10foot Scuttlebutt: May edition
Dear readers. As with previous months, here are some things I’ve seen or thought recently. The Magic Pudding business model In my recent look at the mineral sands sector, I came across a remarkable business, namely the Mineral Commodities Limited (ASX: MRC) Tormin Sands project. Every year the ocean washes up minerals like zircon, ilmenite (titanium …
EML Payments: A non-cash income story?
I recently looked at EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML), a prepaid card provider. Shares are down around 30% LTM despite cracking growth in the volumes of $$ using the company’s payment systems. The short version: I think that EML has an aggressive revenue recognition policy, a license to write non-cash income, and the incentives to potentially encourage it. …
#12: Oliver’s Real Foods – The Repurchasening
I’ve re-purchased Oliver’s Real Foods (ASX: OLI) after my prior sale. The primary reason I sold is that I didn’t have confidence that there would be action on what I perceived to be the company’s problems. The then-CEO is a founder and major shareholder and I considered it unlikely that he would step aside, which …
Portfolio Review – May 2018
I recently (mostly) finished putting the final touches on the 10foot Google Sheets spreadsheet, which tracks my investments automatically, including cash holdings and relative to an index. Before I get into it, something occurred to me recently which I feel deserves an additional disclaimer. Although tracking my performance and my investment process is very important …
10foot Scuttlebutt: April 2018 edition
Here is my scuttlebutt post for April 2018, with a few things I’ve seen or thought recently. Find the moat (at Afterpay) Rumour has it Afterpay is pretty aggressive when it comes to tackling criticism of its not-credit (actually retail tech) product. That is just a rumour – and no I haven’t heard from them. …
Quarterly Review Q3 (March) FY2018
This quarter marks the end of the first year for the 10foot portfolio, although I call it Q3 of FY18 because I want to align my reporting to the financial year. Google closed down its Finance Portfolio function in the middle of this quarter and I recreated my portfolio in Google Sheets. It’s currently a …
Afterpay: The Not Credit But Actually Retail Tech Company
This article is opinion. While it relies on public information, it also makes use of judgements and guesswork. Readers should always do their own research and read my full disclaimer at the bottom. Afterpay: The Not Credit But Actually Retail Tech Company I like Afterpay. I think their product is great and management have belted …
Sale #9: Sold Oliver’s Real Foods
I’ve sold Oliver’s Real Foods (ASX: OLI), hopefully not permanently, but I’ve seen a few things that made me uncomfortable. In a nutshell it appears to me as though this company is being managed for the short term, not a lifetime. The original thesis went like this: Oliver’s has great niche and underserved customers, minimal competition …
Sell #5: Sold Crowd Mobile
I’ve sold my stake in Crowd Mobile (ASX:CM8). The thesis broke. I wrote this piece prior to the half year result, so info from the half year was not factored into my sale decision. Originally Crowd was priced at 5x-ish cash flow and I figured they’d have debt paid down in a ~year. Given the …
Big Trouble In Big Un
I am totally staggered by this BIG situation, but I’m late to this story. Although I thought the Tipsly transaction was unusual, I didn’t pick any problems with BIG and in fact I had a hard look at its books late last year and I couldn’t see any obvious warning signs. So I did not …
