONFO, etc… Very easy to understand with a lot of useful examples. This is a book that I will be buying also to have physical copy on my bookshelf.

Goodreads:

In The Holdco Guide, Peter Kang distills the strategy, structure, and decision-making behind building a durable, multi-business holding company. Drawing from his work building Barrel Holdings, along with a wide study of leading holding companies across industries, Kang offers an accessible blueprint for designing a “holdco” that can grow, adapt, and endure.

Rather than relying on academic theory or Wall Street jargon, this book makes the mechanics of ownership, governance, incentives, and capital allocation practical for everyday operators. It shows how real-world holdcos—from decentralized software collectors to operational powerhouses—structure their systems, deploy cash, and lead teams to create lasting value across cycles.

Perfect for entrepreneurs, operator-investors, and leaders exploring multi-business ownership, this guide sits comfortably alongside The Outsiders, Buy Then Build, and books on Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway as a foundational resource for strategic operators.

You’ll learn how

Understand the core holdco archetypes—and how they behave across industriesDesign simple, durable structures for governance, incentives, and accountabilityBuild capital pathways that support reinvestment, stability, and long-term growthUse FCF, ROIC, ROIIC, cash conversion, and other high-signal metrics to improve decision-makingRing-fence operational and financial risk to protect the entire systemEvaluate opportunities across software, services, industrials, and other business categoriesApply practical frameworks, examples, and workshop exercises to architect your own holdcoClear, grounded, and immediately useful, The Holdco Guide helps founders and operators turn scattered ventures into coherent, resilient, high-performing systems built to last.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

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Originally profiled on April 29 in Four companies to add to your watchlist (2/2) & that was for paid subs but after digging deeper into Paycom I wanted to do a deep dive.

With that out of the way…

What’s inside…

1. Company (elevator pitch)

2. About Paycom

3. Management

4. Competitors

5. Financials & Metrics

6. Risks

7. Thesis

8. Conclusion

9. Holdings Disclosure

Disclaimer is at the end.

1. Company (elevator pitch)

Paycom is a payroll-centric human capital management platform built on a single, unified database that eliminates the need for employers to reconcile multiple HR systems. Its core advantage is its push toward owning and automating payroll workflows—most notably through products like Beti, which shift payroll execution directly to employees.

The investment debate centers on automation. Paycom’s tools can reduce administrative work and improve retention, but they may also cannibalize traditional revenue streams tied to service activity. The bull case is that automation strengthens the moat and re-accelerates growth through better client outcomes while the bear case is that it improves the product without generating enough new demand to offset slowing growth and competitive pressure.

2. About Paycom

Paycom was founded in Oklahoma City in 1998 by Chad Richison. The founding history matters because Paycom was built as a payroll technology company rather than assembled through acquisitions. Richison had prior payroll sales experience, and Paycom’s early insight was that employers wanted payroll to become internet-based, integrated, and less dependent on manual back- office processing.

Since going public in 2014, Paycom’s story has moved through three phases. The first phase was client acquisition and sales-force expansion. The second phase was platform expansion, as the company built payroll-adjacent modules across HR, time, talent, learning, benefits, and compliance. The third phase, and the phase that matters most today, is automation. Paycom is now trying to convince the market that its single database is not merely cleaner architecture, but the foundation for payroll and HR workflows that can increasingly run themselves.

This is why the company talks so aggressively about employee-driven payroll and automation. Paycom does not want to be merely another cloud HCM platform. It wants to own the workflow at the point where the data is created, verified, approved, and corrected. If the employee validates payroll data before payroll is processed, Paycom reduces the need for HR administrators to chase errors after the fact. That is a meaningful change in how payroll work is performed.

What Paycom actually sells:

Paycom sells a cloud-based HCM platform covering the employment lifecycle from recruitment to retirement. In practical terms, that means payroll, tax, time and attendance, talent acquisition, onboarding, HR management, benefits administration, performance, learning, compensation workflows, reporting, and related compliance services. The company’s commercial model is tied to employee headcount, payroll runs, product usage, adopted applications, and recurring platform activity.

Payroll remains the economic center of the platform, but the strategic value is broader than payroll processing. Paycom wants clients to enter employee data once and use it everywhere. The company argues that this reduces duplicate data entry, data conflicts, compliance errors, and administrative labor. In a category where mistakes can be costly and embarrassing, reliability and workflow simplicity matter almost as much as feature count.

There is also seasonality in the model. First-quarter revenue and margins benefit from payroll tax forms, ACA filings, and other year-start compliance activity. Fourth quarter can benefit from bonus payrolls and unscheduled payroll runs. Investors should therefore be careful not to simply annualize the strongest quarter without adjusting for seasonality.

IWant, Beti, GONE, and the automation:

(That was a bit of a play on words, back to serious stuff) Beti is the flagship example of Paycom’s automation strategy. Instead of requiring HR administrators to review and correct payroll after information has moved through the system, Beti pushes payroll verification to employees before payroll is finalized. That sounds simple, but it changes responsibility, timing, and behavior. It reduces the administrative burden on HR, it gives employees direct visibility into their pay, and it can reduce errors before they become exceptions.

GONE extends the same logic into automated time-off decisioning. Rather than forcing managers or HR teams to manually evaluate every time-off request, the system attempts to automate the decision using policy rules and available data. IWant is the AI interface layer that helps users access employee information without navigating the software manually. Together, these tools support Paycom’s larger claim: the company is not adding AI as a marketing feature, it’s trying to remove manual HR work from the process.

The positive is that Paycom has a real workflow advantage. The platform can reduce client labor, reduce errors, and create measurable ROI, so Paycom should have stronger retention, more pricing power, better sales conversion, and better large-client traction. The negative side is that competitors are also adding automation, and that Paycom’s automation may cannibalize work that previously supported revenue. This is something that we need to monitor over the next several years.

3. Management

Paycom is fundamentally a Chad company Chad Richison company. Mr Richison founded Paycom in 1998, has served as CEO since founding, has been on the board since 1998, and became chairman in 2016. As of the 2026 proxy, he beneficially owned about 5.9 million shares, or 12.4% of the company. That is meaningful alignment, and it helps explain why Paycom has maintained a consistent product philosophy for so long.

