The Razor’s Edge

The software as a service sector has passed its first recession test in flying colors, as the nature of the coronavirus market has led to a increased business for these companies. With two of the most popular names - Slack and Zoom - due to report in a couple weeks, Akram's Razor and Daniel Shvartsman check in on the state of the sector and whether work from home is a benefit or a liability. Topic...

J Mintzmyer speaks with Ardmore Shipping management about Q1 and the fast-moving product tanker section. Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark - What’s the underlying trade in the product tanker markets? 2:30 - Thoughts on broker rates versus actual ‘market levels?’ 5:30 - Difference in voyages in progress versus completed QTD? 6:30 - Thoughts on chemical side of the business, rates coming in lower? 8:4...

In the most ambitious crossover event in Seeking Alpha podcast history, we turn the tables around. J Mintzmyer joins Akram's Razor and Daniel Shvartsman to talk the tanker trade, which is a hotly discussed topic in the markets these days. While the tanker rates and industry set up would seem to align with a generational shift, share prices have yet to pick up. Recorded at the beginning of a busy w...

J Mintzmyer spoke with Frontline's CEO, Robert Hvide Macleod, last week about how the tanker market is shaping up amidst a lot of commodity price moves and investor interest. Topics Covered 1:00 minute mark - What has changed in the market YTD compared to initial setups? 3:00 - Have we seen something like this in the market before? 4:30 - Preferable data source or metric for global storage balance...

We break down Snap's upside earnings report and what it means for the internet advertising space, coronavirus plays, the effects of stimulus, and a lot more. Topics Covered 2:30 minute mark: Setting the scene 7:30: Attention Costs 10:00: The Hollywood effect 14:00: Snap's international growth 18:00: The filter issue 23:00: Relative valuation 27:00: Amazon's perfect storm 30:00: Other advertisers'...

Zoom (ZM) was a go-go momentum stock in its first year of trading, with revenue multiples and performance outpacing most of its SAAS (software as a service peers). That was to a degree deserved due to the company's profitable business model and competitive advantages as a smooth, easy-to use video communications platform. With the advent of lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing to combat t...

J Mintzmyer speaks with Euronav Hugo de Stoop as part of Value Investor's Edge's COVID 19 / Oil Price War Forum. While shipping is in turmoil, oil tankers like Euronav are very nicely positioned. The two discuss the outlook for the months ahead. Topics Covered 2:15 minute mark - How is COVID-19 impacting the crude tanker markets and EURN? 4:45 -How has the oil price war shifted the market- How is...

After the Disney podcast we recorded last Friday and posted yesterday, Akram's Razor and Daniel Shvartsman continued to discuss the macro environment and the strange place we're in.

Disney is considered as blue-chip as it gets, but when you break down its famous flywheel - different business lines that all flow together to create the greatest diversions in the world - there's a lot of trouble spread around. Theme parks, box office, live sports, advertising are all under pressure - is Disney + enough to make up for that? We discuss the outlook for the entertainment company. To...

The last time J Mintzmyer and Value Investor's Edge hosted a virtual investor forum featuring industry analysts, management teams, and investors, all the way back in January 2020, it was like another world. IMO 2020 was still the buzzword, post New Year cyclicality was driving behavior, and coronavirus looked like it was a local issue in China. Meanwhile, a virtual investor forum proved to be quit...

As the coronavirus bear market continues to roil investors, we talk about what effect its had on the tech sector in general. Is the bubble over? Will the Nasdaq be a safe haven and a future outperformer? We discuss the impact already felt in the market and where things might go. Topics Covered 3:00 minute mark - The seismic shift 6:00 - Change in valuation approach 12:00 - Can the Nasdaq continue...

The last time J Mintzmyer and Value Investor's Edge hosted a virtual investor forum featuring industry analysts, management teams, and investors, all the way back in January 2020, it was like another world. IMO 2020 was still the buzzword, post New Year cyclicality was driving behavior, and coronavirus looked like it was a local issue in China. A lot has changed in two months. As Mintzmyer and the...

Elliott Management waged a short-lived and a successful activist campaign against Twitter, at least from the perspective of getting the company to respond. While the long-term results and the fate of Jack Dorsey as CEO are still unclear, we discuss whether Twitter's future is appealing for shareholders, what could actually be done to fix Twitter, and why this might not be the lay-up it seems. Topi...

