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Thoughts

Exclusive commentary and insights from Team CSC's deep fundamental research, repeatable investment process, and culture of continuous improvement.

Category: Thoughts

ViaSat Thinking

In thinking through some recent conference comments by CEO, Mark Dankberg, it struck us how “differently” the narrative is for Viasat versus the deafening

Cove Street Capital March 9, 2021

The Killing Fields: Where Aspirations and Reality Meet in Financial Markets

The process of “weighing” a stock promoter’s narrative is imprecise because “reality” as reflected via stock prices can be a rapidly moving target, as “things

Cove Street Capital March 8, 2021

Idiocy by Numbers: Marking “Big Electric Vehicle” to Market

Thank you Financials Times Alphaville for doing the work that supports what should be an obvious contention: this is ridiculous. Whether you are talking

Cove Street Capital March 4, 2021

The Value of an Excellent Perception of the Obvious….or Not…of Sellside Analysis by Charlie Ergen

This exchange is lifted from the recent DISH earnings call. DISH is attempting an “interesting/controversial/expensive/risky?’ build of a software-defined 5G network. They don’t promote, they

Cove Street Capital March 2, 2021

You Need More Than a Hammer to Build Something that is not a House of Nails

This week, another look at what value investing is and isn’t. Nothing really new here if you are a thinking investor, which means there

Cove Street Capital February 23, 2021

Ben Claremon the DealMaker

I recently had the privilege of appearing as a guest on one of the first episodes of the DealMakers Podcast. The conversation was a bit

Cove Street Capital February 16, 2021

In Defense of the “NOT Tesla” Portfolio

An idea came to me recently that what value investing truly needs is a re-branding. Companies often re-brand and re-name themselves after some sort

Cove Street Capital February 9, 2021

The Difference Between Lying and Forecasting

This was one of the better pieces in a world of fawning financial journalism. Thank you Bloomberg for writing about something that doesn’t involve

Cove Street Capital February 2, 2021

GameNuts and Piggly Wiggly

There is endless yacking on the topic of certain heavily shorted stocks being “targeted” by what is easy to call the “yahoos” of online

Cove Street Capital January 29, 2021

Ben and Eugene’s Adventures In LIVESTREAMING

This week, Eugene Robin and I had the opportunity to do a live-streamed presentation on Viasat (ticker: VSAT). We took part in GuruFocus’s “Value Investing

Cove Street Capital January 28, 2021

Random and Relevant Investment Thoughts for the Week

From the Every Investor Will Get a Trophy File: Taper Tantrums Ahead? Financial Times January 2021: “The second support to be removed is expected

Cove Street Capital January 26, 2021

CSC Strategy Letter | Number 42 | Soufflés and Sledgehammers

Read Q1 2021’s CSC Strategy letter here. Read the previous CSC Strategy letter here. DECEMBER 2020–As we have noted previously, one cannot practically ignore the

Cove Street Capital January 7, 2021

Run to the Pun: IlLumenating Value

Lumen is one of the larger holdings within our Small Cap Plus strategy and continues to befuddle us at these valuations. We’ve done an excellent

Cove Street Capital January 5, 2021

Good Things for People, Less So for Stocks?

There are a lot of things in life that are contradictory. This is a classic thought piece describing the tenuous connection between “investing today” and

Cove Street Capital December 22, 2020

Value vs Growth 2020 Closer

Giant firms have dedicated staff members that produce charts and we are delighted to cherry-pick to make our points. The main takeaway is that after

Cove Street Capital December 15, 2020

The Difference between an Owner and a Government Employee. Or Consultant. Or General Busybody.

While this is “old” it ties neatly into our previous post on “So What do you Want as a Board Member” from the Berkshire Hathaway

Cove Street Capital December 10, 2020

Woke NASDAQ, Warren Buffett and Governance: A Really Awful Process Idea to Achieve a Not Unreasonable Outcome

This is a really bad idea that is wrought with constitutional issues, among other things. And does ANYONE really want to check a box on

Cove Street Capital December 9, 2020

Ben Claremon and Eugene Robin Discuss Lumen (LUMN) on The Investor’s Podcast

You know you have made it as an investment manager when someone is willing to create a sketch of you to attach to an interview!