The executive bench has also been changing. Shane Hadlock became President and Chief Client Officer in February 2026, which aligns with the company’s focus on service quality, client adoption, and automation. Robert D. Foster became CFO in February 2025, bringing payroll and accounting experience. Jeffrey York returned as Chief Sales Officer in January 2026 after previously holding the role for many years. These changes suggest management is trying to tighten the link between product automation, client success, sales execution, and financial discipline.

Board and governance

Paycom’s board has six directors after the resignation of Archana Vemulapalli. The board is classified into three classes, with staggered three-year terms. The board is mostly independent, with five independent directors and one non-independent director, Richison. Frederick C. Peters II serves as lead independent director because Richison is both CEO and chairman. The board brings experience in payments, finance, regulation, technology finance, retail branding, public-company governance, and public policy.

4. Competitors

Paycom competes in a large and highly competitive HCM market. Payroll and HR software is mission- critical because employers must pay employees correctly, withhold taxes, comply with labor rules, track time, administer benefits, and maintain employee records. Switching costs are meaningful because implementation is painful and payroll errors are unacceptable. That is why the best companies in this category can be durable, but it is also why brand, compliance, service quality, and uptime are extremely important.

ADP is the scale incumbent, with global payroll reach, compliance expertise, and a large installed base. Paychex is especially strong among small and midsize businesses. Paylocity is a modern cloud competitor with strong mid-market momentum. Dayforce has deep workforce-management and continuous-payroll capabilities. Workday is stronger in large-enterprise HR and finance. UKG remains a major private competitor in workforce management and HCM. Paycom’s differentiation is strongest when a customer values a unified payroll-first system, less customization, employee-owned data accuracy, and automation that reduces HR workload.

The risk is not that Paycom lacks differentiation. The risk is that competitors can approximate enough of the functionality that customers do not pay a premium for Paycom’s version. ADP can bundle and outspend. Workday can win enterprise relationships. Paylocity can sell a modern cloud experience. Dayforce and UKG can win complex workforce-management use cases.

5. Financials & Metrics

Paycom’s economics are unusually strong for a company whose current growth rate is only mid-single to high-single digits. In 2025, revenue increased 9.0% to $2.052 billion. Gross profit was about $1.706 billion, implying a gross margin of roughly 83.2%. Operating income was $567.2 million, or about 27.6% of revenue. Net income was $453.4 million, or about 22.1% of revenue. This is a highly profitable software and payroll processing business, not a speculative SaaS company burning cash for growth.

The first quarter of 2026 continued the profitability pattern. Revenue was $571.9 million, up 7.8% year over year. GAAP net income was $155.7 million, or 27.2% of revenue. Adjusted EBITDA was $275.4 million, or roughly 48% of revenue. Operating income increased 13.5% year over year, and operating margin improved to 36.8%. The margin performance was excellent; the remaining question is whether revenue growth can re-accelerate.

On one hand Paycom can fund R&D, sales, dividends, and buybacks from a large earnings base, on the other is that company still needs to spend aggressively to compete.

Clients, market penetration, and growth runway

Paycom served about 39,200 clients in 2025, primarily in North America, with a target client size that runs from roughly 50 employees to 10,000 or more. The company still has a meaningful domestic market opportunity, especially if it can win larger employers. Larger clients can produce much more revenue per relationship, and because Paycom’s gross margins are high, incremental revenue from larger clients can be attractive.

The difficulty is that larger clients have longer sales cycles, more complex implementations, more demanding service expectations, and more entrenched existing systems. Paycom’s historically standardized model has worked well in the mid-market. Moving further upmarket raises the reward, but it also raises execution risk. The best evidence that the strategy is working would be higher retention, stronger recurring revenue growth excluding float income, and clear signs of traction among employers with more than 1,000 employees.

Client funds and float income

A subtle but important part of Paycom’s model is interest earned on funds held for clients. Payroll processors temporarily hold payroll and tax funds before those funds are remitted to employees or tax authorities. In a higher-rate environment, this float can become meaningful. In 2025, Paycom earned $113 million of interest on client funds. In Q1 2026, interest on client funds was $27.8 million, down from $30.5 million in Q1 2025 even though average daily funds held for clients increased from $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion. The decline came from lower interest rates.

This matters because float income is not the same as recurring software revenue. It can lift revenue and margins when rates are high, but it can also become a headwind when rates fall. Management’s 2026 guidance assumes interest on funds held for clients of about $103 million, down from 2025.

Capital allocation

Capital allocation has become central to the Paycom story. The company pays a dividend and has been aggressive with repurchases. In Q1 2026 alone, Paycom paid $17.7 million in dividends and repurchased 8.375 million shares for about $1.060 billion. That reduced outstanding shares from 54.8 million at year-end 2025 to 46.6 million at March 31, 2026. The company also had $675 million of long-term debt at quarter-end and amended its credit agreement to increase revolving commitments.

6. Risks

Competition is an important risk. Paycom competes against much larger and well-funded companies such as ADP, Paychex, Workday, Dayforce, UKG, Paylocity, and newer HR/payroll platforms like Rippling and Gusto. Paycom’s differentiation is its single-database architecture and employee-driven payroll workflow, but competitors are also investing heavily in automation, AI, self-service tools, and integrated HR suites. If competitors can approximate Paycom’s functionality closely enough, Paycom’s differentiation may narrow and customers may make decisions based more on price, bundled offerings, service levels, or existing vendor relationships.

Paycom is affected by employment, wage activity, interest rates, regulation, and corporate software spending. The labor market matters because Paycom’s revenue is influenced by client employee counts, payroll runs, and employer formation. A stable labor market is usually enough to support payroll activity, while a stronger hiring cycle can help employee counts and client demand. Also interest rates matter through client-funds income, higher rates can support float income while lower rates can reduce it.

Another major risk is that Paycom’s own automation strategy may create longer then expected revenue pressure. Beti, GONE, and IWant are designed to reduce manual work, payroll errors, service needs, and administrative friction for customers. That is good for the client, but it can complicate Paycom’s revenue model. If the platform automates tasks that previously created usage, service activity, or incremental revenue, then the product can become more efficient while reported revenue growth slows.

Finally, capital allocation creates both opportunity and risk. Paycom has been returning capital through dividends and large share repurchases. Buybacks can create significant per-share value if the stock is repurchased below intrinsic value and the business remains durable. But aggressive repurchases are less attractive if growth continues to slow or if the company increases leverage to fund them.

