Investing Thread

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Very interesting. In B2B SaaS our average cost per sales rep has increased 2x-3x. Those tend to be high-ish turnover roles and labor knows they're in high demand. It's driving our CAC through the roof. Even though net retention is high, growth-stage companies need to acquire new customers like crazy to keep pace.

It sounds like your biz/industry is established enough that it's more about growing accounts, not losing accounts, and maybe poaching a few from your frenemies?

Actually, you're pretty spot on.  We're in 4 different but similar markets.
We've done processing favors (at a cost of course) for our competitors in the past (machine failures with a lengthy repair time) knowing we may need a reciprocal favor in the future.  I've heard of manufacturers with long memories for those who violate.

For example, on our orthodontic wire, we buy raw material from our competitor.  Our competitor makes the raw and also does finished wire.  Our finished wire is more expensive because we don't control the source, but our quality is that much better on the finished wire that we maintain solid sales.  We tried to do internally but the capital investment unfortunately didn't justify the expense to properly develop.

[MU82]

Only adjacent to your question because I was in on COIN early, but don't actually trade crypto itself.  But I'm trying to time the bottom and double down here pretty shortly.  To Hards' point, this is just the volatility of crypto, so for me the real bet is "is crypto here to stay?"  I think the answer is yes, even though I think it will only play a secondary/cyclical role to other currencies and investments.  But even that, combined with what I think is Coinbase's still relatively strong position compared to other exchanges, is good enough for me to get in at this low.

I really want to buy some more COIN this low.  This level is absurd, honestly.  Do I have the nards to pull the trigger.  Ugh.  Ask me in an hour.

Get in line, guys. Cathie Wood just bought 546,000 shares, and she's so rarely been wrong the last year and a half!

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3837819-cathie-wood-loads-up-on-the-collapsing-coinbase-grabbing-more-than-500k-shares

[Hards Alumni]

Get in line, guys. Cathie Wood just bought 546,000 shares, and she's so rarely been wrong the last year and a half!

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3837819-cathie-wood-loads-up-on-the-collapsing-coinbase-grabbing-more-than-500k-shares

I bought so of course it went down.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I bought so of course it went down.

Can you buy some gas too, aina?

[Hards Alumni]

Can you buy some gas too, aina?

Lol.  I buy thousands of dollars a day.

I'm doing my part!

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Get in line, guys. Cathie Wood just bought 546,000 shares, and she's so rarely been wrong the last year and a half!

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3837819-cathie-wood-loads-up-on-the-collapsing-coinbase-grabbing-more-than-500k-shares

Cathie Wood’s Ark takes a stake in GM for the first time
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/10/cathie-woods-ark-invests-in-gm-for-the-first-time.html

One week later...
GM and Ford Get Double Downgrades to Sell. Wells Fargo Sours on EVs.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/gm-ford-stock-downgrades-51652360514

The investigative stories about her investing process being basically "that sounds neat-o!" and having absolutely no portfolio risk measures are frightening if you are an investor with her.

[Babybluejeans]

(wrong thread)

[MU82]

All of Those Quitters? They’re at Work: The Great Resignation was in fact a moment many people traded up for a better-paying gig

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/13/business/great-resgination-jobs.html?campaign_id=4&emc=edit_dk_20220513&instance_id=61244&nl=dealbook&regi_id=108420427&segment_id=92140&te=1&user_id=d36dcf821462fdd16ec3636710a855fa

If Applebee’s were the solar system — and for nearly six years, to Nick Haner, it felt that way — the customer would have been the sun. Everything revolved around the customer. The customer was always right, he was told. Even when the customer spit in Mr. Haner’s face. Even when the customer screamed that her salad should have been served hot, not cold. Even when the customer ripped his $2 tip in half.

But something happened, last year, to shift that orbit. It started with the signs that Mr. Haner saw popping up in windows as he drove to work: “Now hiring!” McDonald’s was hiring. Walgreens was hiring. Taco Bell closed early because it was short staffed. Everyone in Midland, Mich., it seemed, needed workers. So Mr. Haner began to wonder: Why shouldn’t work revolve around people like him?