Cove Street Capital December 9, 2020

Small Cap Case Study #2: Millicom

As part of our continuing series of “buy the heck out of it and tell everyone else in the world”, with the additional caveat of

Cove Street Capital December 8, 2020

Symbols of Crazy in 2020: Venture Capital

The New Yorker has become almost unreadable for certain political and woke reasons, but from time to time, there is actually a focus on old

Cove Street Capital December 1, 2020

Markets, Rationality & Decision Making

IPO Investing and the Roulette Table

We have always been in the camp of “waves of IPOs are closer to a sign of a market top than a sign of strength

Cove Street Capital November 20, 2020

Thoughts

Not Your Daughter’s or Grandfather’s Lemonade Stand

This is a “Letter From the Founders” culled from the S-1 of Lemonade (LMND) – a recent IPO we took a shot at a few

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA November 18, 2020

Podcasts & Recordings

Someone Made the Bottom…and We Thank Them for It!

Our lead principal and Portfolio Manager Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA was asked to do an interview with Ross Roggensack of Oak City Consulting. Sartorial choices aside,

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA November 6, 2020

Markets, Rationality & Decision Making

Free Floating

What is the actual float of a company? How many shares are actually tradeable relative to the headline free float share count that major data

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA October 20, 2020

ESG

More Thinking, Less Narrative

Musings on Markets: Sounding good or Doing good? A Skeptical Look at ESG.

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA September 28, 2020

CSC Strategy Letter

CSC Strategy Letter | Number 41 | Mr. T and Today’s Investment World

SEPTEMBER 2020 — It would be correct to say that a number of us have had a little more “alone” time on our hands over

Cove Street Capital September 24, 2020

Podcasts & Recordings

Ben Claremon Interviewed on The Accent Podcast

Most of the time when I am espousing the Cove Street gospel in the podcast realm, the audience consists of a bunch of people with

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA September 23, 2020

Ben Graham Corner: Securities Analysis

The More Things Change

A very long time ago, the author was the first outside columnist for TheStreet.com, which in its early days had a terrific set of people

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA September 14, 2020

Markets, Rationality & Decision Making

The Meanings of Insanity?

So imagine you are on one of those innumerable TV cop shows where apparently if you stick a variety of crime scene photos on a

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA September 14, 2020

The Business of Investment Management

This Should be a Good Thing…But

Early in my career, I would saddle up the horse and carriage, go to the office, call a company of interest and ask for them

Jeffrey Bronchick, CFA August 27, 2020

Thoughts

Exclusive commentary and insights from Team CSC's deep fundamental research, repeatable investment process, and culture of continuous improvement.

Categories

Category: Thoughts

ViaSat Thinking

The Killing Fields: Where Aspirations and Reality Meet in Financial Markets

Idiocy by Numbers: Marking “Big Electric Vehicle” to Market

The Value of an Excellent Perception of the Obvious….or Not…of Sellside Analysis by Charlie Ergen

You Need More Than a Hammer to Build Something that is not a House of Nails

Ben Claremon the DealMaker

In Defense of the “NOT Tesla” Portfolio

The Difference Between Lying and Forecasting

GameNuts and Piggly Wiggly

Ben and Eugene’s Adventures In LIVESTREAMING

Random and Relevant Investment Thoughts for the Week

CSC Strategy Letter | Number 42 | Soufflés and Sledgehammers

Run to the Pun: IlLumenating Value

Good Things for People, Less So for Stocks?

Value vs Growth 2020 Closer

The Difference between an Owner and a Government Employee. Or Consultant. Or General Busybody.

Woke NASDAQ, Warren Buffett and Governance: A Really Awful Process Idea to Achieve a Not Unreasonable Outcome

Ben Claremon and Eugene Robin Discuss Lumen (LUMN) on The Investor’s Podcast

Small Cap Case Study #2: Millicom

Symbols of Crazy in 2020: Venture Capital

IPO Investing and the Roulette Table

Not Your Daughter’s or Grandfather’s Lemonade Stand

Someone Made the Bottom…and We Thank Them for It!

Free Floating

More Thinking, Less Narrative

CSC Strategy Letter | Number 41 | Mr. T and Today’s Investment World

Ben Claremon Interviewed on The Accent Podcast

The More Things Change

The Meanings of Insanity?

This Should be a Good Thing…But

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Thoughts

Exclusive commentary and insights from Team CSC's deep fundamental research, repeatable investment process, and culture of continuous improvement.

Categories

Category: Thoughts

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