7. Thesis

The base case is that Paycom remains a very good business, but not obviously a premium-growth SaaS compounder. It has a mission-critical product, strong margins, recurring revenue, founder alignment, and a credible automation thesis. It also has slower growth, a competitive market, governance concentration, and uncertainty around how automation changes revenue. The stock can work from the current valuation if earnings are durable and recurring revenue growth excluding float income stabilizes. It can disappoint if growth drifts toward GDP-like levels and repurchases become the main source of per-share growth.

The bull case is that Paycom has a genuine product advantage. The single database, employee-driven payroll, GONE, IWant, and automation tools reduce client workload in ways that competitors cannot easily replicate because many competitors have more fragmented architectures or broader but less unified systems. In that case, the current slowdown is a transition cost. Growth stabilizes and eventually improves, retention moves higher, large-client adoption improves, margins remain strong, and buybacks shrink the share count at attractive prices.

The bear case is that Paycom’s differentiation is real but not commercially powerful enough. Competitors add AI, self-service, and workflow automation quickly. Customers like Paycom, but not enough to offset market maturity, competitive pressure, and automation-related cannibalization. Growth remains in the 5% to 7% range, float income declines, buybacks support EPS but do not create a true growth story, and the company deserves a modest market multiple despite high margins.

A few things that needs to be kept an eye on are:

• Recurring and other revenue growth ex interest on clients funds

• Annual revenue retention (needs to be 91%+) and clients growth

• Products proof of use (Beti, GONE, etc)

• Margins durability / debt levels / capital allocation

8. Conclusion

In conclusion, Paycom is not a broken business. It is a financially excellent, founder-led payroll and HCM company with exceptional margins, meaningful ownership alignment, a mission-critical product, and a differentiated automation strategy. The market is asking a fair question: is Paycom’s automation strategy a true growth engine, or is it mainly a retention and margin tool?

The most attractive feature is the combination of profitability, product focus, and founder alignment. The most concerning feature is the possibility that Paycom has already penetrated the easiest part of its market and that future growth requires harder wins against larger and better-resourced competitors. The stock may work well if Paycom grows recurring revenue high-single to low-double digits, holds adjusted EBITDA margins above 40%, and uses buybacks intelligently.

9. Holdings Disclosure

At the time of this publication, I do own shares of in my main portfolio.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for informational and educational purposes only.

The information is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice or any other advice, is general in nature, and is not specific to you. Before using this article’s information to make an investment decision, you should seek the advice of a qualified and registered securities professional and undertake your own due diligence.

None of the information in this article is intended as investment advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any security, company, or fund. The author is not responsible for any investment decision made by you. You are responsible for your own investment research and investment decisions.

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

MMTec -- -- Short Report

StoneCo -- -- Write Up

ImmuCell Corporation -- -- Write Up

Nokia Oyj -- -- Write Up

Rithm Capital -- -- Write Up

GrafTech International -- -- Write Up

Atara Biotherapeutics -- -- Short Report

XP Inc -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Datadog -- -- Write Up

Take-Two Interactive -- -- Write Up

Ethos Technologies -- -- $$$ -- Short Report

Booking Holdings -- -- Write Up

Sellas Life Sciences Group -- -- Write Up

Everspin Technologies -- -- Short Report

Vistance Networks -- -- Write Up

Sabre -- -- Write Up

Union Pacific -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

NVIDIA -- -- Write Up

Amprius Technologies -- -- Short Report

Nu Holdings -- NU 1.15%↑ -- Write Up

Rave Restaurant Group -- -- Write Up

GE Vernova -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

DLocal -- -- Write Up

Greenfire Resources -- -- Write Up

Gibraltar Industries -- -- Write Up

Lyft -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Salesforce -- -- Write Up

Pitney Bowes -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

ACM Research -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

SoFi -- SOFI 0.22%↑ -- Write Up

Tractor Supply -- -- Write Up

Doximity -- -- Write Up

Mercado Libre -- -- Write Up

Ferguson Enterprises -- -- Write Up

Shopify -- -- Write Up

RLI Corp -- -- Write Up (In Spanish)

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises -- -- Short Report

Lifeway Foods -- -- brief

DLocal -- -- Earnings

PayPal -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

NVIDIA -- -- brief

Nebius -- -- Earnings

Kinsale Capital Group -- -- brief

Brown & Brown -- -- Earnings

Copart -- -- Earnings

Baidu -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Alphabet -- -- brief

Establishment Labs -- -- brief

TIC Solutions -- -- Earnings

Super Micro Computer -- -- $$$ -- brief

Getty Shutterstock -- and -- brief

Airbnb -- -- Earnings

Borr Drilling -- -- brief

Snowflake -- -- Earnings

Zscaler -- -- Earnings

Sprouts Farmers Market -- -- $$$ -- brief

Mastercard -- -- brief

Marvell Technology -- -- Earnings

Verra Mobility -- -- brief

Pinduoduo -- -- Earnings

Exxon -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Intuit -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Legacy Education -- LGCY -1.33%↓ -- Earnings (In French)

Heico -- -- Earnings

Alphabet -- -- brief

Hormel Foods -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Duolingo -- -- brief

Vital Farms -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Corsair -- -- Earnings

ServiceNow -- -- brief

Uber -- -- brief

ACCESS Newswire -- -- Earnings

Target -- -- brief

Cal-Maine Foods -- -- brief

Loar Holdings -- -- Earnings

S&P Global -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Alibaba -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

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More Company Write Ups/Earnings/briefs