“It’s absolute craziness,” said Mr. Haner, 32, who quit his job at Applebee’s last summer and accepted a fully remote position in sales at a tech company. “I decided to take a chance because I was like, ‘If it doesn’t work out, there’s 100 more jobs out there that I can find.’”

More than 40 million people left their jobs last year, many in retail and hospitality. It was called the Great Resignation, and then a rush of other names: the Great Renegotiation, the Great Reshuffle, the Great Rethink. But people weren’t leaving work altogether. They still had to make money. Much of the pandemic stimulus aid stopped by the fall, and savings rates dropped to their lowest in nine years, 6.4 percent, by January. What workers realized, though, is that they could find better ways to earn a living. Higher pay. Stable hours. Flexibility. They expected more from their employers, and appeared to be getting it.

Applebee’s said the safety of its workers and guests was a priority. “Aggressive behavior of any kind is not permitted,” said Kevin Carroll, the company’s chief operations officer.

Across the country, workers were flush with opportunities and could rebuff what they’d once been forced to tolerate — whether rigid bosses or customer abuse. And to keep businesses running, bosses had to start listening.

“People have seen this as a rejection of work, but I’ve seen it as people capitalizing on an abundance of job opportunities,” said Nick Bunker, director of economic research for North America at Indeed’s hiring lab. “People do need to pay the bills.”

[Skatastrophy]

I don't think we are out of the woods yet, but...

Congratulations to anyone that was buying hard-down growth tech this week! You've been rewarded with an instant 25% bump, happy Friday!

I've been buying more Cloudflare since it dipped below $55, and lamenting my other losses. (SOFI, COIN, and NERD are all down over 60% since purchase). This is my kind of gambling

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Seems like a much better buyer for TWTR

https://twitter.com/SnoopDogg/status/1525143525834121217

[MU82]

From Seeking Alpha:

Only 31% of investors at JPMorgan's (NYSE:JPM) annual shareholder meeting voted in favor of a $52.6M stock option award that was part of CEO Jamie Dimon's 2021 compensation package. It was the first time the bank's board lost such a vote since it was introduced in 2009, and was significantly lower than the previous weakest level of investor support, which came in at 61.4% in 2015. While the shareholder vote is non-binding, the bank's board said it would take the feedback "seriously" and intended for the bonus to be a one-time event.

"The special award was extremely rare - the first in more than a decade for Mr. Dimon - and it reflected exemplary leadership and additional incentive for a successful leadership transition," said JPMorgan spokesman Joe Evangelisti. He also noted that the package was designed to keep Dimon at the helm for another five years by pegging the award to the bank's share price appreciation. Dimon would only be awarded if JPMorgan's stock rose above $148.73 in the coming years (it's currently trading at $122.18, but hit a high of $172.96 back in November).

[forgetful]

From Seeking Alpha:

Only 31% of investors at JPMorgan's (NYSE:JPM) annual shareholder meeting voted in favor of a $52.6M stock option award that was part of CEO Jamie Dimon's 2021 compensation package. It was the first time the bank's board lost such a vote since it was introduced in 2009, and was significantly lower than the previous weakest level of investor support, which came in at 61.4% in 2015. While the shareholder vote is non-binding, the bank's board said it would take the feedback "seriously" and intended for the bonus to be a one-time event.

"The special award was extremely rare - the first in more than a decade for Mr. Dimon - and it reflected exemplary leadership and additional incentive for a successful leadership transition," said JPMorgan spokesman Joe Evangelisti. He also noted that the package was designed to keep Dimon at the helm for another five years by pegging the award to the bank's share price appreciation. Dimon would only be awarded if JPMorgan's stock rose above $148.73 in the coming years (it's currently trading at $122.18, but hit a high of $172.96 back in November).

I would have called BS on this compensation too. A $52.6M award to get the stock price up 20% in 5 years, to a level still 10% below a recent high.

