Investor Academy
Management Changes: When to Expect a “Kitchen Sink”
A management change can trigger a “kitchen sink” quarter—when every loss is booked at once. Investors must watch for real resets vs. excuses.
QMoat Research
Investor Academy
Quality-investing analysis, company research and long-term investment insights in Investor Academy.
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Investor Academy
The QMoat Credo - Quality Wins
Quality stocks compound: high ROIC funds reinvestment; strong balance sheets avoid dilution; stable earnings lower risk and keep the flywheel turning.
Investor Academy
The Quiet Art of Making Earnings: R&D Capitalization Under IFRS vs. U.S. GAAP
Few accounting choices shape earnings optics as much as research and development. Under U.S. GAAP, nearly all R&D is expensed, keeping profits tied closely to cash burn. Under IFRS, companies can capitalize development once certain hurdles are met—an opening that gives management wide latitude.
Investor Academy
Markowitz’s Classic Formula Misses What Happens at the Tails
Markowitz’s mean‑variance framework made risk look simple: tally your average return, punish every wiggle the same, and call it a day. But real portfolios don’t wiggle symmetrically.
Investor Academy
Demystifying the DCF-Model
The discounted‑cash‑flow model translates a company’s murky future into a single present‑day price tag by projecting free cash flows, discounting them for risk, and tacking on a terminal value for the years beyond.
Investor Academy
Small Caps, Big Challenges
Small‑cap stocks tempt with big upside but test nerves. Descartes Systems Group shows how a niche, network‑driven moat can outpace giants, yet a single trade shock or leadership misstep can crater returns. Deep, ongoing diligence is mandatory.
Investor Academy
6 years into IFRS 16—Was it really worth the hassle?
IFRS 16 split rent into depreciation & interest, inflating EBITDA while burying liabilities—clarity gained, simplicity lost for many still
Investor Academy
Prepayments: The Cash Mirage Distorting EV/EBITDA
In industries with heavy prepayments—like airlines, SaaS, newspapers, and gyms—that low EV/EBITDA might not be the bargain it seems.
Investor Academy
Small & Mid‑Caps: Is the Size Premium History?
Mega‑caps rule, but small & mid‑caps trade at steep discounts. The size premium is sleeping—ready to revive again when innovation realigns capital flows.
Investor Academy
Family‑Owned Companies: Dynasty or Disaster?
When Hermès International SA unveiled an 18 % jump in fourth‑quarter sales this February—easily outpacing rivals in a sagging luxury market—executive chairman Axel Dumas credited an “obsession with craft” honed over six generations of family stewardship.
Investor Academy
The 7 Sins of Investing - Number 2: Investing in Moonshots
In the golden age of meme stocks, miracle drugs, and moon-bound rockets, it’s never been easier to imagine your portfolio blasting off like SpaceX. But for most investors, chasing the next big thing ends not in the stars—but in the dust.
Investor Academy
The Seven Sins of Investing - Number 1: Overconfidence
Early one April I sat down for lunch with a mutual‑fund salesman whose job description, unofficially, was to radiate certainty. Over espresso he glanced at the weak sunshine and declared, “I am sure, winter is done—mark my words. Spring is here now.
Investor Academy
Are Porter's Five Forces still relevant?
Imagine you’re trying to understand the value of a company—like, really understand it, not just check its stock ticker, P/E ratio, or watch some heads talking on YouTube. You want to dig deep, figure out why this company is (or isn’t) worth your hard-earned cash.
Investor Academy
Management Compensation: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
How executive pay structures shape incentives, drive performance — and sometimes wreck companies
Investor Academy
Here's Why Price Targets are Bogus
Let’s talk about price targets. You know, those neat little numbers analysts put out to tell you where a stock should be trading in 12 months. “Buy this stock, our price target is 180!” sounds exciting, right?
Investor Academy
What is EV/EBITDA?
EV/EBITDA is one of those ratios you see everywhere in the investing world—and for good reason. It helps you compare a company’s operating performance against its overall valuation, taking into account not just the equity but the debt as well.
Investor Academy
Here's Why Cash is King
In investing, assessing the quality of a company’s balance sheet is essential for long-term success. Yet, many investors overlook this fundamental aspect, focusing instead solely on growth or profitability metrics.
Investor Academy
What is a moat?
When Jensen Huang dimmed the lights at Nvidia’s annual GTC conference this spring, the audience expected silicon. Instead they got software: one slide, eight minutes, and 900 brightly colored rectangles, each a library inside CUDA. “A long time ago,” Huang said, “this slide was all we had.
Investor Academy
ROIIC: The most important financial metric you've probably never heard of
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) is used A LOT to judge how effectively a company has turned past investment into profit.