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Matthew Luke

Editor's Choice

  • Investing in a Near-Monopoly

    By Matthew Luke - April 2, 2013 | Tickers: GOOG, LUX, WMT | Editor's Choice

    As an investor there is nothing I hate more than competition. Not only do I hate competition, but I despite it! I want the companies I invest in to have the ability to crowd-out would-be competitors and raises prices on consumers as high as humanly possible… and for them to raise them even higher the next year. I want monopolies!

    Unfortunately for us investors (but fortunately for us consumers), competition more »

  • The Suddenly Crowded Smartwatch Space

    By Matthew Luke - March 28, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, SSNLF | Editor's Choice

    Another week, another iWatch or iWatch-related rumor. For months, the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) product that analysts and tech reporters cannot shut-up about is the Apple iWatch, Apple’s supposed answer to the smartwatch category. This is despite Apple neither confirming the iWatch name, specifications or even the very existence of the product. That has not stopped analysts and reporters; as if constantly talking about the rumored iWatch will magically will-it more »

  • Boring Liquor's Exciting Opportunity

    By Matthew Luke - March 15, 2013 | Tickers: BEAM, DGE, DEO, PDRDF.PK, PDRDY.PK | Editor's Choice

    Boring companies can be some of the most exciting investment opportunities. When I say “boring," I mean the types of companies that sell the types of products that have existed mostly unchanged for decades, if not longer. When looking for these types of boring investments, it does not get much more boring than the alcoholic beverage industry. And Pernod Ricard (NASDAQOTH: PDRDY), the 216-year old French wine and spirits maker, is a particularly boring company.

  • Back to the Future: eBay and MercadoLibre

    By Matthew Luke - December 5, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, EBAY, MELI, WMT, YUM | Editor's Choice

    What if I told you that time-travel was possible? What if I said that I befriended an eccentric scientist driving around in a substantially modified DeLorean? And what if I presented you with the option of traveling back to September of 1998, just as eBay was going public at the split-adjusted price of $0.75? We would find your younger self and tell him or her to invest large sums of money in eBay. We would then return to the present day, check your brokerage account statement and celebrate. Since September 1998, eBay’s share price has risen 67,792%. Just $1,475.10 invested 14 years ago would have made us millionaires today. “Awesome! When do we leave?! Where did I put my wallet?!” would likely be your response to my offer.

  • Maps and Other Small Apple Missteps

    By Matthew Luke - September 25, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG | Editor's Choice

    Small things matter. Sometimes they matter a lot. Usually not on their own, but small things have a funny habit of adding up to something big over time. With the official release of iOS 6 last Wednesday, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) appears to be developing the smallest of cracks in their once impenetrable armor. The company known for its near flawless execution of marrying great hardware to great software and services has a small habit of missteps developing.

  • Investing in McDonald's without Investing in Europe

    By Matthew Luke - July 26, 2012 | Tickers: ARCO, MCD | Editor's Choice

    The market was hit hard on Monday, falling on worries coming out of Europe. What a shocker. Leading the way down was McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), the Dow’s biggest loser (down as much as 3.63% intraday). McDonald’s reported earnings of $1.35 billion -- down from Q2 last year and missing analyst expectations for this year's second quarter. Common phrases used to describe the earnings miss included more »

  • They say that Breaking up is … Profitable to do?

    By Matthew Luke - July 5, 2012 | Tickers: BEAM, FBHS, NWSA | Editor's Choice

    Corporate breakups seem to be all the rage these days. In order to unlock shareholder value, corporations will divide into separate companies. Since Fortune Brands decided to break up its liquor and home furnishings & security businesses into two separate companies, both have flourished. The liquor business, Beam (NYSE: BEAM), is up 40% since the breakup. The home furnishings & security business, Fortune Brands Home & Security (NYSE: FBHS), is up an even more impressive 85%. During that same period, the S&P 500 is up only 13%.

  • The Wal-Mart (or something) of Latin America

    By Matthew Luke - July 2, 2012 | Tickers: CNCO, HD, M, SWY, SPG, WMT | Editor's Choice

    I’m sure by now investors are sick to death of this investing trope: the “Smaller Foreign Company-X is the Major US Company-Y of Emerging Market-Z”. Renren is the Facebook of China. Yandex is the Google of Russia. Arcos Dorados is the McDonald's of Latin America. I could go on and on. They are just phrases people say to get attention. Words that rarely ever mean anything. Renren isn’t really the Facebook of China. Yandex isn’t actually the Google of Russia. Although in the case of Arcos Dorados, it literally is the McDonald's of Latin America, so sometimes these types of descriptions are applicable.

  • How to Fuel the Electric Car Future

    By Matthew Luke - June 1, 2012 | Tickers: F, GM, NRG, TSLA, TM | Editor's Choice

    eVgo is America's first comprehensive, privately-funded electric vehicle infrastructure of home charging stations and public fast charging stations. The eVgo network is not depending on any government funding programs for development, operations or expansion.