Why You Might Want to Stop Measuring Your Portfolio’s Performance Against the...
Someone emailed me this question about tracking portfolio performance:“All investors are comparing their portfolio performance with the S&P 500 or DAX (depends were they live). I have asked a value...
View ArticleStocks You Can’t Buy
The always interesting Japanese stock blog (it’s written in English), Kenkyo Investing, has a post on a negative enterprise value stock called Hokuyaku Takeyama. The reason this stock is cheap is...
View ArticleCall for Questions: A New Weekly Focused Compounding Podcast to be Hosted by...
Within the next month: my Focused Compounding co-founder, Andrew Kuhn, and I will launch a free weekly podcast.Each episode will be 20 minutes or less.And each episode will cover one and only one stock...
View ArticleWhy I Don’t Use WACC
A blog reader emailed me this question about why I appraise stocks using a pure enterprise value approach – as if debt and equity had the same “cost of capital” – instead of using a Weighted Average...
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A U.S. Corporate Tax Cut is Not Priced into Stocks
I’ve noticed that in a lot of the emails I’ve been getting recently, the emailer says something along the lines of “of course a U.S. corporate tax cut in 2018 is probably already priced into...
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Was There Ever Any Chance I Was Going to Sell NACCO (NC)?
I’ve gotten this question a couple times in recent weeks. So, I thought I should address it. First, let’s cover why people have been asking me if I’d sell NACCO. Paying members of the Focused...
View ArticleSo: Am I Keeping Stocks Forever Now – Or Not?
There is a discrepancy between two posts I wrote. One is this post at Focused Compounding. Another is yesterday’s post here on this blog. A reader pointed this out: In your post on NACCO from 15...
View ArticleWhy I Spend 95% of My Time Thinking About New Stocks
I’ve done a couple posts recently that have too many “rules” type statements in them. As investors: it’s less important what we tell ourselves we’re doing and more important what we’re actually –...
View ArticleInsider Buying vs. Insider Incentives
A blog reader sent me this email:“Do you ever pay attention to insider transactions when analyzing a company?”I do read through lists of insider buys from time-to-time. I follow a blog that covers...
View ArticleLast Chance to Have Your Question Answered on the Show
Andrew and I are scheduled to record a Q&A podcast Monday night. So, this is your last chance to get your question answered on that show. Email your question to:gannononinvesting@gmail.com
View ArticleLooking for Cases of Over-Amortization and Over-Depreciation
A blog I read did a post on goodwill. The discussion there was about economic goodwill. I’d like to talk today about accounting goodwill – that is, intangibles. Technically: accounting goodwill applies...
View ArticleAre We in a Bubble? – Honestly: Yes
"Are we in a bubble?"Right now: This is the most common question I get. For a long time, my answer to this question has been: “yes, stocks are overvalued but that does not mean the stock market has to...
View ArticleIs Negative Shareholder Equity a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? - No, It's an...
Someone emailed me this question:“…how do you consider negative shareholder equity? Is this good, bad or other?”Before I give my answer, I apologize to the roughly 60% of my audience that I know is...
View ArticleAll About Edge
Richard Beddard recently wrote a blog post about company strategy. And Nate Tobik recently wrote one about how you – as a stock picker – have no edge. I’d like you to read both those posts first. Then,...
View ArticleGreat Businesses + Seriously Mispriced Stocks = What to Research
One of the most common questions I get from really good investors – not beginners, but people who are dedicating many hours a week to this – is how they can find the next stock to research. Usually,...
View ArticleMy Return to Podcasting
The first ever episode of the Focused Compounding podcast is up now. You can listen to me and my co-host (and Focused Compounding co-founder) Andrew Kuhn answer 3 of your questions. This week is a...
View ArticleFocused Compounding Podcast Episode #1 (1/29/2018): Notes
Listen to the Focused Compounding Podcast Questions Asked and AnsweredQuestion #1: “How did Andrew and Geoff meet?” (2:05)Question #2: “What’s the best way to become a better investor?” (5:50)Questions...