Even the weakest minded of the scoop intelligentsia could accomplish that task.

[MuggsyB]

Are we close to bottoming?  Sheesh.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I would have called BS on this compensation too. A $52.6M award to get the stock price up 20% in 5 years, to a level still 10% below a recent high.

Even the weakest minded of the scoop intelligentsia could accomplish that task.

Jesmu84 is the next CEO of JPMorgan?

[Skatastrophy]

Are we close to bottoming?  Sheesh.

lol

[Hards Alumni]

Are we close to bottoming?  Sheesh.

Not remotely

[MuggsyB]

Not remotely

Alright.  Give me a heads up when I should unload my piggy bank to begin the process of getting MU prime-time/tier 1 recruits.

[Hards Alumni]

Alright.  Give me a heads up when I should unload my piggy bank to begin the process of getting MU prime-time/tier 1 recruits.

28k.  Just messing around.  If I knew, I'd be trading full time.  Timing the market is almost impossible.

[MU82]

Under Armour CEO Patrik Frisk will step down while remaining with the company. A few years ago, he replaced company founder Kevin Plank, who remained chairman.

UA has underperformed for years. After initial hype and promise as a supposed threat to Nike's crown, its revenue has fallen further behind Nike and Adidas -- not to mention even Asics and Puma.

As for the stock, since hitting its all-time high in mid-2019, it's down 64%.

Don't worry about Frisk and Plank, though. Frisk made $15M last year, Plank $6M. They'll manage to get by.

[Uncle Rico]

Under Armour CEO Patrik Frisk will step down while remaining with the company. A few years ago, he replaced company founder Kevin Plank, who remained chairman.

UA has underperformed for years. After initial hype and promise as a supposed threat to Nike's crown, its revenue has fallen further behind Nike and Adidas -- not to mention even Asics and Puma.

As for the stock, since hitting its all-time high in mid-2019, it's down 64%.

Don't worry about Frisk and Plank, though. Frisk made $15M last year, Plank $6M. They'll manage to get by.

They make garbage.  The only thing they make that’s any good are cold gear and waterproofs.  The rest is inferior to Nike or Adidas

[ZiggysFryBoy]

They make garbage.  The only thing they make that’s any good are cold gear and waterproofs.  The rest is inferior to Nike or Adidas

And teens and preteens don't like their brand.

[Uncle Rico]

And teens and preteens don't like their brand.

And they sponsor UW-Madison gear!

[Hards Alumni]

They make garbage.  The only thing they make that’s any good are cold gear and waterproofs.  The rest is inferior to Nike or Adidas

This is what I was going to say.  I only own a couple of things from them, and they're low quality.

The only thing I do like is the cold stuff and the moisture wicking items.  Though I'll probably just buy better stuff from now on.

[MU82]

The HS where I coached switched from Nike to UA during my time there. My first year, I got some excellent Nike gear. The UA gear I received in my second year was decidedly inferior -- though I did like one pair of shoes and one pair of socks I got.

Don't get me wrong ... I was happy to get any goods at all, as I basically was paid what today's rubles are worth. Just saying the UA gear simply wasn't as high a quality as the Nike gear.

UA had a lot of promise. They were the hot brand for a minute, especially after they signed Curry. But that was pretty short-lived.

Glad MU's gone with Jordan Brand.

[Hards Alumni]

The HS where I coached switched from Nike to UA during my time there. My first year, I got some excellent Nike gear. The UA gear I received in my second year was decidedly inferior -- though I did like one pair of shoes and one pair of socks I got.

Don't get me wrong ... I was happy to get any goods at all, as I basically was paid what today's rubles are worth. Just saying the UA gear simply wasn't as high a quality as the Nike gear.

UA had a lot of promise. They were the hot brand for a minute, especially after they signed Curry. But that was pretty short-lived.

Glad MU's gone with Jordan Brand.

Ruble to dollar is higher than it was a year ago.