The John Johnston Lounge

I investigate which super-investors have been buying Chinese stocks, including Alibaba stock (BABA), JD stock, Baidu (BIDU), PDD and others during the past quarter. The 13F filings of large fund managers have just been reported, including from famed “Big Short” investor Michael Burry, so we can see the stocks they’ve been buying and selling in the quarter.  Timestamps 00:21 Michael Burry portfolio...

I survey some of the latest small cap stock portfolio buys of various super investors. Timestamps: 00:27 David Einhorn: Green Brick Partners 02:09 Daniel Loeb: Cinemark Holdings 03:37 Lee Ainslie: Revolve Group 06:03 Bruce Berkowitz: Bank OZK  08:20 Viking Global Investors: Reddit Inc 09:06 Glenn Welling: Portillo’s Inc 11:17 Bryan Lawrence: LGI homes Inc 13:08 Terry Smith: Oddity Tech Ltd 16:09 G...

This episode includes a summary and analysis of the Alibaba March Quarter 2024 Earnings results, and my current thoughts on BABA Stock.  Timestamps: 00:12 Recent BABA stock price activity 00:51 Alibaba Financial Highlights  04:27 Cash return to shareholders: repurchases, dividends 07:47 Taobao & Tmall 08:27 Cloud Intelligence Group 09:49 Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (AIDC) 10:5...

Is meme stock madness back? Roaring Kitty (Keith Gill) is back posting online, and that immediately sent GameStop stock and other meme stocks soaring. There’s also been a lot of options activity in the stock. I take a look at how it’s playing out this time, and I discuss some finance media reactions to the news.  Related video Druckenmiller: AI Over-Hyped Now, Under-Hyped Long Term | Nvidia Stock...

I discuss part of super investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting Q&A, in which Buffett said the if he were starting out investing today, with a million dollars or less, he’d be looking at small cap ideas, to be able to make high returns. Related episodes: Is Warren Buffett As Bearish As He Ever Gets On Stocks? https://youtu.be/bKy1fth0TME Why is Warren Buffett STACKING HUGE...

I react to part of the latest Stanley Druckenmiller interview, in which the legendary super investor discusses why and when he cut his Nvidia stock holding, and his current opinion on the future of Ai technology and its impact. Timestamps: 00:23 Where Druckenmiller cut Nvidia stock 02:17 NVDA stock price action & price targets 04:36 AI Overhyped short term, underhyped long term 07:13 Druckenmi...

I react to an investment fund manager who asserts that Warren Buffett is as bearish on the stock market as he’s ever been. Is Buffett waiting for a stock market crash to deploy Berkshire Hathaway’s huge and growing cash pile? Related episodes  Why is Warren Buffett STACKING HUGE CASH Right Now? https://youtu.be/BJnMzNFTRMQ Super Investor Warren Buffett Just Bought These Stocks https://youtu.be/sWq...

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has just had its annual meeting in Omaha, and in the legendary hours-long Q&A session, super investor Buffett answered questions about why he’s hoarding so much cash instead of buying stocks. Buffett also talked about selling some of Berkshire’s Apple stock. Timestamps: 00:26 Goal: increasing operating earnings, decreasing shares outstanding 01:37 Losing App...

This is a full preview of candid thoughts from the Weekly Investing Update I post for the new Value Supporter tier on The Art of Value Patreon. Timestamps: 00:49 Alibaba and other China tech stocks jump 01:58 How to beat the stock market 04:21 Major catalyst in this emerging sector 05:09 Starbucks stock crash and explosive CEO interview 06:49 Tesla earnings and the changing macro environment Relat...

Starbucks stock (SBUX) has crashed since the latest earnings, and was declining well before that. I analyze Starbucks earnings, and then react to an explosive Jim Cramer interview with the CEO, to find out what could be going wrong with the company and stock. Timestamps: 00:37 Starbucks stock price action 02:32 Starbucks Earnings 04:34 Reacting to Starbucks CEO Interview Related episode: Aswath Da...

I discuss the historic news and investing implications from the US cannabis sector today, that the DEA has agreed to reschedule cannabis from Schedule 1 to the more benign Schedule 3.  00:17 Cannabis rescheduling finance news  02:54 Historic: DEA Agrees to reschedule marijuana 05:32 MSOS ETF stock price and volume reaction 07:27 Up-listing to major stock exchanges soon? 08:05 High-profile politici...

I discuss an article that shows that a certain type of “do nothing” stock portfolio can beat the S&P 500 stock market index over the long term. Timestamps: 00:20 Article intro: What Beat The S&P 500 01:46 The backtest used 03:29 The findings 07:19 Expanding the scope to 3 decades 10:31 The takeaway lessons Related episodes Chuck Akre Said This About How to Find 100 Baggers https://youtu.be...

