Barel Karsan

It is interesting that the subsidiaries indemnifie...

2009-01-07T08:24:00.000-05:00

It is interesting that the subsidiaries indemnified CVS if CVS had to pay on the guarantee. Think about it --- CVS only has to pay on the guaranty if the sub cannot pay the lease, which also means that the sub cannot indemnify CVS. The indemnification is smoke and mirrors, making it look like CVS is protected when it really is not. That kind of cheesy footnote is in itself a warning signal.

Hi Anon,I assume you mean Coke, since that's the a...

2009-01-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

Hi Anon,

I assume you mean Coke, since that's the article you commented on? You're right that growth expectations do factor into P/E values, but it is not the only factor: note that despite being a smaller company 30 years ago, Coke's P/E was still lower than it is today due to other factors (e.g. market sentiment).

This analysis is good idea but has a severe drawba...

2009-01-05T22:34:00.000-05:00

This analysis is good idea but has a severe drawback. Walgreens is now a mature company. So there is not much to expect in terms of fututer growth in earnings. So we really cannot compare its current P/E Vs its P/E twenty years in the past. Such comparisons are incorrect. You could however, compare the P/E of a company now with its P/E say 3 years back. That makes more sense.

Hi Div,I don't know a source that will provide the...

2009-01-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

Hi Div,

I don't know a source that will provide the historical P/E; I constructed it using P data and E data. A lot of useful sources for finding price and earnings data were discussed in the comments section here.

Thanks for the kind words, Matias.I'll take a look...

2009-01-05T21:21:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the kind words, Matias.

I'll take a look at those when I get a chance.

Interesting analysis. I was curious where did you ...

2009-01-05T13:43:00.000-05:00

Interesting analysis. I was curious where did you find historical P/E ratios for WAG going so far back in time?

DGI

Barel, your blog is getting better by the day. Out...

2009-01-05T11:45:00.000-05:00

Barel, your blog is getting better by the day. Outstanding.

I would reccomend some comparative analysis of historic P/Es (vs PEP for example that I find cheaper than KO).

I was trying to get information on bottlers too. I konw where too start now. Lots of activity in that arena.

From the chart it looks like there is at least 2 y...

2008-12-31T23:18:00.000-05:00

From the chart it looks like there is at least 2 years to go till it reach a level that is "normal".

Where do you think this money spend on military go...

2008-12-30T18:46:00.000-05:00

Where do you think this money spend on military goes? Can you name some of the innovations that bore out of defense budgets?

Hi Anon,While you are right that these numbers are...

2008-12-28T21:04:00.000-05:00

Hi Anon,

While you are right that these numbers are usually stated in months sales, I disagree that the absolute number is meaningless. Monthly sales will fluctuate greatly based on consumer confidence, so while months sales is good if you're thinking short term and assuming no change in months sales, for a good long-term historical perspective the absolute number is the more useful.

Inventories are normally stated in months sales, N...

2008-12-28T15:37:00.000-05:00

Inventories are normally stated in months sales, NOT in an absolute number. The absolute number is meaningless unless it is viewed in terms of the sales figures.

Love the book summaries BTW, helping me "catch up" on the list.

The notion that people would get better education ...

2008-12-26T17:41:00.000-05:00

The notion that people would get better education is absurd. The economic incentive is there right now, alas rational beings are not.

From a rational economic perspective, this is fine...

2008-12-26T17:39:00.000-05:00

From a rational economic perspective, this is fine and dandy. But a willing government would simply be kicked out of office, and a less Machiavellian one would replace it.
The time lag for this policy to work probably wouldn't be short enough to make people suck it up.

Hi Chad,On a naked short you can certainly get kil...

2008-12-17T04:20:00.000-05:00

Hi Chad,

On a naked short you can certainly get killed. But those who owned both Porsche and shorted Volkswagen in equal proportions would have benefited from Porsche's gain, which would neutralize the losses resulting from Volkswagen's price rise. They would most likely have to answer margin calls, however.

Isn't this the type of thing hedge funds tried to ...

2008-12-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

Isn't this the type of thing hedge funds tried to do with Porsche and Volkswagon? ;)

Yes, I suppose the Yogi Berra explanation is as el...

2008-12-16T10:41:00.000-05:00

Yes, I suppose the Yogi Berra explanation is as eloquent as any.

You also have to put into the proper contenxt the ...

2008-12-16T08:24:00.000-05:00

You also have to put into the proper contenxt the amount of "fake" money that existed that has no exited the system and all factors of deflation in housing, commodities and other sectors. Yes world governments have been plowing in money, but I think this its been over & above what's been taken out. A 40% drop in equity markets around the world certainly hasn't been replaced by 50% new money creation.

Hi Matias,According to the listing requirements of...

2008-12-16T04:14:00.000-05:00

Hi Matias,

According to the listing requirements of this exchange, there is no minimum $1 USD requirement.

It ain't over till it's over?

2008-12-16T04:11:00.000-05:00

It ain't over till it's over?

However, both are running the risk of delisting (l...

2008-12-15T12:31:00.000-05:00

However, both are running the risk of delisting (less than 1 USD a share) what happens then with the arbitrage?

In light of the Bernard Madoff situation, do you m...

2008-12-15T12:11:00.000-05:00

In light of the Bernard Madoff situation, do you mind revisiting Solon's warning?

Sort of remind me of Eddie Lampert

2008-12-14T17:45:00.000-05:00

Sort of remind me of Eddie Lampert

They also own 90% of the nascent infiniband market...

2008-12-13T15:30:00.000-05:00

They also own 90% of the nascent infiniband market that is just now being penetrated by the big boys of networking equipment (25% secular growth rate). While there is a lot of competition and their entrance into the 10gbE market worries me, seems like a growth stock with defensible IP can be had here for an $85m Enterprise Value and 4x EV/Owners Earnings.

I wrote in Vancouver. Ha, they told us something l...

2008-12-11T15:59:00.000-05:00

I wrote in Vancouver. Ha, they told us something like that too. Thinking of doing a blog post on the sitting in case it helps future candidates, let me know if you suggest anything to include.

I wrote in Calgary with about 600 others, and you?...

2008-12-11T15:49:00.000-05:00

I wrote in Calgary with about 600 others, and you? Before the test, they told us that they had some sort of frequency interceptor to detect if cell phones were on. Ridiculous!

Ali