Sato Foods Industries -- $TYO:2814 -- Write Up

Basic-Fit -- $AMS:BFIT -- Write Up

Czechoslovak Group -- $AMS:CSG -- Short Report

Beauty Tech Group -- $LON:TBTG -- $$$ -- Write Up

Giftee -- $TYO:4449 -- Write Up

HAV Group -- $FRA:6HH -- Write Up

Musashi Seimitsu Industry -- $TYO:7220 -- Write Up

Adval Tech Holding -- $SWX:ADVN -- Write Up

Cantourage Group -- $ETR:HIGH -- Write Up

Ashoka Buildcon -- $NSE:ASHOKA -- Write Up

Feintool International -- $SWX:FTON -- Write Up

Soitec SA -- $SLOIF -- $$$ -- Write Up

Sika -- $SXYAY -- Write Up

Pollard Banknote -- $PBKOF -- Write Up

Enogia SA -- $EPA:ALENO -- Write Up

We.Connect SA -- $ALWEC -- Earnings

Rakuten Group -- $TYO:4755 -- Earnings

Decibel Cannabis -- $CVE:DB -- Earnings

Constellation Software -- $CNSWY -- Earnings

H&R REIT -- $HRUFF -- brief

Röko -- $STO:ROKO-B -- Earnings

Evolution AB -- $EVVTY -- brief

Almaden Minerals -- $AAUAF -- brief

Hydreight Technologies -- $HYDTF -- brief

National Fittings -- $BOM:531289 -- brief

Kraken Robotics -- $KRKNF -- Earnings (In French)

eDreams -- $BME:EDR -- brief

Company “Research” via Audio & Video Formats

Microsoft -- -- Podcast

NVIDIA -- -- Podcast

Cardiol Therapeutics -- -- Podcast

Formula One Group -- -- Podcast

Take-Two Interactive -- -- Podcast

Texas Roadhouse -- -- Podcast

Brookfield -- -- Podcast

Bassett Furniture Industries -- -- Podcast

United Parcel Service -- -- Podcast

The Trade Desk -- -- Podcast

Brag House Holdings -- -- Podcast

Medicus Pharma -- -- Podcast

Pfizer -- -- Podcast

Enlivex -- -- Podcast

Tesla -- -- Podcast

Cerebras -- -- Podcast

Caterpillar -- -- Podcast

Sea Limited -- -- Podcast

Rocket Lab -- -- Podcast

Xos Trucks -- -- Podcast

AUTO1 GROUP -- $ETR:AG1 -- Podcast

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Pershing Square USA -- -- YouTube

NVIDIA -- -- YouTube

e.l.f. Beauty -- -- YouTube

Forum Energy Technologies -- -- YouTube

Boeing -- -- YouTube

Fiserv -- -- YouTube

DoorDash -- -- YouTube

AST SpaceMobile -- -- YouTube

Macy -- -- YouTube

Acme United -- -- YouTube

Medtronic -- -- YouTube

Msci -- -- YouTube

Zscaler -- -- YouTube

Intel -- -- YouTube

Celsius -- -- YouTube

Salesforce -- -- YouTube

Intellicheck -- -- YouTube

Crocs -- -- YouTube

Arista Networks -- -- YouTube

Oscar Health -- -- YouTube

SoFi -- SOFI 0.22%↑ -- YouTube

Starbucks -- -- YouTube

1Stdibs.Com -- -- YouTube

Decker's Corporation -- -- YouTube

ManpowerGroup -- -- YouTube

Baker Hughes -- -- YouTube

Workday -- -- YouTube

Zedge -- -- YouTube

Floor & Decor -- -- YouTube

Biorem -- $BIRMF -- YouTube

Tantalus Systems -- $TGMPF -- YouTube

Constellation Software -- $CNSWY -- YouTube

Inditex -- $ITX -- YouTube

Strata Critical Medical -- -- Substack Video

oRo Co -- $TYO:3983 -- $$$ -- Substack Video

Interesting Links

Doing Nothing by

Transport Infrastructure by

The toll booths of lending by

Payments and FinTech Quarterly Review by

5 Lessons from 5 Companies We Analyzed by

#167 Three Lessons from Tony Hsieh (Zappos) by

Brazilian real estate developers: MSD multiples by

Longer term bearish catalysts for oil are forming by

100+ Serial Acquirers From Around the World (Updated) by

The CEO Portfolio Manager | The Consilient Investor 05 by

Dumpster Diving: 10 Stocks Getting Crushed YTD That May Deserve A Second Look by

The UK Brick Industry Could Be One of the Most Mispriced Cyclical Setups in Europe by

etc.

Let the munching begin!

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

WEX -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Akanda -- -- Short Report

Circle -- -- Write Up

S&P Global -- -- Write Up (In Spanish)

Sea Ltd -- -- Write Up

Broadcom -- -- Write Up

Valaris -- -- Write Up

Nucor -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

X Financial -- -- Write Up

Entravision -- -- Write Up

Arista Network -- -- Write Up

Cue Biopharma -- -- Short Report

GrabAGun Digital -- -- Write Up

Eli Lilly -- -- Write Up

ServiceNow -- -- Write Up

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals -- -- Write Up

Atara Biotherapeutics -- -- Short Report

Alibaba -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

MercadoLibre -- -- Write Up

Angel Studios -- -- Write Up

DoorDash -- -- Write Up

Innoviz Technologies -- -- Write Up

Amdocs -- -- Write Up

Fervo Energy -- -- Write Up

Ferrari -- -- Write Up

Legacy Education -- -- Write Up

Progyny -- -- Write Up

Compass Pathways -- -- Write Up

Alexandria -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Relx -- -- Write Up

Repay Holdings -- -- Write Up

Starbucks -- -- Write Up

Comstock Resources -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Miami International -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Turning Point Brands -- -- Write Up

Kingsway -- -- Write Up

Tripadvisor -- -- Write Up

Airbnb -- -- Write Up

Copart -- CPRT -1.68%↓ -- Write Up

Kinsale Capital Group -- -- $$$ -- Short Report

Visa -- -- Write Up

Salesforce -- -- Write Up

Verisk Analytics -- -- Write Up

Share

Reddit -- -- Earnings

ASML Holding -- -- brief

Toast -- -- Earnings

Angi -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Omada Health -- -- Earnings

Amazon -- -- brief

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals -- -- brief

WeightWatchers -- -- Earnings

MercadoLibre -- -- Earnings

Microsoft -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Progressive -- -- Earnings

Uber -- -- Earnings

Profrac Holding -- -- Earnings

Nebius Group -- -- Earnings

PayPal -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Alphabet -- -- brief

Boston Omaha -- -- Earnings (In Spanish)

Crocs -- -- Earnings

Funko -- -- brief

Novo Nordisk -- -- brief

Lululemon Athletica -- -- brief

Harrow -- -- Earnings

Duolingo -- -- Earnings

Advanced Micro Devices -- -- brief

Meta Platforms -- -- brief

Disney -- -- $$$ -- brief

POET Technologies -- -- brief

Nu Holdings -- -- Earnings

Sea Ltd -- -- Earnings

Cooper Standard -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Flywire -- -- Earnings

Alphabet -- -- brief

Coupang -- -- Earnings

Ondas -- -- Earnings

NeurAxis -- -- Earnings

Vital Farms -- -- Earnings

Amazon -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

Yeti Holdings -- -- Earnings

PayPal -- -- brief

Applied Materials -- -- Earnings

Cronos -- -- Earnings

monday.com -- -- Earnings

Shift4 Payments -- -- Earnings (In French)

Cloudflare -- -- Earnings

Planet Labs -- -- brief

Logitech -- -- Earnings

Boeing -- -- Earnings

Remitly -- -- brief

Palantir -- -- Earnings

Datadog -- -- Earnings

Fiserv -- -- brief

Booking Holdings -- -- $$$ -- Earnings

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“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

“Never give in - never, never, never, never.”

