Month: April 2021

CEORater Portfolio Ahead of The Benchmark

CEORater Portfolio Ahead of The Benchmark

CEORater began an experiment several years ago whereby we built a concentrated "buy and hold" equal-weight portfolio consisting of quality Enterprise Software names that would be held for a minimum of five years. The benchmark is the S&P North American Expanded Technology Software Index (SPNASEUP). CEORater is up 4.2% Year-to-Date vs. 2.0% for the benchmark … Continue reading CEORater Portfolio Ahead of The Benchmark

Reduce Operating Waste By Carrying Certain COVID Practices Forward

Reduce Operating Waste By Carrying Certain COVID Practices Forward

Every business leader ought to be thinking about how to leverage beneficial business processes that were adopted during COVID. Substituting travel and in-person meetings with Zoom calls when appropriate is a significant opportunity to eliminate operating waste. Thinking back to my corporate M&A days beyond the initial Seller meeting (which did not need to take … Continue reading Reduce Operating Waste By Carrying Certain COVID Practices Forward

Inflation Is Here To Stay. Powell Likely Has Lost Control.

Inflation Is Here To Stay. Powell Likely Has Lost Control.

Fed Chair Powell does not understand the relationship between Federal welfare ("stimulus") programs and wage inflation. Per Fed Chair Powell's prepared remarks on Wednesday, Mr. Powell seems completely oblivious to the fact that fiscal "stimulus" programs are counterproductive to low-wage services sector employment. For example, Powell commented that he was concerned by the "level of … Continue reading Inflation Is Here To Stay. Powell Likely Has Lost Control.

Michael Collins Was Everything Today’s CEOs Should Aspire To Be

Michael Collins Was Everything Today’s CEOs Should Aspire To Be

Selfless. Dedicated. Hard-working. Humble. Patriot. Hero. These are some of the adjectives that may be used to describe astronaut Michael Collins who passed away Wednesday at the age of 90. We started CEORater several years ago having grown concerned by the fact that investors, companies and CEOs had become overly short-term focused which is long-term … Continue reading Michael Collins Was Everything Today’s CEOs Should Aspire To Be

YouTube Is No Better Than Your Legacy Cable Provider

YouTube Is No Better Than Your Legacy Cable Provider

One of the tricks Google's YouTube unit leverages to drive operating margins is to store and playback premium video content purchased as "HD" content at some resolution less than High Definition (1080 resolution per YouTube's service level agreement qualifies as "HD"). When Google Support was contacted I was told that YouTube has identified a technical … Continue reading YouTube Is No Better Than Your Legacy Cable Provider

Google Will Run This Media Playbook Again

Google Will Run This Media Playbook Again

The combination of Google Cloud Platform ("GCP"), YouTube, Google Ads and Search is a powerful bundle for other cloud platform services (AWS and Azure) to compete with in the Media space - particularly as it relates to streaming services. Yesterday Google signed a deal with Univision as the latter transitions to an AVOD (Ad-supported Video … Continue reading Google Will Run This Media Playbook Again

Apple’s New North Carolina Campus Key In AI Race

Apple’s New North Carolina Campus Key In AI Race

Apple's new Raleigh, NC-area campus announcement is the type of corporate announcement that often flies under the radar. The Raleigh / Research Triangle area is home to many technology companies notably SAS of Cary, NC. The Raleigh-area is home to a highly educated workforce with deep Software experience (not to mention it is a relatively … Continue reading Apple’s New North Carolina Campus Key In AI Race

Biden’s Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Increase Will Spur Selling

Biden’s Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Increase Will Spur Selling

The good news (drooling sarcasm) just keeps coming out of the Biden Administration. The Administration wishes to increase the long-term capital gains tax from approximately 29% under current law to approximately 48%. TaxFoundation.org does a fine job of detailing this tax grab. Learn more by reading their article HERE. Count this looming tax increase as … Continue reading Biden’s Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Increase Will Spur Selling

U.S. Trade Deficit With China To Explode

U.S. Trade Deficit With China To Explode

We recently wrote about the Biden Administration's $2.3 Trillion Green New Deal. Government spending programs like these will disproportionately increase U.S. imports from China given that the U.S. manufactures little in the way of finished goods while China has solidified its position as the "world's manufacturer". We depict the U.S. trade deficit with China below. … Continue reading U.S. Trade Deficit With China To Explode

The Return of Live Events

The Return of Live Events

This year's Super Bowl in Jacksonville, FL had limited fans in attendance. The WWE (tkr: WWE) plans a return to live events in 2H 2021 per last night's earnings call. This Saturday Endeavor's UFC business unit will host approximately 15,000 fans at its in-arena event (also in Jacksonville) and plans to be in Texas for … Continue reading The Return of Live Events