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.
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Back to today 
From X
catechwilliams on X
@StockJabber Thank you. As a read on $PLUS Q3 is tracking in October, $CSCO just reported -23% sales in networking (products account for ~50% of $PLUS revenue) for the Oct quarter-end. Further confirmation that PLUS Q3 is going to be ugly and no turnaround in sight.
catechwilliams on X
$PLUS Accelerating, sales -14% y/y in Q2, noted Q3 not improving yet implied FY guide is for flat sales (downward revisions to come). Margins benefitted from 1-time financing segment gain-on-sale. Still trading at a premium to higher quality industry leader CDW, makes zero sense.
catechwilliams on X
$PLUS Earnings on 8/5, expectations & stock disconnected from reality. Suppliers ($CSCO – 50% of product sales), competitors & customers all reporting sharp sales declines. Non-event PR today re a service they’ve been offering for 3 yrs is pumping stock; suggests mgmt is grasping
catechwilliams on X
Meanwhile disintermediation by OEMs going direct is accelerating. See recent commentary from partners $CSCO, $PANW $DELL, etc. $PLUS has zero discernable benefit from $NVDA and AI.
catechwilliams on X
Answer: aggressive revenue booking, financing sales, selling products at/ below cost to boost revenue and hoping to “then try to build it back up over time” per CEO. Contrast $PLUS performance w competitor and industry leader $CDW.
catechwilliams on X
$PLUS Numbers don’t add up. 50% sales $CSCO product (sales -13% MRQ, guided -11%). MRQ $PLUS sales +13% (reported yesterday). Earnings call question: “OEM Cisco have talked about bottlenecks, weak orders. You’ve been unscathed…how are you outperforming the market significantly?”
Little Owl Research on X
8/ There is a lot more to talk about (24% sequential increase in new home sales, ward village condo sales etc.) but I am hungry. So to wrap up, if you're selling $HHH on this quarterly report you do not understand what you own and I will be buying your shares at tomorrow's open.
Little Owl Research on X
1/ So first things first, $HHH missed on top and bottom line. Am I concerned? Absolutely not. Value was created for shareholders and I'll briefly explain why...
Investor Letters
All letters- Alluvial Capital Management Second Quarter 2026 GTX $4.9B
- Royce Investment Partners Year-to-Date Through 6/30/26 AAP $2.6BCBZ $3B
- Greenhaven Road Capital second quarter CLBT $2.9BHGTY $4.7B
- First Eagle Investments second quarter 2026 CENX $3.9BCOHU $2.7B
- Southeastern Asset Management 2Q26 CNX $4.9BFBIN $4.8B
- Horizon Kinetics 2nd Quarter 2026 MIAX $3.8B
- Ariel Investments Quarter Ended June 30, 2026 HAE $4.9BMSGE $3.7B
- O'Keefe Stevens Advisory Q2 2026 CALY $2.6BHCC $4.6B
SA 2026-08-20 Seabridge Gold: Fairly Valued Now But Big Upside
Seabridge Gold's KSM gold-copper project could re-rate on a joint venture, 2027 feasibility study and infrastructure progress, with gold…
Redfern Research 
$DNOW: the boring distributor that could double on 2029 numbers | Firebird Management
DNOW’s MRC Global merger targets $75 million of synergies, with a 2029 bull case of $30 to $32 per share driven by cash flow and rerating.
$UWMC lost $600m hedging a deal they'd already lost
UWMC booked a roughly $600 million Q2 hedging loss tied to TWO months after the deal collapsed, contributing to an expensive capital raise.
Perimeter Solutions: 2Q26 Business Recap
Perimeter Solutions’ 2Q26 revenue rose 31%, while operating income fell 11% as USDA pricing and DLA delivery timing hurt Fire Safety; it…
$CBZ: stop the buybacks and restart the M&A flywheel? | Reference Equity
CBIZ activist Ryan Bunn urges ending buybacks, issuing equity and resuming bolt-on acquisitions to delever after the $2.3 billion Marcum…
$VEON: a busted EM telecom hiding a 4x? | Samit Umatiya, UIG Funds
VEON’s 84% Kyivstar stake and JazzCash underpin a sum-of-the-parts case for 4x upside, despite its sanctioned shareholder, capital…
Under The Hood, Wingstop Inc. ($WING)
Wingstop generates most of its $697 million revenue from franchise royalties across a 3,153-restaurant, 98%-franchised system while…
A Hardware Multiple on a Software Powerhouse
A software powerhouse posts a record quarter while trading at a 52-week low, raising a valuation disconnect between its business model and…
Vidrala
Vidrala has grown from a Spanish glass-container maker into a multi-country packaging platform with expanding Latin American exposure.
Shift4 Company Podcast Episode Released!
Shift4 built its payments business by acquiring gateway nodes and migrating merchants to its processing platform; revenue has compounded…
CNR · long Core Natural Resources INC
Core Natural Resources is a US metallurgical and thermal coal producer formed in January 2025 through the merger of CONSOL Energy and Arch…
BHVN 2026-08-27 Biohaven: Sale Of Opakalim Rights To SK Biopharmaceuticals Makes Sense On Many Levels
Biohaven’s $795 million global opakalim licensing deal with SK Biopharmaceuticals boosts cash, lowers R&D spending and extends its funding…
Edmund Ingham 1 click
My Biggest Position: A Monopoly Priced for Failure
A former value-investor darling, down 50%, pairs a monopoly with a recurring-revenue razor-and-blade business; debt paydown, margin…
Haw Par Corporation Limited
Haw Par combines Tiger Balm’s stable cash flows with property, leisure and healthcare operations plus stakes in UOB and UOL.
National Beverage Update
National Beverage’s rare share repurchase is framed as a buy signal, with 50% upside projected.
Tis The (Earnings) Season
Argentine banks, tariff-exposed stocks and Customer’s Bancorp anchor an earnings-season watchlist after Milei’s election victory,…
When extend and pretend is a virtue
Upstart says longer repayment terms lifted Q1 debt-settlement acceptances 50%, but does not disclose delinquency changes or the number of…
Sarepta Risk and the FDA
Sarepta’s Exondys 51 approval despite a 12-patient trial frames FDA regulatory risk and a call to remove Commissioner Robert Califf.
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