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Lyons George

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  • Pandora: True to Its Name?

    By Lyons George - December 16, 2011 | Tickers: P

    First things first: I think Pandora (NYSE: P) is a pretty spiffy name for a company. Positioning your business at the intersection of entertainment and the origin of all human suffering is a bold move, to say the least. So props, Tim Westergren, founder and CEO: your Greek-mythology aping tactics have charmed at least one Lit kid. Of course, there's more to a company than a name. For example more »

  • On Stewardship, MF Global, and Damning the Dilettante

    By Lyons George - December 13, 2011 | Tickers: MFGLQ.PK

    Currently residing on my bedside table, along with a lamp too ugly for my mother to hold onto and a long list of outstanding debts, is a copy of Robert Miles’ The Warren Buffett CEO. A business book with a heavy human-interest bent, Mr. Miles' accounts of the various management teams at the head of various Berkshire-Hathaway companies are, unsurprisingly, various. From Rose Blumkin, whose life twisted from the poverty more »

  • Research in Stasis: Under the Hood with BlackBerry

    By Lyons George - December 13, 2011 | Tickers: AAPL, BBRY, MSI

    Last week, in a post that or may or may not have been heavily inspired by the slow, obnoxious death of my Bold, I wrote what amounted to a consumer’s takedown of Research in Motion (NASDAQ: BBRY). If you, like me, have ever felt that you somehow made a massive mistake in choosing a Blackberry as your weapon of choice, I suggest you take a gander. Misery loves company more »

  • Why Costco Is Still a Good Buy

    By Lyons George - December 13, 2011 | Tickers: AMZN, COST, TGT, WMT

    Now, my gut instinct here is to go off on how the prolonged (perpetual?) global recession will lead to the inevitable death of high-markup retail, rendering wholesale outfits the metaphorical cockroach of the looming dystopian future. But, and as a good friend pointed out, I should stay away from macro calls unless I know for sure what I’m talking about. You don’t, he assured me, and I’m more »

  • Is Google a Monopoly?

    By Lyons George - December 13, 2011 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, YHOO

    In a week-long consideration of whether or not Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) warrants the title of “Rule-Maker”, I’ve assessed, per the criteria laid out by Tom Gardner, the strength of the company’s Brand, Financial Position, and Financial Direction. The results, while mixed, are encouraging in aggregate—Google has, thus far, nabbed 31 of 39 available points. Today, in the final chapter of my assessment, I turn my attention to more »

  • Does Google Have a Rule-Making Future?

    By Lyons George - December 9, 2011 | Tickers: GOOG

    Since the best kind of homework is the kind that you assign yourself, I’ve been following up on my reading of the Gardner brothers’ Rule Breakers, Rule Makers with a step-by-step assessment of an outfit that strikes me as falling hard into the latter category: Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). Last week, examining both the web giant’s Brand and Financial Position, it became abundantly clear that as of where they more »

  • Research in Stasis: A Consumer's Qualms with BlackBerry

    By Lyons George - December 8, 2011 | Tickers: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG

    Call me a yellow journalist, but in the wake of October's trainwreck and November's hiccup, I can’t help but put Research In Motion(NASDAQ: BBRY), the Canadian telecom giant adored by suits and (increasingly) ignored by everyone else, in my crosshairs. A few years back, under the impression that I would one day be a globe-trotting businessman*, I made my entrance into smartphone-dom with the purchase of a BlackBerry Bold. My fondness for alliteration notwithstanding, I was attracted to the device’s powerful, understated appearance, not to mention the promise of impeccably streamlined email integration. I left the Verizon store with my future ahead of me, and the means to get there nestled quietly in my pocket.

    Twenty some odd months later, I am unequivocal in my conviction to switch to another brand of smartphone. More to the point: I am dead set on abandoning Blackberry. Coming soon is a look under the hood, at the failures, financials, and possible futures of Research in Motion, but for now, here are three reasons why I, the BlackBerry consumer, am abandoning ship:

  • Baidu: Still Growing, Still a Great Buy

    By Lyons George - December 6, 2011 | Tickers: BIDU, GOOG

    Yesterday, in a decidedly broad look at the current (and future) Internet landscape, I took a moment to recognize Chinese web giant Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) as a company to keep an eye on. Since then, I’ve delved a little bit deeper into the Baidu story; suffice it to say, my verdict has changed. Baidu is a company that’s growing fast with plenty of room to go, and at $135 a share, it’s still a great time to buy. But don’t take my word for it—have a look at the facts:

  • Four Reasons Why I Can't Short Tesla

    By Lyons George - December 5, 2011 | Tickers: TSLA

    Last week, under the incorrect assumption that blogging can somehow pay my rent*, I sat down and wrote 1,200 words in defense of a “wait and see” strategy with Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA). And yet, looking back to the research leading up to that post, it’s crystal clear to me that “wait and see” wasn’t at all what I had intended to write. To be perfectly honest, I had intended to count Tesla out. In fact, for the first four-fifths of the piece, that’s exactly what I did: enumerated the considerable obstacles in Tesla’s way, laid out a (possibly) convincing case for their not being able to overcome them, and set myself up for a well-earned chance to yell “short this stock!” before eating my roommates’ leftovers and heading off to bed. It would have been, in the context of my argument, the most logical conclusion. So how exactly did I arrive at “wait and see”?

