Thursday, July 2, 2020

The Humbling of Exxon; Jeff Ubben quits ValueAct for social investing; Inside eBay's Bizarre Campaign Against a Blog Critic; The Enduring Enigma of Costco's $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda Combo; A busy week of climbing

By Whitney Tilson

1) In my February 3 e-mail, I analyzed the financials of energy giant ExxonMobil (XOM) and what I found wasn’t pretty. The company is suffering from declining revenue, net income, and operating cash flow… and this is combined with rising capital expenditures. The result is insufficient free cash flow to cover the hefty dividend payments, […]
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Get ready: another massive wave of layoffs is about to hit the U.S. economy; Jobs Recovery Risks Stalling Out; Is There Really a 'Looming Bank Collapse?'; Buffett Missed Out on Crisis; Parallels between climbing and investing

By Whitney Tilson

Wednesday, July 1, 2020
1) Daniel Alpert, a founding managing partner of the New York investment bank Westwood Capital, has a well-reasoned – and troubling – prediction: Get ready: another massive wave of layoffs is about to hit the U.S. economy. Excerpt: Equity markets may not see it, but July is likely to see a resumption in layoffs stemming […]

Wirecard Scandal Puts Spotlight on Auditor Ernst & Young; Wirecard Shows Life at Hedge Funds Can be Agony; Who's going to be the next Wirecard?; Two obvious frauds; Wildlife in Yosemite

By Whitney Tilson

Tuesday, June 30, 2020
1) The implosion of German payments processor Wirecard (WDI.DE) offers so many lessons… One is how conflicted and/or incompetent auditors can be, as this Wall Street Journal story highlights: Wirecard Scandal Puts Spotlight on Auditor Ernst & Young. Excerpt: Ernst & Young GmbH, auditor to insolvent German fintech company Wirecard (WDI.DE), had questions related to […]

Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos; Every Amazon annual letter; A game-changing technology; Driving, not flying; Pics from yesterday's climb

By Whitney Tilson

Friday, June 26, 2020
1) I enjoyed this two-hour Frontline documentary: Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos. Love him or hate him, Amazon’s (AMZN) CEO is a remarkable man who has built one of the most powerful companies of all time. 2) If you’re interested in learning more, I’ve compiled a PDF of every one of […]

Wirecard bankruptcy; Wirecard's Downfall Blows Up $1 Billion Lifeline From SoftBank; Mastercard data; WeWork's infamous private jet is still for sale; Market Cap Madness?; Pictures from yesterday

By Whitney Tilson

Thursday, June 25, 2020
1) Following up on Monday’s e-mail, German payments processor Wirecard (WDI.DE) filed for bankruptcy today. As of yesterday’s close, the company still had a $1.7 billion market cap, which is now certain to be worthless (it’s down roughly 70% today). It’s a good lesson for those tempted to speculate in distressed stocks – yes, I’m […]
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Whitney Tilson

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About Whitney Tilson

Prior to creating Empire Financial Research, Whitney Tilson founded and ran Kase Capital Management, which managed three value-oriented hedge funds and two mutual funds. Starting out of his bedroom with only $1 million, Tilson grew assets under management to nearly $200 million.

Tilson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in government in 1989. After college, he helped Wendy Kopp launch Teach for America and then spent two years as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1994, where he graduated in the top 5% of his class and was named a Baker Scholar.

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