I react to an article about the very recent rally in Alibaba stock and whether it can be sustained. The article discusses whether Alibaba stock is a screaming buy or a value trap, and I give my thoughts on the BABA stock situation. Timestamps: 00:28 A buy or a value trap - article 01:10 BABA price action 02:32 Can BABA break-out? 05:40 A screaming value buy? 07:46 China Japanification or not? 08:3...

I take an in-depth look at the financials in the Tesla Q1 2024 Update, and other aspects of the Tesla investor deck.  Timestamps: 00:41 Tesla Q1 2024 Update - Investor Deck highlights 07:16 Tesla Q1 2024 Update - Quarter Highlights 09:44 Financial Summary - the important numbers 14:40 Operational Summary - production & delivery numbers Related episodes: My Thoughts On Bombshell Tesla Stock Ear...

Tesla stock news! The much anticipated Tesla Earnings results for Q1 2024 are out. I react to key moments in the Tesla Earnings Call with Elon Musk. Elon discusses autonomous driving and Tesla FSD, the future of Tesla Optimus humanoid robot, his own future at Tesla, the fast-growing Tesla energy storage segment, and more. Timestamps: 00:28 Reacting to Elon Musk’s opening remarks 05:12 Tesla Q1 Fin...

I react to part of the first Pabrai Wagons Fund investor call, in which Pabrai discusses his new Microsoft and Amazon stock holdings. Pabrai fields questions from investors about why he bought MSFT and AMZN for the new mutual fund. Timestamps: 00:54 Why buy Microsoft & Amazon at the current market valuations? 03:54 Two truly exceptional businesses…  07:00 Microsoft: an almost indestructible fr...

Here’s an update of the top 10 positions in the Mohnish Pabrai Wagons Fund stock portfolio, for Q1 2024, and a recap of the 20 positions held at the end of Q4 2023. There have been some additions to the portfolio, including adding Occidental Petroleum stock. Did Pabrai “shameless clone” this stock from Warren Buffett himself?  Timestamps: 00:14 Pabrai Wagons Fund investor updates 02:15 Portfolio r...

I respond to well known finance YouTuber Financial Education, Jeremy Lefebvre, who discusses the overall stock market underperformance of small cap stocks recently, including in his portfolio, and in what scenarios they could explode higher soon. I also discuss my recent positive experiences with small cap stock performance. Related episodes: Market Crash? Meet Kevin +Jeremy Lefebvre Just Said Wha...

I react to and discuss another recent interview with Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, in which he again attempts to predict the short and medium term trajectory of the stock market based on macroeconomic factors, including the level of the S&P 500 by yearend. I also discuss a recent interview with Interactive Brokers Chair Thomas Peterffy, who observes that margin loans are at an all time high, and discus...

I react to and discuss part of a recent interview with Alibaba co-founder & Chair Joe Tsai, conducted by Norges Bank Investment Management. In this part, Joe Tsai discusses starting out as an investor before co-founding Alibaba, meeting Jack Ma, scaling Alibaba, falling behind the increasingly intense competition in China, acknowledging mistakes, and recently reorganising Alibaba to course cor...

I react to a recent interview with Fundstrat Managing Partner Tom Lee, in which he boldly predicts the short term trajectory of US inflation, interest rates, and the level of the S&P 500 by yearend. Join The Art of Value Patreon community for exclusive videos and more: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheArtofValue⁠ Related episodes: Inflation Comes In Hot, Stocks Panic! (Larry Summers interview) http...

Recent Inflation numbers have came in unexpectedly high, and the stock market reacted immediately to the downside on the news. In this episode I react to some of an interview with Former Treasury Secretary and current OpenAI board member Larry Summers, who is critical of how The Fed is handling inflation and the US economy. Related episodes: Aswath Damodaran: Why The Stock Market Is Now Overpriced...

I’ve started a new, dedicated Alibaba stock (BABA stock) YouTube channel, The Art of Value: Alibaba Stock. If you regularly enjoy my Alibaba stock videos here, please do subscribe to the new channel, as it will be all Alibaba, all the time!  Here’s a link to the new channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtOfValueBABA And here’s the very first video:  Alibaba Stock: New Jack Ma Memo Hints at Return...

For the very first video on my new, dedicated Alibaba stock YouTube channel, I report and discuss this latest Alibaba stock (BABA stock) and co-founder Jack Ma news. Jack Ma has posted another surprise morale-boosting internal memo to Alibaba staff. Could Jack Ma also be hinting at a comeback to the company? I look for clues in the memo. The Art of Value: Alibaba Stock channel is here: https://www...

I react to a recent interview with Prof. Aswath Damodaran from NYU, "The Dean of Valuation", who explains why he thinks the market is currently overpriced, and investors are pricing-in near future downside risks adequately. He discusses inflation,The Fed, the bond market, interest rates, and a possible US recession.  Related episodes: Aswath Damodaran: Nvidia Stock “Priced To The Point o...