I asked, “What book do you re-read the most?”

I received 441 replies

Here are 20 books that should be read again and again:

1/

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

by Steven Covey

2/

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson

3/

As A Man Thinketh

by James Allen

4/

Atomic Habits

by @JamesClear

1/ My most popular tweets of 2020 by month (thread)

January:

A reminder of @morganhousel cash strategy.

For every $1,000 in cash:

More: ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

2/ February

If you've truly found the next $AMZN, $AAPL, or $NFLX and can hold for years, it's nearly impossible to overpay.

But finding them is hard.

3/ March

Millennials have seen tech crash, 2008, and now #COVID19

I'm worried that many of them will swear off the stock market -- the greatest wealth-building device ever -- for life.

4/ April

Want to see the checklists used by

Buffet
Dalio
Fischer
Graham
Greenblatt
Klarman
Marks
Munger

and

5/ May

When the P/E ratio is:

Useless (Stage 1, 4) - $MDB, $SHOP, $PINS, $GME, $JCP

Semi-useful (Stage 2) - $TTD, $NFLX

Useful! (Stage 3) - $MSFT, $AAPL, $V

In determining valuation

1/ How to review quarterly earnings 🧵

A step by step guide using $DXCM as an example

⬇️

2/ The BIG question: Is the thesis on track❓

Other question:

❓Is revenue growing?
❓Are margins stable/expanding?
❓Profits?
❓Balance sheet?
❓New opportunities?
❓New threats?

3/ I open 4 browser tabs

Tab 1 - Current company earnings report / shareholder letter

Tab 2 - Previous company earnings report / shareholder letter (check guidance)

Tab 3 - Analyst estimates

Tab 4 - Call Transcript

4/ Tabs 1 & 2 - Find the current & previous earnings report

I search "Dexcom Investor Relations"

I click on "press release"

Open the newest quarterly earnings report and last quarter

It can also be a shareholder letter/presentation

5/ Tab 3 - Find the quarterly analyst estimates

Open up $DXCM in yahoo finance

The "news" section usually has a link to reports on whether the company beat/met estimates

The "analysis" tab is a good source, but sometimes it updates to the next quarter too quickly

I have an MBA in finance

But I’ve learned 10x more about investing from listening to podcasts than I did in school

Here are 24 podcasts that I regularly listen to that will make you a better investor⬇️

1/ Acquired -- @AcquiredFM

This podcast "tells the stories of great companies"

Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal do a great job of talking through acquisitions & have a stellar list of guests

2/ Animal Spirits

@awealthofcs & @michaelbatnick break down financial news, share insights that they are thinking about, and recommend TV shows & movies

3/ The Business Brew

@BillBrewsterSCG does long-form, in-depth, discussions about capital allocation and the psychology of investing/business

4/ Capital Allocators

@tseides has an amazing series of guests that discuss all facets of investing

His recent book -- Capital Allocators -- takes all of the top learners from his interviews and condenses them into a book

What are the first metrics that you look at when evaluating a new stock?

My 🔟 Biggest Investing Mistakes 🧵

1⃣Only looking at the share price

I bought penny stocks at the start

My logic: 100 shares of $1 stock > 1 share of $100 stock

WRONG!

The price of 1 share is meaningless!

What matters is how great the company is!

2⃣Only looking at dividend yield

I bought stocks with 10%+ yields

My logic: 10% yield > 1% yield

WRONG!

The dividend got cut and the share price dropped -- a double-whammy!

A high yield is Wall Street's way of saying "this yield is not sustainable, watch out"

3⃣Selling a great stock early

I bought $DXCM in 2007 for ~$6

I sold it 1 month later after a 15% gain

Current price: $412.58

I was in a rush to take profits, so I missed out on HUGE upside

If the opportunity is huge, hold!

4⃣Not buying a great stock due to valuation

I've made this mistake over and over again

I didn't buy $ZM at $80 because the valuation was "insane"

Current price: $455

If you like everything about the company except the valuation, but some

Even if it's just a little bit

My investing style: Buy and hold high-quality businesses

Here are 15 traits that tell me I've found a great business ⬇️

1/ Recurring Revenue

Types:

Business Services $MCO
Contracts $AMT
Consumables $MNST
Exchange $MKTX
Franchise $WINA
Membership $TDOC
Platform $ETSY
Razor/blade $DXCM
Real Estate $STOR
SaaS, PaaS, IaaS $TWLO, $NOW, $FSLY
Subscription $NFLX
Tollbooth $BIP

2/ Recession-Proof Demand

Great companies sell products/services that are in-demand in good times and bad

That allows them to grow regardless of what is happening in the broader economy

3/ Organic Growth

"Organic" growth: Growing by increasing sales of internally developed products/services

"Inorganic" growth: Growing from mergers & acquisitions

Organic Growth > Inorganic Growth

4/ High & Expanding Gross Margin

Indicates that the company’s products/services create a huge amount of value for the customer

Rising gross margin also indicates pricing power

Here are some of the big investors that track:

Altarock Partners
AKO Capital
Appaloosa
Akre Capital
Broad Run
Dorsey Asset
Duquense
Ensemble
Fundsmith
Polen Capital
Third Point

Here are their current top 10 holdings (in order) and links to their latest buys/sells ⬇️

Altarock Partners

Top

AKO Capital

Top 10 (in

Appaloosa: (David Tepper)

Top

Broad Run

Top

I asked, “What company is worth less than $10 billion today but you think could be worth $500+ billion in a few decades?”