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”

All by Winston Churchill

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*Portfolio*

*I am NOT a financial advisor. I’m sharing my investing journey. Not investment advice. Do your own research.*

Portfolio (Basic):

Holding since:

2020 - LKQ 0.00%↑ - 03

2021 - SFM 0.00%↑ - 03 | VMD 0.00%↑ - 05

2022 - $NTDOY - 12

2023 - PYPL 0.00%↑ - 01

2024 - - 04 | - 09

2025 - - 01* | - 08 | $CR?? - 08 | $CR?? - 10 | - 10 | $EVVTY - 11 | $F? - 12

2026 - - 02* | $DE?? - 03 | $M?? - 03

*IAC originally was purchased in 2021, but sold at the end of 2024 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*EVVTY originally was purchased in 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*MITK originally was purchased 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2026.

Complimentary Monthly Commentary - CMC

If you haven’t yet figured it out by the fact that I had three (3) quotes for this months (I never do more then one) that there must be something happening, well let me tell that there is… Now before you start to worry let me just start saying everything is okay!

The reason for three quotes well they all great three quotes and all by the same person, a person who definitely went through worse things then I am going through mentally, with that said mentally I’m exhausted.

Most of you know that on this Substack I’m keeping it 100% real, raw, and unfiltered (well for the most part at least when it comes to cursing) I have been doing this blog since Dec 2020 and I always share the good, the bad, and the ugly…

If you would take two updates on the surface April and May ‘s updates they do not look much different when it comes to numbers but if you really think about it and see that since April 1st to May 1st and then from May 1st to the thumbnail of May you will see a big difference in price swing and that is mostly attributable to ONFO but also other things like BUR, BOC, and well it seems like everything else in port and that is just sometimes exhausting (mentally) and this is that sometimes.

Everyone can share their wins, their big wins .. I know I been guilty of it for ego boost, but gotta eat that humble pie too… and to add to the pain is that right now S&P is up like 8% YTD and I went from 15%+ to 2ish is messing with me a bit…

Although I would love to complain more about this … writing this actually makes me feel a lot better although literally nothing has changes since before I start writing these words and after … just by the fact that I have some folks to share this makes me feel easier … a bit crazy, but relaxing.

With that out of the way, I really don’t feel like writing more here for this month … there has been a lot of earnings (for my companies) this past few weeks and most of them are either been crap or markets reacted to them as if they were crap … o well, I need to process this more and so I will just leave it as is.

If anyone wants to chat about anything you can always reach out to me via email or DM me on Substack app … see y’all next month …

Oh almost forgot I will be going to Planet MicroCap Conference next month in Las Vegas.

Berkshire Hathaway AGM

Although this year around you could definitely feel / see that there were less people attending AGM when it came to meet ups and the true fans of investing there were still plenty of awesome people to meet and chat with.

Like , , , , just to name a few.

Check out some of the pics that I took while at Omaha for Berka AGM

A few times I passed by / saw Natural Grocers and decide to check it out since I own shares in Sprouts Farm. I must say the first thing that hit when walking in the store was the smell of “medicine” (NG is big on vitamins there was a huge part dedicated to different vitamins, herbs, natural remedies, etc). They did not have any main brands of energy drinks (part of my walk in reason wanting to grab Celsius) the closest thing they had was YACHAK Yerba Mate … not even close…

With that said the staff members were nice and there is a bit of everything in there, but Sprouts is definitely (in my opinion) better option, NG is partially family owned so I think I should still take a look at the company from investor point of view.

Earnings

Petty Cash

Viemed Healthcare Q1 2026 Update – VMD

Disclosure: I own shares in VMD. I am not a professional. Please do your own due diligence…

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3 months ago · 10 likes · Dean

Book

I realized that my descriptions of the books that I read may not always give them full credit as when I read these books and when I write about them, I only share one or two things that really stand out to me. So I have decided to also include a quick short description from Goodreads (no affiliations) so that way you get my thoughts but also more generic description to get a better feel for the books and in so hopefully adding them to your “to-read-list”.

This time around I finished one audiobooks:

Stock Market Maestros: The winning habits, strategies, and mindsets of the world’s best investors by Lee Freeman-Shor, Clare Flynn Levy

YZ: I cant say I loved the book or that I even liked the book BUT I defiantly did NOT hate it and in terms of habits / mindsets you wont learn anything new but I did pick up on a few investors that I want to follow more closely:

• Greg Padilla

• John Barr

• Maneesh Bajaj

Goodreads:

In this hotly anticipated follow up to his bestselling book, The Art of Execution, Lee Freeman-Shor and experienced fintech CEO Clare Flynn Levy delve into what the most skilled investors do differently from the rest of us – and offer practical steps for professional and personal investors alike.

Drawing on exclusive access to detailed trade data, sophisticated analytics tools and hours of in-depth interviews, Lee and Clare reveal how the best professional investors in the world achieve extraordinary results – not by getting it right all the time, but by making good decisions, both when they’re winning and when they’re losing.

From surprising habits to rules based on hard experience, you’ll learn strategies and techniques you can adapt into your own investing today. Including:
Why execution – timing, sizing, and managing positions – matters more than stock picking alone.How elite investors know when to cut their losers and ride their winners to make 1,000%+ returns.The habits and disciplines of the 'Assassins,' 'Hunters,' and 'Connoisseurs' who consistently outperform.Practical frameworks to refine your own decision-making process.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

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"From $100K to $1M" & More.

