Saturday, July 26, 2025
Virgin IPO – My 3 simple rules for IPOs (or: ‘This stinking mess again?!’)
Rule 1: If Private Equity is selling - Run. In the other direction. Fast. You can be sure the accounts will be riddled with fudged numbers, hidden liabilities, non-existent 'assets', and a pandora's box of under-handed skullduggery. Rule 2: Any ai (automated idiot) bot will tell you that the 'i' in IPO stands for 'initial'. But this is no 'virgin'. It's been around the block a few times. (Misleading PR. Refer to Rule 1). Rule 3: Ignore the glossy PR, high pressure sales tactics, highly-polished accounts, and do your own research into the business and industry. In this case, why would I want to be part-owner of an under-capitalised, foreign-controlled player in a highly parochial market that has never profitably supported more than one dominant player, which is a government-protected, ex-gov department that wrote the book on political schmoozing?
How the ‘Magnificent-7’ stack up – 8 key charts
Just 7 companies make up 19% of the combined value of the entire 15,000 companies listed on world share markets, but they produce just 12% of total world profits, and just 3% of world dividends. They are over-priced on just about every measure, but are they worth it? What justified their astronomical pricing? There is a fairly obvious odd-one-out here - which is it? I have been bullish on US/global shares in portfolios - will this change?
Woodside case study Part 2: Since 1980 – struggling producer to global giant to fossil fuel pariah!
How Woodside went from cash-strapped explorer to global giant and one of Australia’s biggest export earners. Still a wild ride for investors – as a leveraged bet on commodities prices, plus political risks. Despite huge profits and becoming a top-10 ASX company, still struggles to beat the overall market.
Woodside case study Part 1: 1954 to 1980 – volatile speculative survivor to national hero
Good case study representing the vast majority of ASX listed companies – as a volatile speculative hopeful with no revenues or assets to underpin value. Eventually defied the odds and the elements by actually finding something of enormous value. But it required extreme patience and perseverance – it holds the record for longest wait for first revenue, first profit, and first dividend of any ASX listed co
Transurban – end of the gravy train for monopoly toll road powerhouse?
Transurban (TCL) was one of Australia’s great corporate success stories – until it was hit by a triple-whammy of Covid lockdowns, inflation, and public/political backlashes. Do the new CEO and chairperson have the political cunning and connections to revive Transurban’s once-golden yellow brick road? Here's my take on Transurban for long term investors.
Australia’s big banks: Origin of the Species, or ‘Survival of the Fattest!’
Ever wondered where our big dinosaur banks came from, and how they got so big? And why they are all virtually the same? How Australia became the richest country in the world per capita - without a central bank, without a national currency, and without bank regulation? How the dozens of small, independent, competitive banks became the big-4 government protected oligopoly we have today?
CBA in 7 charts – the ‘Steven Bradbury’ of Australian banking – now suddenly a ‘growth stock’?
I am neither a buyer nor a seller - so why does it matter? Why CBA is the 'Steven Bradbury' of the banking world? Its share price is soaring but its fundamentals stalled a decade ago. What sort of returns can we expect in future? Here's my quick take in 7 charts.
Labor’s attempt to nationalise all banks in Australia!
Australians have always had a love-hate relationship with their banks. (OK, so it’s mostly hate). But it was not always the case. Believe it or not, there was a time when the Australian public loved their banks so much they kicked out a Federal government that was trying to close the banks down! Here is the remarkable story of Banks -v- Politics, Capitalism -v- Socialism right here in Australia.
Which Bank? . . is winning the Battle of the Banks?
Quick 2-question Quiz on Aussie Banks - Q1 - Which of the big Aussie banks has had the largest % share price gain this year? - No it's not CBA, despite all the media attention and hype. Q2 - Which of the big banks has been the best for shareholders over the past one, two, and three decades? - No its not CBA either, despite the widely held belief that it is!
High Yield Debt case study - Virgin Notes
Last week I wrote about the Virgin Airlines disaster for shareholders. That was only half of the story of Virgin's last shot as a listed public company. Here is the other half of the sorry tale - the fate of the buyers and owners of $325m of Vigrin Notes - on the debt side of the balance sheet. It makes a great case study in high-yield / high-risk debt. Are there any new lessons to be learned? &
Virgin Airlines round 1: Crash Landing for investors
Virgin Airlines is in the news again. It is being tarted by shifty private equity tricksters hoping to lure another batch of gullible investors into parting with their hard-earned cash - again. Before getting into the merits of Round 2, it’s worth taking a look at what happened in Round 1. (Spoiler alert - Covid did not kill it. It was a dud from the start, and it was killed by bad management expanding too aggressively and running up too much debt.) What are the lessons from the last sorry tale? Has anything changed?
Political Risk case study: Bougainville - richest gold mine in the world - but you can't touch it
This company is sitting on the richest copper-gold mine in the world, but it has been locked up for 35 years and can't touch it. Political risk crippled what was once a highly profitable 'blue chip' stock. All investing involves political risk, but political risks can be the most volatile, hardest to quantify, and most wealth-destroying. Or perhaps wealth creating - in the right circumstances and at the right price!
Case Study 1969-70 Nickel boom-bust
In 2021 and 2022, when the prices of nickel and nickel explorers/miners were soaring, my inbox was flooded with emails asking which nickel stock(s) to jump into. Since all mining booms follow a familiar pattern, and end the same way for the same reasons, I responded by referring to my story about the mother of all nickel boom-busts – Poseidon, involving the very same nickel mines. How’s a one-year gain of 46,000% sound?
Woolworths ESG case study: Duties to owners -v- suppliers, customers, staff
Woolworths CEO forced out early - despite good profit margins and returns on equity. How to balance maximising shareholder value versus other key stakeholders.
Case Study: JB-Hi-Fi: Misunderstood growth star, or the next Myer?
JB Hi-Fi: Misunderstood growth star or the next Myer?
Case Study: 2003-7 Uranium-Paladin bubble & bust. Lessons from the last bubble-bust
With the lithium bubble bursting, I am now receiving emails from readers (and hot stock tip-sheets) about how to jump in on the latest ‘hot’ commodity – uranium, as a possible solution in the transition from fossil fuels.
Case study: CSL – growth superstar at a rare bargain, or over-priced mature low-growth behemoth?
Qantas – My adventure with the over-geared, over-protected, cash-less bird!
This is the story of my adventure with Qantas shares – and proof that the ‘Bigger Fool’ theory works! Media headlines writers are having a field day with all the recent dramas surrounding Qantas.
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