Warren Buffett’s investment approach is famously simple. The Oracle of Omaha once suggested that investors who could only make 20 investments in their lifetime would “end up with better results” because “it would force them to focus on the best opportunities.” This philosophy extends to his belief that any investor should be able to explain their investment thesis on a single sheet of paper. While Buffett has never published a literal template, decades of shareholder letters and public statements reveal the framework he uses. When evaluating companies, Buffett focuses on four key categories: business fundamentals, management quality, financial measures, and…

Li Auto Q1 Earnings Report Li Auto (LI US, 2015 HK) reported Q1 financial results after the Hong Kong close. According to management, Q1 is “typically a seasonally slow period for auto sales”. Revenue increased +1.1% to RMB 25.9B ($3.6B) from RMB 25.63B, versus expectations of RMB 25.12B Adjusted Net Income declined -20.5% to RMB 1B ($139.8mm) from RMB 1.28B, versus expectations of RMB 1.96B Adjusted EPS decreased to RMB 0.96 from RMB 1.21, versus expectations of RMB 0.76 Total deliveries for the first quarter of 2025 were 92,864 vehicles, representing a 15.5% year-over-year increase. Q2 forecast: Deliveries of vehicles…

The “big, beautiful bill” has turned into a bitter pill for bonds. As you’ve undoubtedly heard, bond buyers aren’t exactly thrilled about lending more money to a $36 trillion debtor that’s digging itself deeper into a financial ditch. Prior to the proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—famous for crunching numbers through rose-colored glasses—already projected a $1.9 trillion deficit for 2025. Now, the CBO estimates that the current House-passed version of OBBBA will add an extra $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. This leaves Uncle Sam staring into a $40 trillion…

Auto Trader shares hit the skids on Thursday, as fewer dealer listings due to vehicle shortages meant sales growth slowed substantially last year. At 788.2p per share, the FTSE 100 retailer was 14.2% lower on the day. Revenues rose 5% to £601.1 million during the fiscal year to March 2025, down from 14% in financial 2024. Sales at the core Auto Trader unit grew 7%, to £564.8 million. But at Autorama, its van leasing service, revenues reversed 12% to £36.3 million. Group operating profit rose 8% year on year, to £376.8 million, driven by a 4% increase at Auto Trader,…

After a weekend marked by Warren Buffett officially announcing his departure from Berkshire Hathaway, investors are reminded of the importance of disciplined, fundamentals-based investing. Now, perhaps more than ever, investors need to be diligent in an increasingly speculative market. This week’s Danger Zone pick is one stock that, after doing due diligence, is not worth owning. The company is burning cash at zombie stock-like levels, yet its valuation implies massive profit growth and a near quadrupling of the business’ market share. That disconnect is dangerous to any portfolio. I originally put Rivian (RIVN) in the Danger Zone on October 22,…

On 5/30/25, Cabot, Dow and Stepan will all trade ex-dividend for their respective upcoming dividends. Cabot will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.45 on 6/13/25, Dow will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.70 on 6/13/25, and Stepan will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.385 on 6/13/25. As a percentage of CBT’s recent stock price of $76.22, this dividend works out to approximately 0.59%, so look for shares of Cabot to trade 0.59% lower — all else being equal — when CBT shares open for trading on 5/30/25. Similarly, investors should look for DOW to open 2.42% lower in price and…

Question: Why are there so many ETFs? Answer: ETF issuance is profitable, so Wall Street keeps cranking out more products to sell. The large number of ETFs has little to do with serving your best interests as an investor. I leverage this data to identify three red flags you can use to avoid the worst ETFs: 1. Inadequate Liquidity This issue is the easiest to avoid, and my advice is simple. Avoid all ETFs with less than $100 million in assets. Low levels of liquidity can lead to a discrepancy between the price of the ETF and the underlying value…

Key News Asian equities had mixed performance overnight as the US dollar weakened and South Korea led gains in the region. Neither Hong Kong nor Mainland China managed to hold onto early morning gains, as both markets slid to post small losses. Hong Kong’s decline was driven by PDD’s significant financial results miss and large investments that weighed on the company’s bottom line. Sell-side analysts’ estimates were off by a wide margin; in their defense, the company has never broken out Temu’s results from domestic China revenue, making transparency an ongoing issue. PDD’s investment plans raised concerns about margin contraction…

The Consumer Price Index inflation report for May will be released on June 11. Inflation nowcasting from the Atlanta Federal Reserve estimates 0.12% headline monthly inflation for May and 0.23% when food and energy prices are removed. That would be similar to the 0.2% monthly CPI price increase reported in April for both headline and adjusted for food and energy.. However, these nowcasts are primarily informed by energy price trends and historical prices, so its possible that any impact from tariffs is missed. Still, many large firms whether retailers or car manufactures have not yet adjusted pricing in response to…

Another impressive performance at from Pets at Home’s petcare division pushed group sales and profits higher last year, the retailer announced on Wednesday. At 271.8p per share, the FTSE 250 firm’s shares were last 3.6% higher in midweek trading. At group level, consumer revenues rose 2.7% in the 12 months to March, to £2 billion, as sales at its veterinary services division soared 13% to £655.1 million. Pets at Home said “higher visits, average transaction values and significant growth in Care Plan revenues” pushed turnover to record levels. Underlying pre-tax profit at the vet services unit improved 23.3% year on…