Competitive Advantage: How to Find Sustainable Moats
“If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.” Ralph Waldo Emerson As investors, searching for companies with a competitive advantage continues as a never-ending goal. We all desire to find a company that can last forever, retain its long-term advantage, and grows our wealth. I never tire of […]
Beginner’s Guide: 7 Steps to Understanding the Stock Market
This easy-to-follow beginner’s guide will help you learn how to invest in the stock market. We’ll be leaving out all the confusing Wall Street jargon and explaining things in simple terms. In this post, we will cover the 7 following categories for understanding the stock market: 1– Stock Market Basics: Why to Invest Let the […]
Understanding Share Buybacks and Capital Allocation
Buybacks are an important part of the investing world. Yet, many people misunderstand them. The S&P 500 – the largest 500 profitable businesses publicly traded in the United States – spent a collective $795 billion on buybacks in 2023 and $922 billion in 2022. Otherwise known as share repurchases (the terms are interchangeable), politicians and […]
Decoding Microsoft’s Financials: A Beginner’s Guide to Income Statement Analysis
The income statement is a powerful tool in financial analysis. It offers insights into a company’s performance over a certain period. By examining the financial statements of a company like Microsoft, we can uncover the nuances and strategic insights hidden within them. This article aims to demystify the process of analyzing an income statement, using […]
The 7 Types of Capital Allocation and What They Mean for Shareholders
Updated 9/3/2023 “Capital allocation is a senior management team’s most fundamental responsibility. The problem is that many CEOs don’t know how to allocate capital effectively. The objective of capital allocation is to build long-term value per share.” Michael Mauboussin As we will see, job number one for CEOs remains capital allocation because those decisions drive […]
Beginner’s Guide to the Yahoo Finance Numbers (Updated)
Let’s assume you are an absolute beginner when it comes to using ticker systems like Yahoo Finance. The world of stock investments might seem confusing and overwhelming, with plenty of symbols and slang. Don’t worry. I’ve broken down the basics to the stock market before, with my beginner’s guide having been viewed over 100,000+ times, […]
Stock Market Cycles: How to Analyze and Profit
“Warren Buffett tells us, ‘The less prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we should conduct our own affairs.’” ― Howard Marks, Mastering The Market Cycle: Getting the odds on your side Stock market cycles, represented by the bear and bull markets, ebb and flow through time. Investing during different market […]
NEWSFLASH: Data Showing That It’s OK to Buy High, Sell Low
Would you rather buy low, sell high, or buy high, sell low? Obviously, we’d all like to buy low and sell high, but sometimes that desire makes us believe that doing the opposite is so wrong. Well, today, let’s debunk that idea using real data from the S&P 500. I think you’ll find this very […]
Handy Andy’s Lessons – 5 Tips to Becoming a Great Stock Picker
So, you’re ready to move up to the big leagues and become a stock picker? That’s what I like to hear! Honestly, it can be difficult to invest in individual companies. But I am here to help try to eliminate some of the stress of the unknown for you. Click to jump to a section: The Fear […]
Should I Reinvest Dividends? Handy Andy’s Lessons!
If you’re asking me, “should dividends be reinvested?” I am telling you that the answer is always a resounding YES! Now, if you’re asking me if those dividends should be reinvested back into the same stock that earned those dividends, that is a much different question! But don’t worry, I’m here to help cut through […]