Four companies to add to your watchlist (1/2)

I go through a lot of companies (that’s how I’m able to pump out BWM on bi weekly basis) and most of them do not meet my investing criteria but once in a while I find a company that I find interesting but that (at that time) might be overvalued and so I put it on my watch list…

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4 months ago · 7 likes · Yegor

Moving on to the next two companies … these two are less know actually to be honest I may only saw one or two articles about one of them within the last few year and the other one is a recent IPO which no one has discussed yet but I think both are good additions to your watch list and maybe even portfolio.

The information in this article is provided for informational and educational purposes only.

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I go through a lot of companies (that’s how I’m able to pump out BWM on bi weekly basis) and most of them do not meet my investing criteria but once in a while I find a company that I find interesting but that (at that time) might be overvalued and so I put it on my watch list.

I wanted to introduce a bit of different type of “write ups”

I will be sharing…

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Let the munching begin!

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

Figma -- -- Write Up

Cloudflare -- -- Write Up

Wealthfront -- -- Write Up

QXO -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Hingham Institution for Savings -- -- Short Report

Motorsport Games -- -- Write Up

Zeta Global -- -- Write Up

Crocs -- -- Write Up

Pagaya Technologies -- -- Write Up

ServiceNow -- -- Write Up

Netflix -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Duolingo -- -- Write Up

Cellebrite -- -- Write Up

Merlin Labs -- -- Write Up

Williams -- -- Write Up

Travelzoo -- -- Write Up

Quest Diagnostics -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Axon Enterprise -- -- Write Up

Aduro Clean Technologies -- -- Write Up

Microsoft -- -- Write Up

Sonida Senior Living -- -- Write Up

Intel -- -- Write Up

Coursera -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

SoFi -- -- Write Up

Burford Capital -- -- Write Up

Salesforce -- -- Write Up

Adobe -- -- Write Up

CS Disco -- -- Write Up

GE Healthcare -- -- Write Up

Comstock -- -- Write Up

Medpace -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

KLA -- -- Write Up

Logitech -- -- Write Up

Kaspi.kz -- -- Write Up

Hurco Companies -- -- Write Up

Shift4 -- -- Write Up

New York Times -- -- Write Up

Novo Nordisk -- -- Write Up

Bloom Energy -- -- Write Up

Oracle -- -- Write Up

PicPay -- -- Write Up

Share

TransMedics Group -- -- Earnings

Paypal -- -- brief

Palo Alto Networks -- -- Earnings

UP Fintech Holding -- -- brief

Uniti Group -- -- brief

Wheaton Precious Metals -- -- brief

American Eagle -- -- brief

Autodesk -- -- $$$ -- brief

Vodafone Group -- -- Earnings

Nike -- -- brief

META -- -- brief

Nu Holdings -- -- brief

Ferrari -- -- brief

Netflix -- -- brief

Sidus Space -- -- Short briefing

BlackRock -- -- Earnings

Grab -- -- brief

Alphabet -- -- brief

Celsius -- -- brief

Novo Nordisk -- -- brief

The Charles Schwab -- -- Earnings

Amazon -- -- brief

Toast -- -- brief

NVIDIA -- -- brief

Rogers Communications -- -- brief

ASML Holding NV -- -- Earnings

Waste Management -- -- brief (In Spanish)

Zhihu -- -- brief

HP -- -- brief

SK Telecom -- -- brief

Plug Power -- -- brief

Brookfield Asset Management -- -- brief

Apple -- -- brief

Netflix -- -- Earnings

Sable Offshore -- -- brief

Texas Pacific Land -- -- brief

New Fortress Energy -- -- brief

Acacia Research -- -- Earnings

Service Corp. International -- -- brief

Charter Communications -- -- brief

Reddit -- -- brief

Costar Group -- -- brief

J.B. Hunt Transport Services -- -- Earnings

Modiv Industrial -- -- brief

GFL Environmental -- -- brief

Forward Air -- -- brief

Microsoft -- -- brief

Block -- -- brief

Rocket Lab -- -- brief

Zoom Communications -- -- brief

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“Integrity is of paramount importance in good leadership.” - Greg Abel

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*Portfolio*

*I am NOT a financial advisor. I’m sharing my investing journey. Not investment advice. Do your own research.*

Portfolio (Basic):

Holding since:

2020 - LKQ 0.00%↑ - 03

2021 - SFM 0.00%↑ - 03 | VMD 0.00%↑ - 05

2022 - $NTDOY - 12

2023 - PYPL 0.00%↑ - 01

2024 - - 04 | - 09

2025 - - 01* | - 08 | $CR?? - 08 | $CR?? - 10 | - 10 | $EVVTY - 11 | $F? - 12

2026 - - 02* | $DE?? - 03 | $M?? - 03

*IAC originally was purchased in 2021, but sold at the end of 2024 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*EVVTY originally was purchased in 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*MITK originally was purchased 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2026.

Complimentary Monthly Commentary - CMC

Sold out of BSM and BUR:

• BSM - I have exited out of BSM at what end up being my cost basis BUT given that for all that time that I held the stock I end up collecting around 10% dividend. There were a few reasons why I sold out … 1) was management’s discussion of great and optimistic future with data centers build out and needing energy sources like nat gas, they even did a special event for it Black Stone Minerals September 2025 Investor Presentation . That to me was a yellow ish flag. 2) US LNG going to Europe and being a great benefit to nat gas providers, still waiting for this one (its been like 2-3 years) maybe it will happen but it seems that oil still have so much to go before moving to nat gas. 3) Company being energetic about the future and starting to dig into debt to cover dividends. 4) lastly when war conflict started in the end of feb / beginning of march - oil responded well with spikes while nat gas did not have as big of a reaction and looking back it seems like nat gas experiences less volatility then oil when these type of conflicts go on (oil from 50 ish to 100 ish and still there while nat gas in the range 2.5 to 5 and not down back to 2.5 ish) I’m no O&G expert but it seems like I will find better opportunities else where… I did learn that I have one company to play as a hedge for when there is spikes in O&G volatility but that co is not BSM.

• BUR - US court overturned a major ruling regarding Argentina's YPF case and sank BUR’s stock 50% … my bet with BUR was and still is YPF case, I thought risk vs reward was interesting … US court overturning ruling was not something I thought was likely but understood there is a chance … I was waiting to see if I would be able to find anything that would confirm that BUR has filed en banc rehearing which had deadline April 10 but so far nothing, and so I’m out. I will be monitoring and if anything changes favorably towards BUR, I would be willing to buy back my shares. Unlike TCS, BUR’s loss I’m not as sour about since I understood chance of this (I’m not happy but it is what it is). I’m not going to even attempt to justify anything to hold the shares, BUR play was on YPF case.

