Archive

January. 2020

Charlie Munger meeting three weeks from today; Kim Iskyan on Argentina; More on the 12 questions to ask before you marry someone

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
1) Charlie Munger’s Daily Journal annual meeting will take place three weeks from today on Wednesday, February 12 at The Center at Cathedral Plaza, 555 W. Temple St. in downtown Los Angeles. It starts at 10 a.m. with brief formalities, and then Munger will take questions from the 1,000-plus people in the audience for a […]

The DIVAS – the next FAANG stocks; My interview about Tesla; Warring anecdotes; Rivian R1T pickup truck; Ford Mustang Mach-E

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
1) Longtime readers know that I’m bullish on Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), and Google’s parent company Alphabet (GOOGL). But I’m also realistic. While I think they’re good bets to double, it’ll likely take three to five years. The era of huge short-term gains from these stocks is almost certainly over. Thus, I’m always on the […]

Restaurant Brands; Stage Stores; Beware of stock promotions; Admit It: You Have a Box of Cords You'll Never, Ever Use Again

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Friday, January 17, 2020
1) In yesterday’s e-mail, as part of our analysis of Burger King and Popeyes franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group (TAST), my friend Glenn Tongue noted that: Franchisors operate one of the best business models in the world: high return on invested capital (“ROIC”) and margin, low reinvestment needs, consistent predictable cash flows, etc. Franchisees, on the […]

Carrols Restaurant Group; General Magic documentary

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Thursday, January 16, 2020
1) At the ICR Conference, I saw the presentation by Carrols Restaurant Group (TAST), which operates more than 1,000 Burger King and 58 Popeyes restaurants. I was really hoping to like it because a number of smart investors own it, and the stock is down by two-thirds in the past 16 months to a seven-year […]

Thoughts on various companies at the ICR Conference: Domino's Pizza, Five Below, United Natural Foods, At Home, Tilray, Goosehead Insurance, TGI Friday's, Luckin Coffee, IAA; Mike Wallace Is Here documentary

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
1) Yesterday, Empire Financial Research Senior Analyst Steve Culbertson and I spent a second day hearing the pitches and meeting the management teams of more than a dozen companies at the ICR Conference. Overall, it was slim pickings. We didn’t find any “pound the table” long ideas – which is, I suppose, what one should […]

Free webinar tonight; Why I attend the ICR Conference; Let your winners run; All of my 10-baggers; Denny's; The dangers of shorting growth; Freshpet; Lime pulls its scooters out of 12 markets and lays off staff

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
1) A final reminder: Stansberry Research is hosting a free webinar tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time. My friends Porter Stansberry, Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, and Dr. David Eifrig are coming together to discuss their market predictions for 2020… their favorite stock picks for the year… and their opinions on cryptocurrencies, gold, and other big topics. […]

ICR conference today and tomorrow; Zume Pizza closes down; Challenged companies at CES: iRobot and 3D printers; Quiz: Can You Identify These Politicians, Athletes, and Celebrities?

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Monday, January 13, 2020
1) Another week, another conference… Empire Financial Research Senior Analyst Steve Culbertson and I flew to Orlando last night for the ICR Conference, where more than 100 publicly traded retail and consumer companies will be presenting today and tomorrow (here’s the list and schedule). I hope we can find as many good ideas as I […]

Free webinar on Tuesday; Cool products at CES: Willow breast pump; Brunswick boat; Uber-Hyundai flying concept car

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Friday, January 10, 2020
1) My friends Porter Stansberry, Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, and Dr. David Eifrig of Stansberry Research are hosting a free webinar on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. Eastern time, during which they’ll: Reveal their 2020 market predictions for the first time, Comment on gold, cryptocurrencies, and Steve’s “Melt Up” thesis, and Tell you about Stansberry Research’s […]

Observations from the Consumer Electronics Show: Electric and autonomous vehicles; Who's buying Tesla?; Japan vs. China business cultures; Thoughts on the 12 questions to ask before you marry someone

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Thursday, January 9, 2020
1) I got back at 1 a.m. last night from two days at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and I’m bursting with ideas and observations. Here’s the first: I spent all day yesterday in the enormous North Hall visiting the booths of most of the major global auto companies and their […]

S&P 500 return over the past and next decade; Tech and FAANG stocks; At SoftBank's Jewel in India: 'Toxic' Culture and Troubling Incidents; Former Wells Fargo execs may face criminal charges in coming weeks; The 12 questions to ask before you marry someone

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
1) Analysts at Credit Suisse collected some interesting data about the past decade in a report entitled “Those Crazy Teen Years.” Over the decade, the S&P 500 Index compounded at 13.6%, after being negative over the prior decade. The chart below shows the five factors that drove the return: Revenue, margin, buybacks, the price-to-earnings (P/E) […]

At the Consumer Electronics Show; My big call on the 3D printing sector six years ago; Take Your Victory Lap, Elon Musk; How Big Companies Won New Tax Breaks; Question No. 12 to ask before you marry someone

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
1) As you read this, I’m landing in Las Vegas to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) today and tomorrow with my colleague Enrique Abeyta. We’ll be looking for good long and short ideas, so keep an eye on Empire Financial Daily over the next few days. When I was at my first CES six […]

Back from Australia; Berkshire Hathaway underperformance versus the S&P 500; Scott Galloway on 'FckdEx' and Unremarkables; Question No. 11 to ask before you marry someone

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Monday, January 6, 2020
1) I hope you had wonderful holidays and a happy new year! I just got back from an amazing two weeks with my family, visiting Australia for the first time. I’ve posted pictures and descriptions of our trip on Facebook here, here, here, here, and here. It’s a fantastic country, though currently much of it is on fire. To see […]

Miami Real Estate Is About to Collapse; High U.S. health care costs; Dave Barry's Year in Review 2019; Question No. 10 to ask before you marry someone

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Friday, January 3, 2020
1) My friend Harris Kupperman (aka Kuppy) wrote a smart post about a conversation with a friend on his Adventures in Capitalism blog: Miami Real Estate Is About to Collapse… Excerpt: Me: Will it really be as bad as last cycle? Friend: Last time, a lot of the stuff that defaulted was upper middle-class product. It […]

Uber, Postmates Sue California Over Gig Law; Three cheers for Carlos Ghosn's escape; Private Equity Ran Amok in the 2010s; Question No. 9 to ask before you marry someone; Sydney fireworks

By Whitney Tilson

Empire Financial Daily,
Thursday, January 2, 2020
1) What a sign of desperation for Uber (UBER) and its peers: Uber, Postmates Sue California Over Gig Law, Escalating Fight. Excerpt: Uber Technologies Inc. and Postmates Inc. sued California to challenge legislation that could force the companies to treat their drivers as employees, the latest escalation in a battle over the new law set […]
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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