  • Where the Internet's Going, and How to Go Along With It

    By Lyons George - December 5, 2011 | Tickers: AAPL, BIDU, GOOG

    Two months back, at San Francisco’s Web Summit 2.0, tech/finance/everything guru Mary Meeker offered a presentation on Internet trends. If you’re not familiar with Ms. Meeker, you should be—she’s enjoyed the title of “Queen of the Net” since back when we actually referred to this (look around you…we’re in a cloud!) as the “Net”. The presentation, fittingly titled “Internet Trends,” was notable for two reasons:

    1)   Its brave and tactful use of emoticons in a semi-corporate setting.

    2)   Its comprehensive take, both numerically and otherwise, on how, where, and why we (the world) consume the Internet.

  • Is Google an Online Rule-Maker?

    By Lyons George - November 29, 2011 | Tickers: GOOG

    A few days back, using the criteria set forth by OF (Original Fool) Tom Gardner, I asserted that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) just might be the perfect brand. In today’s post, I’m turning my attention to a decidedly harder science: cold, hard (and in Google’s case, enormous) numbers. As a part of my ongoing investigation into whether or not Google can be deemed a Rule-Maker, the question of the day is:

    Does Google Have a Rule-Making Financial Position?

  • Apple in the Longview: What Really Matters

    By Lyons George - November 29, 2011 | Tickers: AAPL

    I know a lot has been written on Steve Jobs in the wake of his passing, and I know that, across the board, great care has been taken to craft and preserve his legacy. He was, by all accounts, a fiercely innovative human being, someone whose uncanny ability to anticipate the trends of tomorrow rendered him something of a prophet. By that same token, he was also a petite tyrant—when it comes to running products by the big man, stories abound of skyscraper expectations, first-glance rejections, and minions sent scurrying back to the drawing board. To say that he was heavy-handed in his managing of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is an understatement; a more fitting metaphor for his tenure is that of a grip, his hand fastened firmly upon the ethos and output of his beloved company. For anyone who ever watched him work the stage at a product launch, it is a familiar image.

  • Why to Wait on Tesla Motors

    By Lyons George - November 29, 2011 | Tickers: TSLA, TM

    Jetpacks, smartphones, the Lion King in 3D—the future is coming fast, and it wants our money now. Breathless commentaries on soon-to-burst industries abound, and while not all of them make sense (do I really want Mufasa to pop out at me like that?), at least one comes off as an easy sell: electric cars. As the global economy falters, the Middle East simmers, and public tolerance of emission pollution wears thin, it seems increasingly feasible that the drivers of 2020 will not only park their cars, but also plug them in.

    At least, that’s certainly what the people over at Tesla Motors think.

  • Is Google the Perfect Brand?

    By Lyons George - November 29, 2011 | Tickers: GOOG, MSFT, YHOO

    To set the stage: I recently finished reading David and Tom Gardner’s Rule Breakers, Rule Makers. A 1999 gem replete with Shakespearean allusion, awkwardly employed slices of hip-hop lexicon, and an earnest lament on the stagnancy of Apple Computers, the book is dated in its examples, disarming in its tone, timeless in its themes, and outright compelling in its titular investment strategies.

    I don’t know if anyone else out there is still interested, or if time has proven the process faulty (Foolish Four, anyone?), but having just made it to the back cover, I’m pretty darn eager to see if that ’99 style holds up in the new millennium. Reading Tom’s half of the book, in which he details the criteria required of and the returns promised by a Rule Making company, there was one name in particular I just couldn’t chase out of my head: Google

  • Groupon: Two More Nails in the Coffin

    By Lyons George - November 29, 2011 | Tickers: GOOG, GRPN, YHOO

    In Tuesday's bearish take on the future of Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN), I neglected to address the company’s much-discussed introduction of “adjusted consolidated segment operating income”, or CSOI, as a key metric in an accurate understanding of their financial health. Put briefly, CSOI relieves operating income of the twin burdens of marketing and acquisition. Their prospectus touts the, ahem, innovative figure as an indicator of the profits to be had in the near future, when Groupon’s loyal costumer base will be firmly in place, pesky competitors and cumbersome ad campaigns will be a distant memory, and the sun, generally speaking, will shine brightly upon the faces of steadfast investors.

    Sound too good to be true? Well, not to be the bearer of bad news, but…

  • Why Groupon Won't Work

    By Lyons George - November 29, 2011 | Tickers: AMZN, GOOG, GRPN

    Before I get started, let me be perfectly clear:

    I love Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN).

    I check the site daily, buy vouchers weekly, and have willingly offered them my email address on multiple occasions. Considering the full-scale war I’m currently waging to protect my inbox from unwanted solicitations, that last concession should give you a good idea of just how much I respect what this young company is up to.

    The problem is, I also happen to love what LivingSocial is up to...