View ArticleNIC (EGOV) Loses Its Biggest Customer (Texas) – Stock Down 20% Today
Listen to Geoff’s PodcastNIC (EGOV) lost its biggest customer, the State of Texas, yesterday. The stock is down 20% today. A lot of people have emailed me asking for my thoughts about this stock and...
View ArticleEpisode #2: NIC (EGOV)
Listen to the Focused Compounding Podcast1:00 – Geoff’s (members only) articles on NIC are “NIC (EGOV): A Far Above Average Business at an Utterly Average Price” (January 15th, 2018) and NIC (EGOV):...
View Article1914: Assassination of the Archduke “Will Tend to Lessen” Political Strife
In the latest podcast episode (on this week’s bumpy market), I mentioned a 1914 New York Times article.Here’s the key quote:The assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne was an event whose...
View ArticleHousekeeping: 7 Questions I Get Asked a Lot
Why Didn’t I Know You Were Doing “X”?You don’t follow me on Twitter. The best way to keep up to date with what I’m doing is to follow me on Twitter. My Twitter handle is @GeoffGannon. I post links to...
View ArticleMistakes of Omission and Failures of Imagination
In our most recent Focused Compounding podcast, Andrew and I took questions from Twitter. One of the questions was about what mistakes of omission we’ve made. In the podcast, you can hear me give a few...
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Being (Conservatively) Roughly Right
The latest podcast episode is 20 minutes all about Frost (CFR). Frost is a stock I own. And it’s a stock I wrote something like a 10,000 word report about a few years ago (the report is available on...
View ArticleHow to CLOSELY Read the "Competition" Section of a 10-K
In the most recent podcast, Andrew said: “There are some people I’ve spoken to who have said you’re not really going to find a lot of gems out of 10-Ks.”I disagree. Reading a company’s 10-K is the most...
View ArticleShould You Limit Yourself to Only Buying Shares in Businesses with “Market...
This question comes from a Focused Compounding member. I wrote up a stock called U.S. Lime & Minerals (USLM) on the member site last week. In my write-up (which is behind a paywall), I mentioned...
View Article8 Episodes of the Podcast Now Available in iTunes – New Episodes Mondays and...
Focused Compounding PodcastThe best thing you can do for me and Andrew is spread the news about our podcast by rating and reviewing the show in iTunes.New episodes of The Focused Compounding Podcast...
View ArticleFree Report: Luxottica (LUX)
Now that the Luxottica-Essilor deal has gotten anti-trust approval in the U.S. and E.U., it looks like the merger will go through. For that reason, I’m just going to give away the Luxottica report from...
View ArticleBad 10-Ks vs. Good 10-Ks: 11 Annual Reports I Recommend Reading
In the most recent podcast episode, Andrew and I were asked what was the easiest thing about investing. I answered: reading 10-Ks and coming up with an appraisal value for the business. I realize that...
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How to Decide Which Stock to Research Next
I haven’t done a good job of finding new ideas.Before last year, I had never researched NACCO (NC). And then I did research and buy that stock. So, that counts as one new idea. It wasn’t my idea. I...
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Omnicom, Google, and Facebook: Why All Growth Stocks End up in the Same Place
About 40 years ago, Warren Buffett said it best: The future is never clear; you pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus. Uncertainty actually is the friend of the buyer of...
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What's Focused Compounding?
Focused Compounding is my member site. It’s the only place where I do stock specific write-ups. Membership costs $60 a month. But, if you listen to one of our podcast episodes, you’ll hear a promo code...
View ArticleHow Do You Know You Know More Than the Market – And: Does it Matter?
“…how can I confidently judge that a stock may still be underfollowed and hence price discovery may still be incomplete even with a recent price run up but still within low and tight P/E valuation...
View ArticleTaking Net-Net Seriously
Over at the Focused Compounding Podcast, Andrew and I just did a 24-minute episode on “investing in net-nets”. It’s episode 17. You can get all my thoughts on net-nets in that podcast episode.Here, I’d...
View ArticleMy Sunday Morning Memos
I now write a short memo (one PDF page) each week. The memo is never about a specific stock. It’s always about a general investing principle. It’s delivered to your inbox each Sunday morning. To get on...
