Stock Stories

Facing conflict is always difficult.  Facing conflicts on multiple sides is even harder.   When companies face multiple headwinds and their attention and capital is diverted, we know as investors to take a close look at the risks.  We can also apply this principle to looking at a company’s stock price through the lens of technical momentum (buyers and sellers are always fighting to change the curr...

Brought together by conglomerate JAB Holdings in 2018, gourmet coffee and beverage giant Keurig Dr Pepper was born in its current form.  Although there is a growing diversity of brands, Keurig coffee and Dr Pepper soda are still the primary drivers of revenue. In today's episode we cover the business model of the Keurig Dr. Pepper, as well as discuss its financials.  We then spend some time s...

Nestled in a small Vermont town, entrepreneur Bob Stiller found delicious, gourmet coffee, and he was determined to share it with the world.  By joining forces with another up and coming coffee start up, Keurig became a nationwide brand name and coffee makers started showing up in office break rooms and home kitchens everywhere. In today's episode we cover the history of the gourmet coffee bu...

Dr. Pepper began as a pharmacist’s concoction in the small town of Waco, TX.  Over time its popularity grew and spread around the United States.  Other brands like 7-Up and Schweppes also grew in influence.  These brands, and many others were combined and broken up again various times and corporate influencers fought for control over the soda market. In today's episode we cover the history of...

Salesforce is the leader in CRM (customer relationship management) software.  By focusing on the cloud from the industry’s infancy, they’ve grown to become a major business that serves most of America’s large companies.   In today's episode we cover the history, business model, financials, and future outlook of Salesforce. SAP (SAP) - episode 145 Microsoft (MSFT) Part I - episode 90 Microsoft...

Although Costco didn’t invest the wholesale concept, one might think that they have perfected it.  One of only a few companies able to compete with Walmart’s Sam’s Club, Costco focuses on providing quality products to people at very low prices, and they do it by selling in bulk with a “no frills” approach. In today's episode we cover the history, business model, financials, and future outlook...

This year, I learned a lot happened.  Not just in the investment world, but in the world at large.  In today's episode, we take a moment to reflect on major events of 2020, a bit about how I'm thinking about things going forward, and a quick update about the show.  Also, there's a few listener shout outs!  Thank you for your reviews this year! Let’s connect!  Instagram: @stockstoryt...

O’Reilly Automotive has been a consistent grower in the auto parts space since it began in Springfield, Missouri decades ago.  Of the big three in this space (the other two being AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts ), O’Reilly has the most evenly split business between commercial and DIY customers.  They don’t pay dividends but consistently return a TON of money back to shareholders through share buyb...

Cause and effect is a generally understood principle - one thing happens and that causes another thing to happen.  But, what about when the effect comes back to influence the cause?  This is known as a feedback loop. In today's episode we explore the general concept of a feedback loop, and then apply it to how we look at markets as individual investors. Let’s connect!  Instagram: @stockstoryt...

Advance Auto Parts is a specialty auto parts retailer in the United States.  They sell most of their product to commercial customers, but have a retail portion of their business as well.  They've gone through multiple transformations over the years, and have grown mostly as a result of acquiring other smaller auto parts companies. In today's episode we cover the history, business model,...

Tesla has taken the auto world by storm by designing and producing a suite of high tech electric vehicles, as well as a system of software and energy products to complement them.  Over time, Elon Musk and his team have transformed the company from a small startup with a single car to a fast growing and polarizing company that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. In today's episod...

Tesla has taken the auto world by storm by designing and producing a suite of high tech electric vehicles, as well as a system of software and energy products to complement them.  Over time, Elon Musk and his team have transformed the company from a small startup with a single car to a fast growing and polarizing company that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. In today's episod...

AutoZone is an auto parts retailer that created a niche for itself throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s.  Through catering to DIY’ers, they’ve established themselves as a go to source for auto parts and advice.  Though relatively mature in the U.S. market, there has been gradual expansion into Mexico and Brazil.  While this company pays no dividends, one of the more interesting facts about it is the s...

General Motors became a powerhouse in the early 1900s and gave Henry Ford a run for his money.  Boasting several brands, each tailored to certain socio-economic and demographics groups, GM achieved significant market share in the past.  Now, the company has just four core brands and is trying to break into the electric vehicle and autonomous market. In today's episode we cover the history, bu...

These are some thoughts about what I wish I had known when I started investing.  I could have paid more attention to these lessons and saved a lot of money.  Because I made some of these mistakes, I am STILL paying for it in my portfolio.  I don’t want you to go through what I went through. I'd like to give a special shout out to some of my fellow investors out there who contributed their tho...

Multiplying anything by zero equals zero.  It's a numerical truth that we learn when we're young and in school.  Sadly, I think this concept gets applied to little more than math and people's homework when they're in formal education programs.  How can we apply this concept beyond the numerical and theoretical? Today's episode explores what happens when we take the concept...

SAP - short for Systems, Applications, and Products, is a software company based in Germany.  For decades, they have created software systems for businesses, and are most known for their Enterprise Resource Planning software, or ERP.  By linking the needs and requirements of different sides of a business, SAP's software becomes a single solution that a lot of businesses rely on to run their d...

Ventas is a REIT that operates at the intersection of real estate and healthcare.  With over 1200 properties spread throughout the United States, they are one of the biggest nursing home and medical office landlords out there.  We'll discuss Ventas' history, business model, and financials, as well as some closing thoughts. Want to say hello?  Send a DM on Instagram: @stockstoryteller Ema...

Digital Realty buys and operates buildings that house data centers.  Data centers are physical locations where computer systems are stored.  Companies pay DLR to store, protect, and route their data. Instagram: @stockstoryteller Email: alex@stockstoriespodcast.com Email: alex@stockstoriespodcast.com

Today we're talking about another REIT (REITs have definitely been on my mind lately!)  Federal Realty is one of the oldest REITs in America and has one of the best dividend track records.  In today's episode we explore the history, business model and financials of a company that has been focused on commercial retail - a challenging industry, to be sure.  We look at what Federal Realty i...

Basic Idea: By aligning yourself in a certain domain with favorable characteristics, you are more likely to have greater flexibility and reap more rewards. Today's mental model is called Seizing the Middle.  Seizing the middle is all about options.  Where can we put ourselves in life and business such that, in the future, we’re more likely to have a lot of options? Check out Shane Parrish&apo...

This week we're discussing the other Marriott spin-off.  This company is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that is the largest lodging REIT in the U.S., and the largest owner of Marriott properties.  They operate Marriott, Hyatt, and other branded hotels. Instagram: @stockstoryteller Email: alex@stockstoriespodcast.com Email: alex@stockstoriespodcast.com

A few weeks ago we discussed Marriott, one of the world's largest hotel chains.  In that episode I mentioned that at one point, they spun off a few businesses.  This is one of those businesses! Marriott Vacations Worldwide is in the vacation club business, or timeshares, as they are more frequently known.  We discuss how the timeshare industry works as well as details specific to the company....

In last week's episode we discussed one of the few publicly traded space companies out there - Virgin Galactic.  Well, what about all of the other start-up space companies that exist that aren't publicly traded?  Is there a way to invest in them? Today, I'm happy to share a conversation I had with entrepreneur Aaron Burnett, who has founded Spaced Ventures , a crowdfunding platform...

It's one of the few publicly traded space companies out there.  Virgin Galactic's mission is to help the greater good of humanity through space.  Though it's a vaguely described mission, Virgin has been putting their money where their mouth is by building space planes and actually launching them into orbit. Now a revenue generating operation, let's look at one of billionaire Ri...