Bought two holdings that I’m not ready to reveal to everyone yet still accumulating shares in them but one is in footwear and the other one is the one that I mentioned in my BSM part above.

BKTI Investor day

I have listened to BKTI Investor day “zoom call” and I’m just going to say this, as long as Mr Suzuki is at the helm - I will be holding my shares, he has not disappointing to far, there have been bumps but he pushed when it was time to push and he held back when things where not ready yet because that was the right thing to do. So far he as proven to be a good steward of shareholders capital.

Here is AI Summary powered by Fiscal.AI of the investor day

Business Performance Analysis

BK Technologies’ strong performance, culminating in a doubling of revenue and significant margin expansion, is primarily attributed to a strategic pivot initiated in 2019. The company shifted its focus from the niche wildland fire market, where it held a dominant 90% market share, to the broader public safety Land Mobile Radio (LMR) market. This involved a substantial investment of approximately 20% of revenues in R&D over five years, leading to the successful launch of the BKR 5000 in 2020 and the multiband BKR 9000 handheld radio in 2023. Concurrently, the adoption of an asset-light operating model, coupled with a focus on higher Average Selling Price (ASP) products, has been instrumental in improving profitability. The BKR 9000’s design, intentionally mirroring the form factor of competitors like Motorola’s APX 8000, has also facilitated customer adoption by minimizing the learning curve and perceived risk for first responders.

Key Financial Highlights

• Revenue doubled from $44 million to $86 million from 2020 to 2025.

• Gross margin increased to approximately 50% by 2025.

• EBITDA margin improved from 3.5% in 2020 to over 20% in 2025.

• Cash balance grew from $7 million at year-end 2024 to $22.8 million at year-end 2025.

• The company operates with a debt-free balance sheet.

Key Takeaways

A significant development is the upcoming launch of the multiband in-vehicle mobile, the BKR 9500, in the first half of 2027. This product is strategically designed as a “drop-in replacement” for the company’s 50,000+ existing KNG mobile units in the field, aiming to reduce customer upgrade costs and accelerate adoption by leveraging existing vehicle infrastructure and eliminating the need for extensive retraining. Furthermore, BK Technologies is expanding its software and solutions portfolio under the BK ONE brand, launched in Spring 2025. This includes InteropONE, a SaaS-based push-to-talk over broadband service with patented technology for on-demand talk group creation, and BKRplay, a patent-pending technology that extends InteropONE capabilities to BKR radios, offering a cost-effective alternative to integrated cellular by leveraging the smartphone’s shorter lifecycle. The company’s Technology Innovation Center, established in 2019, has proven its model of targeted R&D and deep domain expertise in producing differentiated products, now extending this playbook to software development. The public safety LMR market is projected to accelerate its growth to a 10% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), driven by higher ASPs from multiband radio adoption and the integration of broadband solutions, which BK Technologies views as augmenting, rather than competing with, LMR.

Guidance

BK Technologies has outlined ambitious Vision 2030 targets, aiming to double revenue to $170 million, increase gross margin to 60%, and expand EBITDA margin to 35%. This is projected to triple EPS to $13 and generate $55 million in free cash flow. These financial targets are based solely on organic growth, with any potential acquisitions expected to be additive. Operationally, the company plans to begin shipping the BKR 9500 multiband in-vehicle mobile in the first half of 2027, followed by the expected launch of its next-generation BKRX platform in 2029. The software roadmap includes a twice-yearly release cadence to enhance the core radio platform, develop broader platform capabilities like fleet management and mobile phone symbiosis, and expand the BK ONE solutions portfolio. The company maintains a disciplined capital allocation strategy, prioritizing high-return organic investments in innovation and software, complemented by targeted acquisitions in software and solutions, and opportunistic returns to shareholders through share repurchases or special dividends.

and so far it seems that Mr Market agrees…

One of the companies that have not fully revealed released earnings and well lets just say that sometimes its good to buy the dip …

I will discuss earnings later on in the paid segment…

Berkshire Hathaway AGM

Is anyone going to Berkshire AGM this year?

If you are going, DM/email me and lets catch up in Omaha.

This one should be interesting with Greg Abel taking the baton from Warren Buffett on going non stop with Q&A, looking forward to it.

Onfolio Earnings

Although I’m a bit disappointed that ONFO is still not profitable on gaap metrics, I’m not too surprised and on EBITDA basis they are positive for the first time.

Usually I would be skeptical of anyone going with EBITDA, but Dom has shown to be thoughtful and careful to not abuse EBITDA.

ONFO plans to resume acquisitions in 2026, actively reviewing promising opportunities to expand its portfolio. While G&A expenses are expected to increase in the near term to support business growth, management projects these costs to decrease as a percentage of revenue over the long term, with one-time professional fees from 2025 not expected to recur at the same level in 2026. The new digital asset treasury strategy involves a long-term hold and staking approach, aiming for recurring income and capital appreciation, rather than active trading.

Looking forward to see what company(ies) ONFO will acquire in 2026. I highly recommend following Dom on LinkedIn or X…

Lastly unrelated to earnings but def. related to Onfolio, check out video below

Business Driven Investing With Robert Hagstrom

I was able to attend event with (a few of my investing friends) great speakers/investors like Robert Hagstorm, Michael Mauboussin, and Christopher Mayer …

The mental A team was strong! Really enjoyed it…

The conversation was more or less about investing the way Warren Buffett invests aka investing into businesses and not stocks, say it louder for the people in the back…

If you really think about it when you invest into stocks but think of them as businesses its much easier to hold those stocks during turbulent times, because as long as the fundamentals are intact under the hood, the market volatility is not as “scary” as Mr Market makes everyone believe it is …

VC Investing

I have added new company to my VC Investing List , participated in another round of funding in Upshift, and Kutt was acquired by a public company:

• The Breakfast is the latest addition to my VC Portfolio.

• I have added a bit more capital into Upshift. Making interesting progress.

• Kutt has been acquired by Bitcoin Depot - read more here

Click on the picture above to learn more…

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Let the munching begin!

Company Write Ups/Short Reports/Earnings/briefs/etc.

