Handy Andy’s Lessons – Starting a Dividend Portfolio
I’ve decided that I’m going to start a few “hot tip” type blogs and call them “Handy Andy’s Lessons.” This is likely to change because I kind of already hate the name, but oh well. The first topic that I want to write about is starting a dividend portfolio. This topic came to me after listening […]
How Buffett’s Purchase of National Indemnity Propelled Berkshire Hathaway
Studying Warren Buffett’s past investments remains a great way to learn. Over the years, Buffett’s investments have changed, but not a ton. He still looks for great companies at a fair price, and one of his best investments that goes under the radar is his purchase of National Indemnity. National Indemnity, an insurance provider, is […]
Difference Between Operating Leverage and Economies of Scale
“Do you know the difference between operating leverage and economies of scale? Seriously, take a moment to define the terms clearly (I did not know the difference for a long time and see investors use the terms interchangeably all of the time).” Michael Mauboussin What a great question, and honestly, how many of us understand […]
What’s the Difference Between Revenue and Profits?
An investor must comprehend how revenue enters a corporation and transforms into profit. Here’s how it all works, including instances of unusual cost structures. Revenues and profits offer good signs for our investments, but they aren’t interchangeable terms. Both represent important factors to help us understand our investments better. Revenue growth and increasing profits represent […]
Using a Checklist to Find Five-Tool Companies
“The trick in investing is just to sit there and watch pitch after pitch go by and wait for the right one in your sweet spot.” –Warren Buffett Warren Buffett is a big baseball fan, as am I, and he uses baseball analogies throughout his writings. He likens baseball to investing in the manner that […]
How To Read Earnings Reports & What To Look For
Wall Street and investors do the earnings report season dance every four quarters. But how do we read earnings reports, and what can they tell us? Many investors spend much time reading through earnings reports to glean information. Every company that trades on the stock market must report earnings and investors comb through these reports […]
Assessing Executive Compensation While Analyzing a Company
Evaluating management and how much they receive in pay go hand in hand. As investors, trying to assess a company’s management remains a challenge. We can see the importance of the CEO and top-level management from companies like Microsoft and Apple. But the topic remains controversial, and as investors, we need to find the information […]
The Simple Way to Create Asymmetric Investing Performance
Asymmetric investing performance simply means that your gains are bigger than losses. For example, an investment that could gain 300% or more, but can only lose at most -100%, is an asymmetric opportunity. The truth is, ALL investors in the stock market can receive asymmetric results over the long term because the potential upside of […]
What are Selling, General, & Administrative Expenses?
In the tech world, SG&A costs occupy a large part of the company’s costs. For many companies, these costs will inevitably occupy a high cost on the income statement. The higher expenses make sense if we think about it a little. Because a company like Crowdstrike sells software as a service, the creators (people) of […]
What are Cost of Goods Sold and What’s Included in it?
Controlling costs remains one of the more important jobs of management. They must control the costs of producing revenues, which reflect their profits. One of the best ways to control costs is to ensure the costs of goods sold remain under control. As companies expand, sometimes these costs grow, as seen by Google and Microsoft. […]
