Recently, Becton, Dickinson And Company increased its dividend by almost 5% to 87 cents a share per quarter. This was the 50th annual increase in a row and the company is now officially a Dividend King. How come this company can maintain profitability for so long? After a few years of deleveraging after the acquisition…
Aflac (AFL) is a life and health insurer. It’s not a growth story, but the book value and dividend growth has been impressive. This is because of the massive buybacks over the last decade: Aflac has bought back almost 30% of the shares. A low valuation has its advantages! This article is a brief analysis…
Erroneously many believe that dividends are the key to long-term investing. Why is that? Because over the long-term dividend reinvestments are a major part of the returns. However, that doesn’t mean that non-dividend stocks are bad. Quite the opposite, would we say. This article lists the best stocks without dividends. We argue why you shouldn’t…
Hormel Foods (ticker HRL) has an outstanding long-term track record, but it’s not widely known. What does Hormel do, and will it likely be a good investment in the coming years? Hormel’s business: Hormel is an old company and was founded in 1891. According to the CEO, Hormel is a protein company, and produces meat…
Otis is the world’s biggest elevator company. It manufactures and installs elevators, escalators and moving walkways. The name origins from the founder, Elisha Otis, who in 1852 invented a safety valve to stop the elevator should the cables fail. Many were reluctant to use elevators or other hoisting mechanisms at the time because of frequent…
Berkshire Hathaway is big, mature, and its chairman is old (92 years). This leads many investors to look for companies that are similar to Berkshire but might offer a much longer runway. This article was initially written in 2019. Invest like Warren Buffett: This article lists 15 high-quality business models which we label Mini/Baby Berkshires…
Constellation Software’s CEO Mark Leonard is a bit of an eccentric character and CEO. Under his reign, the company has compounded at about 40% for almost two decades! We have been avid readers of his annual shareholder letter for years, but unfortunately, he has chosen only to write when he has something “important to write”….
Boston Omaha (ticker code BOMN) is similar to Berkshire Hathaway and is often labeled a Baby/Mini-Berkshire. Many have tried to become the next Berkshire – most have failed – but Boston Omaha looks promising. However, we look at the company as a call option and have thus initiated only a small position. What makes Boston…
Introduction and summary: This article seeks to explain what an investment company is, and what the main differences are compared to mutual funds. If you do your due diligence, we believe investment companies are a better choice than most mutual funds because of these reasons: Investment companies are better than mutual funds because they take…
Introduction and summary: Most investors know very well the story of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett. However, the many advantages of the Berkshire business model have some exciting features that we believe are less understood and very underrated. The article aims to look more into these features and why they matter. In short, by investing…
Costco (COST) is a US retailer and for good reasons one of the most admired companies in the world. Costco’s management style, with a focus on integrity and treating both the employees and customers right, is the cornerstone of their mission statement. Such a “simple” model has rewarded the shareholders massively. Charlie Munger, who sits…
Altria is a legendary tobacco company that was split in two in 2008 when Philip Morris became the international part of the cigarette business while Altria distributes cigarettes only in the US. In 2019 the companies tried to merge (again), but it was postponed. Tobacco stocks have been the best performers over the last 100…
This article contains some brief notes on Admiral Plc, a UK insurance company listed on London Stock Exchange with the ticker code ADM. It’s included in FTSE-100. The business: Admiral was formed in 1990 with Henry Engelhardt as the main founder. It was listed/floated in 2004 with a valuation of 700 million GBP. Today’s market…
We buy back stock when we think it’s attractively priced relative to our assessment of the intrinsic value of the enterprise. – Robert Berkley on the 1Q2020 conference call. The business: WR Berkley (NYSE: WRB) is an insurance and reinsurance company. Their biggest line of insurance is excess and surplus lines and specialty insurance. These…
Introduction and summary: I have been a shareholder in Accenture for many years and the only regret I have is that I don’t have a bigger position. Accenture is a stock I intend to own and add on meaningful pullbacks. Accenture is a mature company, but there is a lot to like about the business…
Investors Title (listed on Nasdaq with the ticker code ITIC) was for me an unknown company until about a week ago when I came across an article on Seeking Alpha written by Ohio Capital Ideas. The article is an interesting deep-dive into a highly profitable and well-managed small-cap (market cap is only 260 million). My…
Philip Morris International (from now on PMI) is probably one of the most “hated” companies on the planet. This black sheep is literally black-listed by all institutions bar a few brave vice funds, which means PMI and other tobacco stocks have a huge base of retail shareholders, just like myself. PMI is a sin stock,…
Berkshire Hathaway needs no introduction, but what many investors might not know is the existence of several “Mini-Berkshires” or “Baby-Berkshires”, companies that are much smaller but in many ways similar both in business model and mindset of the management. One of these companies is Markel Corporation which is traded on the NYSE and has the…
Berkshire Hathaway needs no introduction, but what many investors might not know is the existence of several “Mini-Berkshires” or “Baby-Berkshires”, companies that are much smaller but in many ways similar both in business model and mindset of the management. One of these companies is Alleghany Corporation which is traded on the NYSE and has the…
Diageo is a sin stock, and those stocks have performed the best over the last century. This analysis argues why this is likely to continue. Background and summary of Diageo: Diageo produces alcohol – lots of it – hence a “sin-stock”. Tobacco and alcohol stocks have produced spectacular gains over the last century, and Diageo…
Introduction and summary: This article is a very brief analysis of Unilever. The company has proven to be adaptable in many different economic climates and has been around for about 90 years, but its roots can be traced back to the 1880s. The current company is a result of the merger of Dutch Margarine Unie…
I have been a shareholder in Abbott Laboratories (ABT) since the acquisition of St. Jude in 2016. I believe this is a very good stock to own for the long run, not because of the dividend but because of the potential long-term returns. Furthermore, Abbott’s products are needed both in good and bad times. Below…
Governments have currently implemented draconian measures to stop the coronavirus, leading to a wide global sell-off on the stock exchanges. Market drops are often a good thing if you have cash or if the companies have the liquidity to buy back shares and wither the storm. The FED is printing almost insane amounts of money…
Last week I wrote an article about how you can create your own “dividend” by selling shares. Many investors have an irrational dividend bias: Benjamin Graham wrote in the Intelligent Investor that a rising dividend has the potential of attracting “ignorant coupon clippers” – not business owners. I believe too many shareholders in ExxonMobil (XOM)…
Introduction and summary: Credit Acceptance Corporation (ticker code: CACC) is an owner-operated auto lender in the subprime loan segment. The business model is reasonably easy to understand and pretty straightforward: to lend and service auto loans to subprime borrowers via auto dealers. However, the loan assignments are structured so that all parties (lender, dealer and…
Introduction and summary: Comcast (ticker code: CMCSA) is the world’s second-biggest telecom company and is headquartered in Philadelphia, USA. The company was founded by Ralph Roberts in 1963 and has grown mainly via M&A. I’m long Comcast since late summer 2018 and consider this a long-term holding that will compound for years to come. My…
This article contains a brief description of Constellation Software, some thoughts on its competitive advantages, and excerpts from Mark Leonard’s excellent shareholder letters. The excerpts are pretty long, about 5 000 words, and I recommend going to the source to read all letters. This article has only small samples of Leonard’s wisdom. The article is…