I received 710 answers

Here are 20 top stocks that have 50x+ potential:

1: Alteryx - $AYX

Market cap: $5.1 billion

What it does: Big data analytics

2: Boston Omaha - $BOMN

Market Cap: $900 million

What it does: Berkshire Hathaway 2.0

3: Beyond Meat - $BYND

Market Cap: $7.9 billion

What it does: Plant-based meat

4: Desktop Metals - $DM

Market Cap: $2.3 billion

What it does: 3D Printing

Accounting is the language of business.

If you buy stocks, you MUST learn how to read a Cash Flow Statement.

Here’s everything you need to know:

The cash flow statement shows how cash moves in and out of a company over a period of time.

The most common time periods are:
▪️1 Quarter
▪️1 Year
▪️Year-to-date (usually 6 or 9 months)

The time period is at the top. Here's $NFLX recent cash flow statement time period.

Some companies show the cash flow statement in their earnings press release, but many don’t.

You can find the cash flow statement by looking at:
▪️10-Q (Quarterly Report)
▪️10-K (Annual Report)
▪️Fnancial aggregators such as @theTIKR,
@CMLviz, @themotleyfool, @YahooFinance

There are three main segments to a cash flow statement.

1. Operating Activities
2. Investing Activities
3. Financing Activities

Companies get some leeway with how they breakout each segment, but they all follow this basic structure.

Let’s start with Operating Activities.

This segment STARTS with net income (the bottom number of the Income Statement).

It shows cash movements from all normal operational business activities.

The 🔟 Most Important Money Lessons

I Wish I Could Teach My Younger Self 🧵

1⃣ ALWAYS live below your means

2⃣Developing a long-term mindset

is the foundation of financial success

3⃣In the beginning, your savings rate is all that matters

Eventually, your investing returns are all that matters

Focus your time accordingly

4⃣Financial freedom is achievable

The price is ~10 years of hardcore saving/investing

I asked, “What are the first metrics that you look at when evaluating a new stock?”

I received 322 replies

Here are 10 great metrics to look at first (and how to find them):

1/ Market Capitalization

Why: Shows the current size/scale of the business

Where: @YahooFinance (image), @theTIKR , @KoyfinCharts ...etc

2/ Sales Growth Rate

Why: Shows the business model works & current growth rate

Where: @stockcardhq (image), SEC filings, @theTIKR...etc

3/ Free Cash Flow

Why: Is business generating cash or burning cash?

Where: @YahooFinance (image), SEC Filings, @stockrow1...etc

4/ Returns on capital (ROE, ROIC, ROA)

Why: Shows capital efficiency of business

Where: @stockrow1 (image) , @ycharts , @YahooFinance...etc

Worried about the recent market drop?

Here are 24 top investing quotes from Buffett, Bogle, Graham, and more that can help🧵

"If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks."

-- John Bogle

"Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble."

-- Warren Buffett

“Individuals who cannot master their emotions are ill-suited to profit from the investment process”

-- Benjamin Graham

"A calm sea does not produce a skilled sailor."

-- Tom Culve

1/ Mission Statements 🧵

I used to think mission statements were just corporate fluff

False words that companies created for HR reasons

I've slowly changed my mind about them

They are THE BEST stakeholder alignment & decision-making tool ever

EVER!

Need convincing? ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

2/ What is a mission statement?

At its core, a mission statement should answer this question:

*****Why does the company exist?*****

A profound question that is easy to overlook!

3/ When used properly

Mission Statements should guide ALL of the actions of the organization

It's like a company's North Star

If an activity doesn’t advance the mission,

it should be discarded!

If an activity does advance the mission,

it should be adopted!

4/ A Mission and a Vision statement are different

Mission: WHY the company exists

Vision: What the company/world looks like if the company is successful

Both important, but they are NOT interchangeable

5/ The reason I used to think mission statements didn't matter

is because the vast majority of companies/CEOs

don't believe they matter!

Most companies SUCK at creating & communicating them!

Why should employees/shareholders care about a mission

if the company/CEO doesn't?

My inflation strategy:

Own businesses with recession-proof demand and pricing power