Research

Focus on Free Cash Flow Conversion Right Now

We see the macro backdrop as directionally negative.  The economy is more likely to erode than improve, financial conditions are tight, and heightened regulation on banks seems imminent.  This will negatively impact growth. As such, cash flow generation will become increasingly important.  In today’s report, we analyze free cash flow and changes and levels of

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Level Set – Comprehensive Overview of US Equities

Our typical Level Set is a five-minute read on key debates, new data, evolving thoughts, and answers to important client questions. This week we are publishing a 45 minute comprehensive overview that covers: The overall market outlook, including corporate earnings, margins, and valuation Capital use – buybacks, M&A an dividends Risks – macro trends and

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What Really Happened In Q1

At the start of each quarter, we provide a detailed summary of the just completed quarter with the goal of helping investors make better investment decisions, in addition to providing insights that will facilitate investor communications, client conversations, and quarterly letters. Furthermore, our quarterly report seeks to identify emerging risk management concerns and give investment

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Level Set – Upper End of the Range and Opportunities

To quote the New Yorker Magazine, the “Talk of the Town” this week was the surprising resiliency and strength of the US equity market in the face of what seems like obviously deteriorating risk-reward. The consensus view from our recent conversations is that the S&P500 is likely range bound and at the upper end of

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The State of The US Consumer

Q4 of 2022 was the first time in over 30 years where the S&P500 was up more than 5% in a quarter and the consumer discretionary sector was down more than 10% during that same quarter.  That has powerfully reversed year-to-date, and while huge moves in AMZN and TSLA are partially responsible,  many of the

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Level Set – Inconsistencies and Opportunities

Most of the news and macro commentary in the last week has been about the Fed. We have been writing since the Fall of 2021 that the perception about interest rates is statistically significantly associated with the price-to-forward earnings for the S&P500, and the relationship is even more pronounced for growth stocks. Our work shows

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