Kimberly-Clark’s Misperception
Kimberly-Clark, maker of the iconic Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers (or nappies – depending on where you’re reading from), reported earnings for the final quarter of 2018 yesterday. The result was weak, and we weren’t surprised. But it was the devil in the detail that sparked a lively conversation here in our New York office. […]
The Tariff Shakeup
The tariffs that the U.S. has imposed on China have featured heavily in the media. This retreat from the notion of globalization – a tenet that has guided trade discussions for the past few decades – is harming the relationship between the U.S. and China, and is creating immense uncertainty for companies. Less well-understood is […]
A misbehaving bond-substitute
For much of the last decade, many investors were lured to a particular class of equities which, as they believed, would deliver yields greater than what could be achieved in the bond markets but without taking significantly more risk. This was the environment of ultra-low interest rates which forced investors up the risk spectrum. Characterised […]
The specter of private label
Once dubbed ‘The Inevitables’, there once was, and perhaps still is, an expectation that branded food companies will remain defensive stalwarts that will grow for years to come. As is the case in investing, change is guaranteed, and branded food manufacturers have not been immune to disruption. Perhaps this was put most poignantly by Jorge […]
Are asymmetric downside risks forming at Campbell Soup?
Friends and followers of Montaka will be aware that we follow a unique framework to identify great short investment candidates. One of the four criteria that we look for is “asymmetries”, or asymmetric downside risks in a business or stock that are necessarily severe in impact and without counterbalancing upside potential. Recently, we think there […]
The MoviePass boost
Cinema chains in the U.S. have not been immune to the pressures facing traditional forms of entertainment. The rise of Netflix and other video streaming services helped push attendance at movie theaters to a 25 year low last year. With there being no shortage of digital content vying for our attention, change is sweeping the […]
WHITEPAPER: HOW TO PROFIT FROM MARKET MYTHS
All too often, investors rely on conventional wisdom – ideas that were once true, but no longer hold. Great investment opportunities can come from questioning these ideas. Take consumer packaged goods businesses who produce everyday goods, like Kraft Heinz, Edgewell and Kellogg. The long-held view has been that these businesses are highly defensive, and that […]
Gogo: no longer going?
Late last year I wrote about Gogo (Nasdaq: GOGO), the monopolist that couldn’t make money. The business was struggling for a number of reasons, and we initiated a short position. Since then GOGO has gone from bad to worse. As a recap, GOGO is in the business of in-flight connectivity services – they provide the […]
Walmart’s health insurance intentions
Although Walmart (NYSE: WMT) does not have a presence in Australia, readers of our blog can no doubt picture the shelves of the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer stacked full of groceries, toys, t-shirts, TVs and medicine. Now, the retailer is planning to sell something else to its customers – health insurance. Over the long weekend, […]
iRobot feeling the pressure
Readers may be familiar with the Roomba brand of robotic vacuum cleaners (RVCs)– these flat, circular devices are able to automate the tedious job of vacuuming floor surfaces within a home. By most accounts these products are excellent and lead the pack in terms of features and technology; the Amazon reviews are stellar. Whilst the […]