View ArticleHow Reading Value Investing Books Made Me a Worse Investor
A podcast listener emailed me about something I said in a Q&A episode:“A few podcasts back, you said you read value investing books and then started making mistakes because you read them. Where...
View ArticleNACCO (NC): Podcast Episode, Book on the Company’s History, Articles on the...
Because it’s my largest position, I get a lot of questions about NACCO (NC). Andrew and I just did a 25-minute podcast on the stock:Episode #21: NACCO (NC)I also get some questions from people about...
View ArticleLess Theory, More Practice: How to Value a Stock Using a “Sustainable Growth”...
I get a lot of questions about valuing a company based on estimates of its sustainable growth rate. So, someone will say it seems this company can grow 8% to 10% a year and it has a return on equity of...
View ArticleManaged Accounts
We are planning to offer managed accounts with Geoff Gannon as the portfolio manager. These accounts will hold 6 to 8 overlooked stocks (spin-offs, net-nets, OTC, etc.) and be managed along the lines...
View ArticleFrequently Asked Questions: Managed Accounts
To set up a meeting by telephone or in person (Geoff and Andrew both live in Plano, TX) contact Andrew by email (info@focusedcompounding.com), phone (469-207-5844), or text (469-207-5844).Frequently...
View ArticleOverlooked Stocks
In our most recent podcast episode, Andrew and I talked about “overlooked” stocks. I said overlooked stocks were basically synonymous with “oddball” stocks. You can read the Oddball Stocks blog here. I...
View ArticleGeoff Gannon Interviewed about OTC Stocks by Jan Svenda
I did an interview with Jan Svenda. It is all about over-the-counter stocks. You can read it here.“…the two factors I care most about are: 1) The business faces lower than normal competition and 2) I'm...
View ArticleSunday Morning Memo
Sign up for Geoff’s Sunday Morning MemoI write a weekly memo now. It goes out as a PDF sent via email. It’s about one page. And I discuss one general investing topic in it. In theory, I don’t discuss...
View ArticleYou’re Now Getting 3 Podcasts a Week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays –...
New podcast episodes will now come out 3 times a week: Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays. For our first podcast on this 3-episodes a week schedule, Andrew and I decided to do an off-topic podcast...
View ArticleEkornes (Stressless) to be Acquired for 139 NOK - Here is My Report on the Stock
Focused Compounding members get access to a "Stocks A-Z" section of the website. This includes about two dozen stock reports I did for Singular Diligence between 2013 and 2016. Recently, Ekornes (the...
View ArticleFocused Compounding Podcast: All 6 Specific Stock Episodes
Lately, we haven’t done as many specific stock podcast episodes as I’d like. But, we do have some past ones. I think these are the most useful episodes for people to listen to. In order from oldest to...
View ArticleThe Importance of Talking to Yourself
In the most recent podcast, I talked about how useful it can be to just talk a stock idea through whether that is with someone a lot smarter than you, a peer of about equal investing skill, or anyone...
View ArticleResideo Spin-off Notes
Honeywell (HON) is planning two spin-offs. One of the two spin-offs will be called Resideo Technologies.Here are the notes I took when reading the spin-off document:Notes on Honeywell’s planned...
View ArticleHow Big Can Amazon Get?
(FULL ARTICLE AT FOCUSED COMPOUNDING)Someone emailed me this question:I’ve been looking at Amazon for a little short of a year and because the equity doesn't provide a good price to value ratio and...
View ArticleHow Much is Too Much to Pay for a Great Business?
(FULL ARTICLE AT FOCUSED COMPOUNDING) A Focused Compounding member sent me this email: “I've just become a FC member and I've been listening to the very interesting podcasts from day one. Really...
View ArticleRevisiting the Stock Reports at Focused Compounding: Ark Restaurants (ARKR),...
When someone joins Focused Compounding – use the promo code “BLOG” to save $10 a month – they get immediate access to the Singular Diligence archives. These are found in the “Stocks A-Z” section of...
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