Leader Shifts Focus From Fixing to Inspiring Growth
“I’m so tired, and I know you are too, of talking about fixing this business,” Hill said in an all-hands meeting Tuesday. “I want to move to inspiring and driving growth and having fun.” https://t.co/3lb3YzmTiH
BoyarValue Predicts Hagedorn Likely to Sell SMG
@BoyarValue talking $SMG on @TheCompoundNews: "You have a 70 year old guy [Jim Hagedorn] who has to be exhausted; the last couple of years have been an absolute disaster. My guess: he's probably going to sell this thing." https://t.co/JuqeMjNda2
Munger Says Own Apple Among Elite 12 Stocks
Charlie Munger on Berkshire's Apple investment: "What everybody learned is everybody needs some significant participation in the 12 companies that do better than everybody else. If you have that mindset, Apple was a logical candidate to be on the list..." https://t.co/dM8OcYvjJv
Crocs CEO Confident HeyDude Will Grow Despite Wrinkles
Crocs CEO Andrew Rees, July 2023: "We have absolutely no regrets on the acquisition...We’re very confident about HeyDude’s future, but we have a few wrinkles to work through over the next six months... We are very confident HeyDude will grow...
Sony Nears $1B Sale of Home Entertainment to TCL
"Sony is nearing an agreement to sell a majority stake in its home entertainment business to TCL in a deal that may be valued at about $1 billion... with Sony holding 49% and TCL holding 51%."
TAP CEO Highlights Unified Excitement Behind Fever-Tree
$TAP CEO Rahul Goyal: "With Fever-Tree, we have an excited distributor network, an excited retail network, and an excited team to really get behind it. There's few brands where you get the whole trifecta working; we believe we have the...
Netflix Hikes U.S. Subscription Fees Across All Tiers
Bloomberg: "Netflix increased the price of its [U.S. AVOD plan] by $1 to $8.99 per month. The standard plan without ads rose by $2 to $19.99 per month, while the premium plan climbed $2 to $26.99... The last time Netflix...
Japan‑Australia WBC Game Becomes Netflix Japan’s Top‑Viewed Title
"The 2026 World Baseball Classic, for which Netflix held exclusive streaming rights in Japan, set a historic record. The Japan vs. Australia game is now the most-watched title ever on Netflix in Japan - surpassing every series, film, anime, and...
Board's $400M Buyback Matches Six Years' Spend in 90 Days
From "Trying To Be Realistic" (03/09/26): "The Board approved a $400 million repurchase authorization in October 2025, which was completed in three months. The value of repurchase spend over this 90-day period was equal to the total over the previous...
Pernod Ricard Mulls Buying Jack Daniel’s Owner Amid Downturn
Bloomberg: "Pernod Ricard is exploring a potential acquisition of Brown-Forman, the owner of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, as alcoholic drink companies look at ways to consolidate amid an industry downturn, people familiar with the matter said. They have held some initial...
HeyDude Turnaround Likely Suboptimal, Management May Resist Admission
From the $CROX initiation: "HeyDude’s turnaround efforts will require attention and investment; there’s a good chance it will be a suboptimal use of those resources... Even if that becomes apparent, I don’t think it will be easy for management to...
Steal A Brainrot Generates $64M From Microtransactions
"Since its May 2025 release, 'Steal A Brainrot' has earned an estimated $64 million from in-game purchases like swords and invisibility cloaks, according to data from Romonitor." https://t.co/rY3HriDxtN
Boston Beer Matches Ten‑year Buybacks in Three Years
Boston Beer repurchased ~$530 million of its common stock over the past three years, which is roughly comparable to what the company spend on repurchases over the previous decade (FY13 - FY22) https://t.co/pROlFqwX7E
Family Owners Prioritize Dividend over Strategic Freedom, Says Fundsmith
Terry Smith (Fundsmith) on selling Brown-Forman: "We hoped family ownership would lead them to perhaps find a course through all of this that a company subject to the influence of quarterly earnings wouldn't be able to do, but it's not...
Prime Members Pay Half for Ultra‑fast Delivery
"Amazon Prime members get even more value with discounted delivery fees of $9.99 for 1-hour delivery and $4.99 for 3-hour delivery [in select cities]. Customers without a Prime membership pay $19.99 for 1-hour delivery and $14.99 for 3-hour delivery."