Seer -- -- Write Up

Travelzoo -- -- Write Up

Costco Wholesale -- -- Write Up

Himax -- -- Write Up

Wingstop -- -- Write Up

RBB Bancorp -- -- Write Up

Arista Networks -- -- Write Up

Lyft -- -- Write Up

Barnes & Noble Education -- -- Write Up

Capital One -- -- Write Up

CoStar Group -- -- Write Up

Trade Desk -- -- Write Up

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte -- -- Write Up

Cardio Diagnostics Holdings -- -- Short Report

VNET Group -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Nu Holdings -- -- Write Up

Zeta Global -- -- Write Up

Brightstar Lottery -- -- Write Up

Lam Research -- -- Write Up

Visa -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Neuraxis -- -- Write Up

Sony Group -- -- Write Up

AerCap Holding -- -- Write Up

Cheniere Energy -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Duolingo -- -- Write Up

Vital Farms -- -- Write Up

Linde -- -- Write Up

Cognizant -- -- $$$ -- Write Up

Velo3D -- -- Write Up

Share

American Coastal Insurance -- -- Earnings

Paypal -- -- brief

Alphabet -- -- brief

Floor & Decor -- -- brief

Stevanato Group -- -- Earnings

MercadoLibre -- -- brief

Nvidia -- -- Earnings

Shift4 Payments -- -- Earnings

Choice Hotels International -- -- brief

Burford Capital -- -- brief

Ollie's Bargain -- -- Earnings

Franklin Street Properties -- -- brief

Crocs -- -- Earnings

Progressive -- -- Earnings

Pool Corp -- -- Earnings

Adobe -- -- Earnings

Microsoft -- -- brief

Chord Energy -- -- brief

Strategy -- -- brief

Electrovaya -- -- brief

ClearPoint Neuro -- -- Earnings

dLocal -- -- Earnings

TIC Solutions -- -- Earnings

Micron -- -- Earnings

Revolution Medicines -- -- brief

More Company Write Ups/Earnings/briefs

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“To be successful, concentrate on the companies you own, not on the market itself.” -Walter Schloss

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*Portfolio*

*I am NOT a financial advisor. I’m sharing my investing journey. Not investment advice. Do your own research.*

Portfolio (Basic):

Holding since:

2020 - LKQ 0.00%↑ - 03

2021 - SFM 0.00%↑ - 03 | VMD 0.00%↑ - 05

2022 - $NTDOY - 12

2023 - PYPL 0.00%↑ - 01 | BSM 0.00%↑ - 05

2024 - - 04 | - 09

2025 - - 01* | - 08 | $CR?? - 08 | $CR?? - 10 | - 10 | $EVVTY - 11 | $F? - 12

*IAC originally was purchased in 2021, but sold at the end of 2024 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

*EVVTY originally was purchased in 2022, but sold at the end of 2025 for tax loss purposes and re-bought back in 2025.

Complimentary Monthly Commentary - CMC

Sold out of two holdings that were not revealed (paid subscribers get same day and weekly updates) both for profits ranging from 15%-40% I’m not planning to reveal them here because potentially I would like to buy them again in the future so both are on my watchlist, I will say that both are related to commodities.

Otherwise I have not been too active, been doing more thinking and trying to slim down portfolio, I will say that I been buying a lot more Onfolio and since the screenshot above, ONFO is now my 2nd largest position in main port and largest if you include all the Prefs and SPVs that I own related to ONFO + in my IRA account.

13Fs

I like looking at new 13Fs, they don’t give full story but this is one way to find new ideas and see what other investors are doing or better said … did since its looking backwards.

sometimes sells says as much or even more then the buys…

a few more Earnings

Petty Cash

Viemed Healthcare Q4 FY2025 Update – VMD

Disclosure: I own shares in VMD. I am not a professional. Please do your own due diligence…

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5 months ago · 3 likes · Dean

Gabelli’s 36th Annual Pump, Valve, & Water Systems Symposium

When I told my wife I wanted to go the city at 8am and listen to different companies talk about pumps, valves, and water systems - she looked at me like I was crazy and even though she trusts me I thought I would show her the link to the event hahaha

But yes that’s the kind of things that I find interesting because you never know what you might find and that’s another way to do scuttlebutting research + getting your self out of your circle and learning about something new and I think pumps and valves can definitely be in my circle of competence if I find that one company that will interesting me… and that one company I did find!

The Gorman-Rupp Company is one of those “boring” companies but very interesting! + there was another company that is indirectly related to my private investment so I did learn a ton!

I want to give big thank you to Mr Gabelli (who was present and was asking questions at the event!!!) and Gabelli Team overall, especially Sara Bakrow for providing me with access to the event really appreciate it!

I highly recommend checking out Gabelli’s website and their YouTube channel where you can find all other companies that presented that day.

(this is not paid by anyone and this is my personal honest review)

Fireside Chat with Bill Gurley & Malcolm Gladwell

Another event that I went to was Bill Gurley and Malcolm Gladwell firechat

I don’t know a lot about Mr Gurley but it was interesting listen to him and Malcolm Gladwell have a chat about personal life and VC investing and I did go to the event with who of my investing friends so overall I’ll call it a good time.

Book

I realized that my descriptions of the books that I read may not always give them full credit as when I read these books and when I write about them, I only share one or two things that really stand out to me. So I have decided to also include a quick short description from Goodreads (no affiliations) so that way you get my thoughts but also more generic description to get a better feel for the books and in so hopefully adding them to your “to-read-list”.

This time around I finished one audiobooks:

Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage by Eamon Javers

YZ:

This was an interesting read, not because I think I would be able to implement it to be frank I think the tactics that are used are a bit cringe for my taste, but it is interesting to know that there are people and companies that would go to such length to try to uncover competitors secrets or to try to find “dirt” sometimes literally in dirty trash.

I think by reading a summary of the book you would get the basic understand of it but if you want to get actual real life examples and to get some real life thriller into your reading life this book should scratch that itch.

Goodreads:

Award-winning reporter Eamon Javers’s Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy is a penetrating work of investigative and historical journalism about the evolution of corporate espionage, exploring the dangerous and combustible power spies hold over international business. From the birth of the Pinkertons to Howard Hughes, from presidents to Cold War spies, Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy is, like Legacy of Ashes and Blackwater, a first rate political thriller that also just happens to be true.

I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars.

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