The John Johnston Lounge

In this episode I look at why Alibaba (BABA) stock has fallen nearly 80% from its peak, and why it had yet another substantial drop just recently. I cover the pros and cons of owning BABA stock at this point, for the long term.Timestamps:00:44 Sources of investor fears and concerns05:30 Positives and catalysts07:05 Alibaba the company vs the stock price08:50 Superinvestor BABA  shareholders 10:32 Buy, sell, or hold?Related episode:Mohnish Pabrai: Why I Switched from Alibaba to Tencent https://youtu.be/v27JsHlgPZUDisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After looking at the latest Spotify Q3 2022 earnings, and listening to the earnings call with CEO Daniel Ek, in this episode I give an updated summary and some commentary on the streaming media company. Has the investment story changed?00:15 Spotify financial media headlines 02:57 SPOT recent share price action03:35 Spotify Q3 2022 highlights05:02 New video podcasting05:44 Q3 2022 financial summary06:19 Gross margin concern07:45 Free cash flow08:10 Global mix of monthly active users (MAUs)09:03 First iteration of Audiobooks09:43 Progress of Podcasting 10:08 Two-Sided Marketplace10:30 Outlook for Q4 202210:48 Earnings call highlights and commentary14:21 The critical metric: Lifetime User Value (LTV)15:58 Danial Ek on gross margins17:42 Increasing prices - pricing power19:07 Battling the gatekeeper: Apple19:42 A key takeawayRelated episode:Some Key Takeaways from Spotify Investor Day 2022https://youtu.be/EQHQcOZCkGMDisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you heard of the coffee can portfolio? It's a classic investing strategy, proven over many decades. It works only if the investor has the patience to carry it out without getting distracted. It involves doing nothing to beat the market, or almost nothing. How is it possible that it has worked? Let’s find out.Timestamps:00:18 The Coffee Can Portfolio01:14 Origins of The Coffee Can Portfolio strategy02:37 Why does it work?03:32 Pfizer coffee can example04:22 Extreme coffee can example05:33 Importance of changing company lifespans06:54 Coffee can strategy for 100 baggers07:52 Even Warren Buffett has sold too early08:40 Apple coffee can example09:55 How long does it take?Related episode: 100 Baggers: Returning $100 For Every $1 Invested https://youtu.be/fAARfZFO4GsDisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a very recent interview, super-investor Bill Ackman was asked: what are the red flags for you to decide to sell a company, even at a loss? Ackman had two main points to his answer, but also answered in a good amount of detail. He used his recent sale of Netflix as an example, after only owning the stock for a few months, which is unusual for him. His second point came in the form of some advice for retail investors about when to sell a stock, using Tesla as his hypothetical example.Timestamps:00:30 A remarkable business00:55 Netflix Undervalued?02:23 Ackman's Netflix investment thesis02:50 A reason to sell04:10 Another reason to sell04:55 Predictability and risk profile06:26 Ackman's advice to retail investors: Tesla hypothetical07:16 Thesis twisting is trouble08:03 On making investing mistakesRelated episode:Bill Ackman: Why NOW Is A Pretty Good Time To Buy Stocks https://youtu.be/krSnhsGfKoMThe Bill Ackman interview clips referenced in this episode can be found on the Interactive Investor channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/interactiveinvestorukDisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bill Ackman Interview: In a very recent interview, superinvestor and fund manager Bill Ackman, speaking about buying stocks in the current bear market, said “I think today is a pretty good time. It’s a pretty good point of entry”. In this episode, I delve into this and other important things Ackman said about investing today, including information on his current investing strategy and focus, his approach to stock picking, and his outlook on the macro economy.Timestamps:00:04 Ackman: Today is a pretty good time to buy00:41 Ackman’s investing strategy01:14 Impact of rising interest rates and inflation02:52 Pricing power rules04:21 Probability of coming recession04:32 Opportunistic macro investing05:02 Is Bill Ackman buying yet?07:54 Super-high quality rules08:31 Recent Ackman portfolio activity09:27 Keeping cash in reserve09:42 Is the current market cheap?10:07 Pershing Square buybacksThe Bill Ackman interview clips referenced in this episode can be found on the Interactive Investor YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/interactiveinvestorukDisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cannabis federal legalization has just taken a big step forward with a surprise announcement from president Biden to reschedule cannabis at the federal level, along with some other key cannabis policy changes. In this episode I explore what this means for investors, and what is likely to happen in the near future for publicly listed U.S. cannabis companies and their stocks.Timestamps:00:23 Cannabis stocks ripped higher on the news01:23 Biden's important cannabis policy announcement 03:42 Rescheduling cannabis, not federal decriminalization, yet04:24 No need to wait for SAFE Banking?05:34 US cannabis companies uplisting to major stock exchanges?06:28 Fair tax treatment for US cannabis companies07:06 US cannabis company valuation arbitrage08:02 Any more downside risk ahead?08:57 How quickly will Biden move on cannabis?Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his latest tweets, famed investor Michael Burry admits to feeling greedy as the stock market continues to fall. In this episode, I interpret Burry’s latest tweets, which can sometimes be cryptic. I also explain who Michael Burry is, what he means by "feeling greedy", and I consider whether the stock market is really crashing.Related video:Investor Jeremy Grantham: Super Bubble Enters Final Phasehttps://youtu.be/tTFO3Qn5e20Timestamps:00:13 Who is Michael Burry?00:37 What does Burry mean by “feeling greedy”?01:08 The "It has always been this way before” tweet01:48 Is the stock market crashing?04:11 The “In 2021 I warned on the ALL THINGS bubble” tweet05:52 The “ALL the silliness must go” tweet, 25 stock examples07:20 Where’s the bottom of the market?08:04 Burry's mid-late 2000 feeling - free cash flow on sale09:25 The difference between now and 200010:27 “I admit I’m feeling greedy.” But…11:11 “math problems that more or less must work out.”Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial help before making any investment decision Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I discuss the latest FQ4 2022 earnings release from Micron Technology (MU), and a brief investment thesis for the company from investor Mohnish Pabrai. Micron Technology is in the business of designing and manufacturing digital memory and storage products for multiple industries.Timestamps:00:15 Micron superinvestors00:55 Mohnish Pabrai’s Micron Investment Thesis02:40 Mohnish Pabrai and Li Lu collaboration04:32 Micron (MU) stock price history05:52 Micron’s historical cyclicality07:18 FQ4 Earnings highlights and summary09:10 New U.S. manufacturing facilitiesRelated video:Micron Technology (MU) Q3 2022 Earnings, Outlook and Mohnish Pabrai’s Investment Thesis https://youtu.be/0zG4fG3si5ADisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial help before making any investment decision Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a recent interview, Stanley Druckenmiller gave his current outlook for the stock market and macroeconomic environment. His current forecasts for both are very bearish, but he's wildly bullish on one sector, and mildly bullish on another asset class. He thinks the US Fed made a huge mistake in 2021, and the repercussions are going to be felt for a long time in stock markets.Timestamps:00:24 Who is Stanley Druckenmiller?00:36 Key points01:11 The US Fed’s big mistake01:52 The cause of rapidly rising inflation04:08 Druck’s stock market outlook05:17 Hard landing recession06:04 Druck’s still bullish on these06:43 Summing up DruckRelated video: Stanley Druckenmiller Interview Summary: Macro Investor Druck Predicts A Hard Landing (Recession)https://youtu.be/azNVEA6jdH4Interview transcript referenced in this episode:https://cnb.cx/3RCnhWuDisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a recent Q&A session, super investor Mohnish Pabrai shared the story of the investing career of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, one of India’s best investors of all time,  who recently died. In this episode, I share what Mohnish said, and distill it down to 4 important points about how Rakesh invested to great success.Timestamps:00:10 Who is Rakesh Jhunjhunwala?02:27 First important point03:02 Second important point03:35 Rakesh’s biggest compounder04:40 Third important point05:16 Fourth important point05:55 Rakesh’s other compounders06:30 The holy grail of investingRelated video:Mohnish Pabrai: “The best way to invest is…”https://youtu.be/lxl2bIS1o6cFinding future multibagger stocks like Starbucks (SBUX), with Mohnish Pabraihttps://youtu.be/3bAEnKtDI60Mohnish Pabrai interview referenced in the episode:Mohnish Pabrai’s Q&A session with the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok on August 30, 2022https://youtu.be/wz8N5CkTA2wDisclaimer: I am not a financial adviser. This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Do your own analysis and/or seek professional financial advice before making any investment decision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.