Sarandos Stands Firm on Final December Offer
Ted Sarandos (Politico interview): "We had a price where we thought this was good for our business. We made our best and final offer back in December and it was our best and final offer. So that’s all."
YouTube Now Drives over Half TV‑screen Engagement
Sarandos: "One of the things we saw in recent months is a real deep misunderstanding about what YouTube is and isn’t... YouTube is in the same exact game that we are... About 55% of all YouTube engagement now is on...
FY26e Targets MSD Growth with 31% EBITDA Margin
$GAMB CFO Elias Mark (pulled from the company's Q3 FY25 call) FY26e is now at MSD revenue growth and ~31% EBITDA margins https://t.co/a3U84jKJjz
Build‑A‑Bear Debuts First Wholesale Deal with Walmart
"Build-A-Bear is launching its first-ever wholesale partnership with Walmart... Mini Beans, new collectible Micro Mini Beans, and the Build-A-Bear x Bluey collection, are available in 1,500+ Walmart stores nationwide, a major new distribution milestone."
PSKY Predicts Leaner
On a somewhat related note, read a $PSKY analyst report this week with FY30e DTC revenues at ~$30 billion, with non-content expense at ~$3.8 billion. By comparison, when Netflix revenues reached ~$30 billion (FY21), total OpEx was ~$6.2 billion, with...
Delivery Sales Boost Dollar General’s Q4 Growth Modestly
Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos: "We estimate delivery sales contributed roughly 80 basis points to our comp sales growth of 4.3% in Q4 FY25."
California Utilities See Fire Liability Threatens Their Existence
"I think the utilities in California recognize that they are operating in a different world today: if they cause fires, they will not have a business." https://t.co/j6Ht8D35SR
Buffett Warns Against Hoarding Cash, Favors Buybacks
Warren Buffett at the 2017 Berkshire Hathaway meeting, on repurchases and excess cash: "There’s no way I can come back here three years from now and tell you we hold $150 billion or more in cash, and we think we’re...
Berkshire Targets Major Operating Ratio Boost for UNP, BNSF
Operating Ratio comparison for UNP and BNSF Greg Abel, 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter: "The gap to the industry’s best remains too wide... We will be disappointed if we do not deliver a substantial [operating ratio] improvement over the next few...
Berkshire Vows Massive Energy Investment, Confident Future Record
2019 Berkshire Hathaway meeting Warren: "We will put a lot of money into energy... In 10 or 20 years, our record [at BHE] will be looked at and there will be nothing like it." Charlie: "We're in marvelous shape in this department......
Utility Investors Warn Against Expanding Risk Responsibilities
Greg Abel: “We see a bigger issue in the utility industry: does the regulatory compact continue to exist? We deploy capital into these businesses, and we receive a return that is reflective of us taking a certain amount of risk....
Greg Abel Vows Annual Share Purchases to Match Compensation
Greg Abel: "Absolute alignment with our shareholders is critical. The goal [in buying Berkshire shares with 100% of his after-tax compensation] was to continue to demonstrate alignment… I’m committed to doing this every year going forward, as long as I’m...
Company Completes $400M Share Buyback by December 2025
"As announced on October 2, 2025, the Board authorized the repurchase of $400 million of outstanding shares of Class A and Class B common from October 1, 2025, through October 1, 2026… The $400 million repurchase program was completed in...
Egg Brand Doubles Whole Foods Share, Expands SKUs
"We're at an average of 9 egg SKUs per door at Whole Foods... We've grown to about half the dollar value of egg sales at Whole Foods; at the IPO, we were about 1/3 of their egg sales... We're at...
HBO Reached 54 Million Domestic Subscribers in 2017
Time Warner FY17 10-K: "At December 31, 2017, Home Box Office had approximately 54 million domestic subscribers, including subscribers to HBO NOW and through Home Box Office’s digital distribution partners." https://t.co/4lw2HM9qU0
Deal Sets Us Up as DTC Market Leader
David Ellison: “This deal positions us to be one of the leading competitors in the DTC space, to really accelerate our growth and to achieve scale in DTC… It is a primary goal for the business.”
VITL's Low-Return Claim Clashes with $100M Buyback
A slide from the $VITL December 2025 Investor Day, which ranked capital returns as their lowest investment priority; two months later, announced a $100 million repurchase authorization, which would require debt issuance. https://t.co/IAg2QWKbrE
Warner Bros. Discovery Reopens Discovery+ Subscriptions Globally
WBD Q4 FY25 call: "If you remember back when we merged into Warner Bros. Discovery, we were trying to shut down Discovery Plus. The fact of the matter is we still have millions of viewers... We have already opened up...
