“In nature and in business, specialization is key. Just as in an ecosystem, people who narrowly specialize can get terribly good at occupying some little niche. Just as animals flourish in niches, similarly, people specialize in the business world –…
Continue Reading“It’s the law of nature. Big bubbles get bigger, small bubbles disappear — it’s surface tension, the law of physics; and in business it’s scale economics. It had to happen.” -John Malone For twenty-four years, from 1973 to 1996, Malone…
Continue ReadingThe following is a summary of the tweetstorm produced by @BluegrassCap with some refinement by me. Updated Compounders Watchlist, Q2 2015 Companies are sourced from 37 funds who concentrate their best ideas in growing companies with high returns on capital…
Continue ReadingFor years, even as the Internet razed much of the profits at newspapers, magazines, books, and music labels, cable-TV networks kept making big money. More recently, as consumers shifted their viewing time from live television to various on-demand options, anxiety…
Continue ReadingJust like making movies. God help us if we think we can pick winners and losers when it comes to making movies. Even the good guys don’t know how to do that. There are certain fields, in my experience, that…
Continue ReadingOn February 17, 2009, SiriusXM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) found itself in dire straits. With the economy and particularly the new car market collapsing, SIRI was dangerously close to bankruptcy. The most urgent problem was a loan of $175 million due…
Continue ReadingFull Disclosure: I own shares of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) In early 1982, a comedian turned lawyer turned CEO named Fred Rosen was looking for a strategy for taking on a powerful company called Ticketron. Rosen’s young company, Ticketmaster, was…
Continue Reading“Our confidence is shattered,” said Laura Champine, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity Corp., with regard to Conn's. Such quotes get our pulse racing. When Wall Street gives up and throws in the towel, we make money. What prompted such a dramatic…
Continue ReadingI've received a lot of great comments and questions regarding my valuation of IBG. I think it will be best if I expand on my thinking here. How the hell did you come up with a value today of $10B?…
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