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Saturday, October 10, 2026

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@StableBread 1 click

Fajasy on X

Newbury Street II $NTWO, the SPAC taking robot-safety maker FORT Robotics public, closed at $10.81 on October 9, below the cash in its trust. The final proxy for its October 28, 2026 extension vote, filed the same day, shows $186.9M in the trust as of October 7, or $10.833/share. The vote would push Newbury's deadline for closing the deal from November 4 to February 4, 2027, and holders who want to cash out at $10.833 have until 5pm EST on October 26 to submit their shares. The proxy also says the S-4 (the merger filing) is still "to be filed," 52 days after FORT CEO Samuel Reeves told employees to expect it "in the coming weeks." So at $10.81, the market values the FORT deal at zero, and holders who skip this redemption can still cash out at the merger vote, once they've seen the S-4.
@calvinblissett

Calvin Blissett on X

$TLF: Tandy Leather Factory (TLF) is the dominant specialty retailer and wholesaler of leather, tools, hardware, dyes, and DIY kits for leathercraft, with ~101 stores plus e-commerce serving a niche hobbyist and artisan base; its narrow moat stems from a 100+ year brand, unmatched physical store network that doubles as hands-on community and education hubs (classes, expert staff, ability to feel product quality), and a deep proprietary assortment of kits/tools that general craft chains cannot match, supporting high gross margins (recently expanding toward 65%) and modest customer stickiness. At ~$2.55/share it has a market cap of ~$21M and enterprise value of ~$43M (with ~$28M debt/leases vs. ~$6.4M cash); it trades at a steep discount to tangible book value of $47M ($5.73/share, P/B ~0.45x) and working capital of ~$35M, both well above the market cap, implying liquidation value (even after conservative discounts on inventory) exceeds the equity value and provides a meaningful margin of safety. Capital allocation has featured large special dividends (including ~$6.1M or $0.75/share in early 2026, partly from prior asset sales) with an unused $5M buyback authorization, while recent investments in a new headquarters/flagship and systems pressured cash. Future growth is modest, driven by pricing power, e-commerce/nontraditional channels, and expense discipline in a flat-to-declining niche rather than volume expansion. LTM Owner’s Earnings (FCF) are negative at roughly -$2.3M due to operating outflows and elevated CapEx; next-12-month figures should improve toward breakeven or modestly positive as one-time spending normalizes and margins hold. Likely catalysts include sustained operating profitability and positive free cash generation (already evident in recent quarterly margin gains and small profits), potential further capital returns if cash rebuilds, and deep-value attention given the low float and discount to book; risks center on consumer discretionary sensitivity, rising occupancy costs, competition, and inventory management.
@calvinblissett

Calvin Blissett on X

$CNRD: M cap $145m, net cash $28m. $28.83 stock. One of the few specialized ship makers left. Q3 2025 footnotes whow change in severance comp indicating a sale and foudning family estate planning. Sale at 8x 2025 EBITDA yields $54-$55 share price. Won a partnership with Samsung recently. Contract won May 13th is $25m min over next 3 years. Backlog $293m. $3.6 a share in FCF in Q2 2026 alone (stock at $28.83). Founding family involved. Current administration likley to spend more $ on shipbuilding (Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores America’s Maritime Dominance – The White House). (Navy shipbuilding stands to get $27 billion in funding in 2026 - Defense One).
@calvinblissett

Calvin Blissett on X

$OPBK: Korean American depositor focus across Southern CA, TX, NV, WA. LTM Owner's Earnings=27.32m 7.8x multiple. 3.7% dividend. At book. 12 full service branches and 1 loan production office (LPO). SBA preferred lender status allows them to unload 75% of loans at a premium. Focused on real estate and housing. 1h 2026 closed 5 LPOS due to "limited market demand" was outside core geography. NPLS +22.7% from YE 2025 to Q2 2026. Cost of deposits end of Q2 2.93%, more than 50% are CDs which is bad as they are not sticky and rate sensitive.
@calvinblissett

Calvin Blissett on X

$FF: $195m EV, 30-40m current EBITDA est at RIN prices. 30m in hidden Arkansas land value (1.7k A out of 2.2k not being used) Thesis: Future Fuel's economics are primarily a bet on biodiesel margins. FF owns a relatively high-cost 59-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant, so it generally needs stronger industry margins than larger competitors to justify running at high utilization. The reason a high-cost producer like FF can still matter is the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): refiners must satisfy EPA-mandated renewable-fuel volumes, either by blending fuel or acquiring RIN credits. When mandated demand approaches or exceeds economical industry supply, the D4 RIN price rises until the marginal/high-cost producers have enough incentive to restart. FF is one of those marginal producers. That is the core thesis today. D4 RINs have risen sharply from roughly $0.50 in the depressed period to around $1.50, reflecting tighter expected supply/demand, while the EPA's much higher 2026–27 requirements should require substantially more biomass-based diesel production. If the industry remains short of required supply and the RIN bank is drawn down, RINs and therefore biodiesel margins should remain high enough to keep FF operating profitably; roughly speaking, every $0.10/gallon of sustainable margin on ~50 million gallons equals ~$5 million of annual operating profit. A return toward $0.30–$0.50/gallon margins could mean ~$15–25 million of biodiesel operating profit, versus very little or losses when margins collapse. The catalysts are higher plant utilization, continued tight D4 RIN supply/2027 RIN-bank depletion, and stronger chemicals earnings; the major risk is the opposite—RIN prices fall because supply increases, EPA policy weakens demand, exemptions expand, or renewable-diesel capacity overwhelms the market. In simple terms: FF is the expensive factory that the market may now need to run, and the RIN price is effectively what determines whether it gets paid enough to do so.
@calvinblissett 1 click

Calvin Blissett on X

This is a piece by @MagicCompounds $PAL. Quick Glance 4x LTM FCF with synergies coming from March acquisition. PAL consolidated at bottom of cycle (now largest player) and cycle is showing tell-tale signs of rationalization (bankruptcy of 2nd largest player) Positives and Negatives: Highly regarded CEO in the industry who has done this before with high returns (+), getting hurt by diesel (-), should catch up due to mechanism and incentives to continue providing service, current Q may be ugly especially GAAP. Consolidated at bottom of cycle (+). Lots of leverage provides torque and risk (+/-), double the insider sales to purchases (-). 15% market cap buyback with barely any used (-).

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What I’ve Been Up To

Cogent Communications and AI data-center bottlenecks feature in a newsletter update on recruiting, financial media and conference takeaways.

CCOI $515M
Stock Thoughts 1 click
ELME · long

Elme Communities

Elme Communities, a REIT, is nearing the end of a long liquidation process.

ELME $156M
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Yet Another Value Podcast 13 clicks

The Verra Sneerer (NASDAQ:VRRM)

Verra Mobility renewed Hertz tolling management for five years. AutoKinex lets rental customers buy tolling, fuel and protection products…

VRRM $445M
The Oak Bloke 6 clicks

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