Four different forces combined to create a big sell-off last week, and then a jagged but strong rebound this week. There's of course the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19. There is the Democratic primary in the US and what it foretells for the Presidential election in November. There is the, ahem, healthy valuation of the stock market, poised at all-time highs before the 7-session sell-off. And...

J Mintzmyer of Value Investor's Edge Live spoke with Lois Zabrocky and Jeff Pribor, CEO and CFO of International Seaways (INSW), to discuss their views on the tanker markets and IMO 2020. This followed on INSW's investor day in January, and comes in advance of the company's Q4 earnings report. Topics Covered 1:15 minute mark - Any surprises or different impacts in the markets? 3:00 - Impact from t...

PagerDuty was a screaming short last summer, an example of SaaS's over-competitive landscape and trading at a high valuation to boot. But with half the valuation and a stronger competitive advantage than expected, has the page turned for this tech company? Akram's Razor explains why he's taken the other side of the trade, and why the moat for PD has held up versus new entrants. Topics Covered 3:00...

On January 14th, Value Investor's Edge Live hosted Robert Hvide Macleod, CEO of Frontline (FRO), to discuss the crude tanker markets and their balance strategy to IMO 2020. Frontline is one of the largest tanker operators in the world and is backed by shipping legend John Fredriksen. FRO is set to pay large dividends in this market and they have maintained a premium valuation ahead of peers. Rober...

Facebook entering an election year is about as hot-button a topic as there is in the market outside Tesla. Akram's Razor has called it a compelling buy on two previous podcasts this year, and after the company sold off on its earnings, it seemed good time to revisit the story in full. With comparisons to Amazon and Google, as well as news media and the inevitable diversion into the issue of politi...

On January 17th, Value Investor's Edge Live spoke with Adrian Economakis, COO of VesselsValue, about the shipping markets and particular asset pricing cycles. Adrian reviewed some of the features of their research platform, which include trade analytics and a full database of all vessels and transactions. He also discussed some of the key observations from a review of asset cycle pricing across se...

In a continuation of the first ever Virtual Investor Forum on Value Investor's Edge, J Mintzmyer hosted Svein Harfjeld and Trygve Munthe, co-CEOs of DHT Holdings (DHT), on January 16th, to discuss the VLCC markets and their current scrubber program and capital allocation priorities. They reiterated the strong prioritization of dividends while also ensuring the balance sheet remains very conservati...

Pinterest has been one of the many 2019 IPOs to underwhelm in public markets to date, but there is an interesting growth story here. Filling a more specific user need, Pinterest could offer a more sustainable growth approach than other social media firms. The question is whether it can escape the example of Twitter's trajectory, and whether it can withstand the perennially looming juggernaut, Face...

As part of the first ever Virtual Investor Forum on Value Investor's Edge, J Mintzmyer spoke with Anthony Gurnee and Paul Tivnan, CEO and CFO of Ardmore Shipping, about the MR product markets and IMO 2020 implementation. We discussed company specifics as well including earnings potential and capital allocation priorities. Topics Covered 2:10 minute mark - Start of discussion: Overall market impact...

The market has seemed to be on an up and to the right path, but underneath there's been a surprising amount of churn. Large-cap growth stocks especially have moved suddenly on unclear reasoning, moves that seem skittish amidst a bull market. This may just be a sign of late-cycle behavior, or it may be a source of opportunity for the nimbly patient investor. We discuss several tech stocks and provi...

Oystein Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG (FLNG), joined Value Investor's Edge live to discuss the overall LNG shipping markets, US-China potential, and IMO 2020 impacts. We discussed the various types of vessel propulsion technology, reviewed their capital allocation priorities, and pressed their charter vs. spot strategy. This conversation is relevant for anyone with interests in the LNG sector includi...

Craig Stevenson, CEO of Diamond S Shipping (DSSI), and Kevin Kilcullen, CFO, joined Value Investor's Edge last Thursday, December 12th, to discuss the product tanker and Suezmax crude shipping markets ahead of pending IMO 2020 regulations. We reviewed capital allocation priorities and why they believe their stock price has been underperforming, and what they plan to do going forward. This conversa...