Late August 2026 Random Ramblings
Higher rates could compress equity multiples and raise AI data center lease costs, while UWMC and Cogent raise questions about CEO-driven capital allocation.
Thursday, August 27, 2026
From X
Broken Moats on X
CarMax cut vehicle prices to lift sales, but lower gross profit, weak auto loans and Carvana competition leave significant challenges after earnings.
Laughing Water Capital on X
GSK faces a July 14 trial over Jemperli, with AnaptysBio claiming rights that could restrict PD-1 partnerships. The dispute could end in a settlement or acquisition.
Broken Moats on X
Boston Scientific's revenue doubled and EBIT rose from $1.4 billion to $4.1 billion over five years, while Farapulse and Watchman growth slows and valuation embeds substantial expectations.
Broken Moats on X
Software sold off as private-credit names MFC, ARES and FG rose alongside banks, with JPM up 14% in June. The valuation gap points to lower private-credit prices.
Broken Moats on X
ELF, CAVA, Shake Shack and Birkenstock surged 30% to 60% within weeks despite weak sales or lower outlooks, raising questions about rate, oil and short-squeeze driven retail rallies.
Laughing Water Capital on X
@darkstarsats 2/x) $NN can play a video for congress of them running tests right outside the capital building, or maybe even inside, and say "see, no interference."
Laughing Water Capital on X
@darkstarsats 1/x) the point is that next time $NN is front of congress, when the opposition claims interference, Miriam can say "congressman, did you notice your key card not working?" "Sergeant at Arms, were there any issues w/ electronic security?" etc etc
Laughing Water Capital on X
I think there is signal value here. No way the FCC runs $NN tests at the literal capital building unless they have sign-off from the highest levels. To much risk of this being labeled a “stunt” unless the FCC and higher powers are strongly supportive. https://t.co/Eaxyu0UbS4
Investor Letters
All letters- Protean Funds July 2026 DVYSR $105M
- Royce Investment Partners Year-to-Date Through 6/30/26 AAP $2.6B
- Intrepid Capital 2Q26 GOOGL $4.2T
- Polaris Capital Management Second Quarter 2026 ENI $80B
- First Eagle Investments second quarter 2026 032830 $45B
- Oakmark Funds 2Q 2026 META $1.5T
- Greenhaven Road Capital second quarter ANAB $1.7B
- RGA Investment Advisors Q2 2026 ADBE $114B
ACIW 2026-08-27 ACI Worldwide: An Undercovered Payments Compounder Getting Better
SiliconBytes Insights 5 clicks
Domo (Arigato), for this potential multi-bagger options trade
Domo’s $400 million sale to Progress would leave a cash-rich public shell with $900 million of NOLs; January 2028 $5 calls cost 22 cents.
MT 2026-08-27 ArcelorMittal: Regionalization Is Creating A Structurally Better Steel Company
Capital Connoisseur 3 clicks
Nvidia’s Long-Term Margin Question
Nvidia faces questions over the durability of its long-term profit margins ahead of earnings.
[scuttleslops] AI Data Center Economics, ADI, INTU, IDXX
AWS AI campuses cost $40–$45 billion per gigawatt, with Trainium 3 expected to lift compute per megawatt and improve infrastructure returns.
Big Tech Off-Balance Sheet Concerns
Big Tech’s $3 trillion AI commitments are disclosed and largely long-dated, with nearly 60% of Amazon’s $650 billion commitments falling…
$ELAL: El Al is a wartime monopoly at 2x EBITDA. Is that a trap? | ASB Partners
El Al trades near 2x EBITDA after wartime near-monopoly profits, with $1.3 billion of net cash and owned aircraft weighed against…
CCC Is in the Middle of the Wreckage
CCC, the dominant auto physical-damage claims estimator, connects 27 of the top 30 insurers with 31,000 repair shops as takeout rumors…
NCLH or her grandma Saga?
Norwegian Cruise Line’s $15 billion debt and 2026-27 capex delay deleveraging, despite fuel-efficient new ships and stronger projected 2028…
Shitcos, Griftcos, and alignment versus enrichment at $IREN
IREN awarded each co-CEO roughly 9 million RSUs, about 2.5% of shares and $400 million, in exchange for no further equity grants until…
Late August 2026 Random Ramblings
Higher rates threaten equity multiples and AI data-center economics, while UWMC and Cogent raise questions about CEO-driven capital…
VRT 2026-08-27 Vertiv: AI's Physical Bottleneck Is Expanding Its Value Per Megawatt
LL Insights 3 clicks GM 2026-08-27 General Motors: The Billion Mile Moat
Muhammad Cheema 3 clicks KGC 2026-08-27 Kinross Gold: The Buy Case Is Margin, Not Growth
The Bullionaire 4 clicks TPC 2026-08-27 Tutor Perini: Q2 2026 Made My Strong Buy Case Stronger
The Curious Analyst 4 clicksRoyal Gold INC
Royal Gold, a $19 billion precious-metals royalty and streaming company, benefits from mine production without operating mines directly.
the chemours inc.
Chemours (CC) is presented as a long investment in its three-segment specialty chemicals business.
Hilton Grand Vacations
Hilton Grand Vacations faces an inflection point in profitability growth and free cash flow generation.
Nexi SpA
Nexi, continental Europe’s largest merchant acquirer, is presented as a long investment using normalized EPS and EBIT that exclude…
RKLB 2026-08-26 Rocket Lab Is Becoming Much Bigger Than Neutron
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