WBD Falls Far Short of FY25 Revenue Targets
FY23 financial projections from the Warner Media / DISCA deal. Fast forward to FY25: WBD generated total revenues of $37.3 billion, with $10.9 billion from DTC, EBITDA of $8.7 billion, and FCF of $3.1 billion. Missed every one of their financial projections...
Berkshire's $1.3B Cost Basis vs $200B Amex Valuation
Berkshire's cost basis on American Express is $200 billion and Berkshire's owns ~22%. https://t.co/3YV1MjYH1A
Berkshire Will Buy Back Shares Below Intrinsic Value
Greg Abel: "Share repurchases are another important capital allocation option. We will buy back Berkshire shares when they trade below our estimate of intrinsic value, conservatively determined, ensuring that repurchases enhance per-share value for continuing owners."
Disney/Hulu/ESPN Integration Will Appear Easier than Expected
Prediction: this will make the Disney / Hulu / ESPN DTC integration, which has taken 5+ years and with a lot of tough decisions to make along the way, look like a walk in the park. And that's before considering...
China Sales Plunge From Half to Just 3%
Former $FND CEO Tom Taylor, August 2021 - "Three years ago [in FY18], almost 50% of what we sold came out of China; today, it is less than 30%." Q4 FY25 call - "China represented ~3% of our fourth quarter receipts." https://t.co/9Bv96S1bvH
Markel Confident 2025 Results Demonstrate Ongoing Shareholder Value
Markel 2025 Shareholder Letter: "I hope you share our confidence that the 2025 results, and those over longer time periods, provide a strong case for the value we have and will continue to create for our shareholders." https://t.co/vcbR3seqEk
Markel Names Simon Wilson CEO Amid Productive Shift
Markel 2025 Shareholder Letter: "2025 was a year of productive change and recommitment in our largest business, Markel Insurance. Most notably, in March 2025, we promoted Simon Wilson to serve as CEO."
Floor & Decor Targets 500 U.S. Stores in Eight Years
Floor & Decor FY23 10-K: "We believe there is an opportunity to significantly expand our warehouse-format store base by a low- to mid-teens annual percentage growth rate over the near-to-medium term, reaching at least 500 in the U.S. within approximately eight...
Netflix's Bold Exit Strengthens Long-Term Value
Kudos to management for being willing to walk away. There will be plenty of opportunities over time to keep improving the customer value proposition and the long-term value of the business. This was the right decision by Netflix.
VITL Plunges 60%, Trades at 10x EV/
$VITL shares down >60% from the August 2025 highs EV down to ~$800 million, it trades at ~10x EV / EBIT
Satya Nadella Pivot Saved Microsoft From $5B Loss
Mason Morfit: "The lion's share of credit has to go to Satya Nadella. To state the obvious, he's just been an incredible CEO... The company was losing ~$5 billion a year on this ill-fated devices venture... Satya very quickly pivoted...
NVIDIA Projects Tenfold Revenue Surge by FY27
On Q1 FY27 guidance, NVIDIA TTM revenues of ~$250 billion. Three years ago (in Q1 FY24), TTM revenues were $25.9 billion. https://t.co/n7nDwriJvG
SpaceX Poised to Deliver Broadband Cheaper than Any Alternative
Dan Sundheim on SpaceX: "The telecom market globally is now the TAM... They've come so far down the cost curve that I think in a relatively short time - months or a few years - they'll be dramatically cheaper than...
Diageo NA Sales Fall 7% Amid Tequila Competition
Diageo North America 1H FY26 organic net sales down ~7% YoY "Consumer wallet pressure and competitiveness in tequila" https://t.co/BHQJiiv6lk
Big‑Ticket Sales Rise 1.3% Amid Discretionary Weakness
$HD Big Ticket ($1,000+) Transaction Comps "Big ticket comp transactions were +1.3%... We were pleased with the performance we saw in categories such as power, plumbing and electrical. However, larger discretionary projects remain under pressure." https://t.co/m5NwpVXZPR
Airbnb Hits 9M Listings, Bookings up 10% YoY
Airbnb Q4 FY25 letter: "We ended 2025 with over nine million active listings around the world. During Q4 FY25, active listings grew relatively in-line with the YoY increase of Nights and Seats Booked [+10% YoY.]"
