Behind The Idea

Latest Episodes:

Behind The Idea #34: The FIZZ, The Noise, And The Brand Sep 18, 2018

Show notes

National Beverage is the maker of Lacroix and both one of the most enduring growth stories on the current market and one of the quirkiest. What to make about the short seller accusations, the CEO's bold statements, and the fact that we're investing in flavored water? We discuss a few recent bullish arguments and see how much Lacroix's story fizzes. Topics covered: 2:40 - Breaking down National Beverage's business 8:45 - The bullish beats - a takeover? consistent growth? ignore tariffs-depressed gross margin

Behind The Idea #33: Understanding Alibaba w/Anne Stevenson-Yang and Julian Lin Sep 11, 2018

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Questions have been asked about Alibaba long before news broke that Jack Ma might be leaving soon. We got in on the question-asking game, as we quizzed Alibaba bear Anne Stevenson-Yang about what the short case around the company really is, and Alibaba bull Julian Lin about the reasons to stay long. There was more overlap in the two discussions than we expected. Topics covered: Interview with Anne Stevenson-Yang from 2:15-33:15 3:00 minute mark - Why do Alibaba’s different businesses go together?

Behind The Idea, #32: Can Einhorn's Insurance Idea Be Understood? Sep 04, 2018

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Insurance companies can be hard to understand. Brighthouse Financial, a newly spun off company, has attracted both bulls and bears in its short public career. Ranjit Thomas recently wrote a Seeking Alpha article expressing skepticism about famed value investor David Einhorn's position in the company wouldn't work, leading Einhorn to respond with a few comments. What is the story here and is there a way to grasp BHF's business model? We take a shot at it. Topics covered: 2:30 - Starting off - what does BHF d

Behind The Idea #31: Going The Full Pitch On Man U With Katie Baker And Alex Kivali Aug 28, 2018

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This week's Behind the Idea goes back to the football pitch to discuss Manchester United. The Ringer's Katie Baker joins us to talk about the changing nature of fandom, the growth and cycle of soccer in the US, and the distortions that might exist in pricing a sports company. Then Seeking Alpha's Alex Kivali explains his case in the company, the growth MANU can see abroad, and the difference between US and UK fandom. Topics covered: W/Katie Baker 4:00 – Women’s world cup as high water mark in US interes

Behind The Idea #30: Ralph Lauren On The Rack With Berna Barshay Aug 21, 2018

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Ralph Lauren has been getting a lot of credit for its turnaround from the market, but what if that's premature? We dive into the topic with Berna Barshay of Viola Capital Management, to hear why she's short RL, what her research process and edge is like, and what she thinks about sharing her first public idea experience. Topics covered: 1:45 - How does Ralph Lauren's Q1 fit into the short thesis, and the focus on US wholesale and comparable numbers? 7:15 - What is the way out of Ralph Lauren's chicken/egg

Behind The Idea #29: The Rest Of The Disney Story w/Derek Thompson and Brian Langis Aug 14, 2018

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Disney's story is one of the more interesting long-running sagas on today's market. We discuss the company's fate and pending transformation with Seeking Alpha author Brian Langis (the 2-minute mark) and with The Atlantic's Derek Thompson (the 50-minute mark) to figure out whether Disney might be able to cross into streaming. Topics Covered: 2:00 - Reviewing Brian's thesis and the new hope for Disney 7:45 - What are you watching for in the transition to streaming? When does the tipping point come? 16:00 - H

Behind The Idea #28: Quoth The Raven on Gold, Punk, and DIY Investing Aug 07, 2018

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Quoth the Raven joins Mike Taylor of Behind the Idea to talk about his thesis on gold, a topic that can often leave cash flow focused investors scratching their heads. While Mike and Quoth don't agree on everything, they do discuss two key points - the importance of an independent and skeptical perspective in investing, and the risk of becoming too proud of your thinking. The podcast also covers QTR's background as an investor and how he developed his unique perspective, as well as how he maintains to this

Behind The Idea #27: Alibaba: What You See Is All There Is? Jul 31, 2018

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Seeking Alpha author Julian Lin made the bull case for Alibaba, arguing it's growing and unbeatable in its markets (https://seekingalpha.com/article/4185148-china-fallen-alibaba-conviction-buy). Alibaba is China's champion, and it like many China companies has drawn questions about the true numbers of its business. So we dive in to see whether there's more to Alibaba than meets the eye, or whether the growth story has legs. Topics covered 2:30 – Reviewing the article thesis – easy on the hot takes, but

Behind The Idea #26: Shopping Around The Shopify Story W/Guests Jul 24, 2018

Show notes

We revisit Shopify from all angles to see what the investment case is both for longs and shorts. We had From Growth To Value (Long) and Ramy Taraboulsi, CFA and Jan Barta (each Short) talk up their views on the stock and their case. While the narratives don't always intersect, we hope the different perspectives helps investors better consider Shopify and other battleground stocks. Topics covered: Introduction – 1:25 3:45-46:00 – From Growth To Value 4:00 – How does the Growth investing mindset fit

Behind The Idea #25: Manchester United And The Business Of Sport Jul 17, 2018

Show notes

The World Cup is over, but the Premier League is around the corner. And Manchester United trades on the market every day. Just because the club often wins doesn't mean it's a winning investment. We review a recent article by Alex Kivali - https://seekingalpha.com/article/4185750-runway-quite-manchester-united - to see what upside there is in the club and whether good times loom for investors. Topics covered: 4:00 minute mark – A recap of Manchester United's story so far 8:00 – MANU’s international op

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