giofranchi

Ok, then the answer is: you are wrong, and they are quite diversified already!... Again, such a difficult answer to offer? Then I am sure you could explain why it is the wrong way to think about it in just a few paragraphs. Ah! Ok… Sorry to bother you then! Ahah!! ;D ;D... But you are a smart guy… And you surely understand what an unworthy Apple novice like me means! ;) Gio

Ok, therefore you are suggesting: No, they are not differentiating away from the i-phone, and I don't think they should! Instead, I would like to see them using their cash to keep improving the i-phone for the next 100 years! Have I interpreted tour thought correctly? If so, was it such a difficult answer to offer? ??? Gio

Totally agree! :-) Well, sincerely I don’t believe in an investment thesis 459 pages long… Those who know lots about any topic should be able to explain quite easily why a question is the wrong one… I might have asked the wrong question, but “go and read 459 pages” surely is the wrong answer! ;) Cheers, Gio

Well… Maybe… I know very little about Apple! Even if it is the wrong question, would you mind answering it? ;) Gio

Thank you Liberty! Great answer! :) This tread is very long… Therefore, let me ask you one more question: You have already convinced me it is very hard to compete with the i-phone. If I start reading the whole thread, will I find some convincing arguments about how they are using all their free cash to differentiate away from the i-phone? It is one thing to have an incredibly competitive product, quite another to predict how long that product will keep growing: no one has replaced Windows yet, though Microsoft growth has ceased to be noteworthy for some time now… Really appreciate your thoughts! Cheers, Gio

Well, let’s put it this way: I have pulled the trigger neither with Google, nor with Microsoft, nor with Facebook… My bad… But always better safe than sorry! ;) Nothing wrong with lots of cash from just one product and for a limited period of time… Provided I see a strong manager who I firmly believe will make shrewd use of that cash (see my investment in LMCA). Cheers, Gio

Liberty, I think you are right 100%. What keeps me from pulling the trigger with Apple is the fact it still relies so much on one product: the i-phone of course! And of course the rest of the world is trying to find something better, which could replace it… Do you see that changing? I mean: do you think Apple’s revenue might become more diversified in the future? Or do you think Apple today is so cheap that you are not really worried about it? Thank you, Gio

Maybe... Though Adjusted net income per share is up 30% for the first half of 2015: the overall preformance still seems to be very strong! If a correction comes, I am buying more! ;) Cheers, Gio

That’s exactly what I thought… But recently I have changed my mind. 1) imo technology doesn’t matter all that much at this point: even if a new technology were to start replacing SIRI right now, it would take some years for old cars to be retired and for new cars to hit the road. First bet: Malone will enjoy lots of fcf from SIRI for the next 5 years. 2) The optionality lies in whatever the use for all that fcf Malone might find. Second bet: Malone is going to invest SIRI’s fcf intelligently. If bet n.1 and bet n.2 come true, this investment will turn out to be a winner. I attach a high probability of success to both bets. Cheers, Gio

Liberty Media: Get $3 Billion Or More For Free http://seekingalpha.com/article/3371365-liberty-media-get-3-billion-or-more-for-free?app=1&auth_param=7i5hb:1aridj0:482f62648e24817b140c25d82818db44&uprof=25 Gio

I have started a 9% position il $LMCK: I have come to realize you must be quite dogged to keep arguing with $SIRI’s results... FCF is growing incredibly fast, and that cash flow in the hands of Malone must be very valuable indeed! ;) Cheers, Gio

Jarden Reports Second Quarter Results http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=72395&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2072121 Gio

Of course you have to… But don’t miss the good in that write-up, because of some calculations which appear to be too optimistic! ;) Cheers, Gio

Well, of course I hope it does! :) Cheers, Gio

Thank you! I think your analysis makes great sense. Though right now I still am more comfortable with Charter: 1) It is a special investment situation imo, and basically depends on how the TWC and the Bright House mergers will proceed; 2) Cable is Malone's historic business: if he says the industry is still very well positioned, I absolutely do not doubt his judgement. I know he is also very upbeat about SIRI, and I’ll watch closely what happens here. As new cash comes in, I might gradually build a position in LMCA too. Cheers, Gio

Full Interview: Allergan's CEO On Selling His Generics Business And What He'll Buy Next http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2015/07/27/full-interview-allergans-ceo-on-selling-his-generics-business-and-what-hell-buy-next/ Gio

Good to see great progress! :) Liberty, do you feel you can predict SIRI’s future comfortably enough, or is it more a bet on Malone’s business acumen? Thank you, Gio

Probably, it has already been posted here (or in the Charter thread), but I am posting it again because I think it is the most exaustive write-up about Charter I have seen: https://oraclefromomaha.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/charter-communications-time-warner-cable-betting-big-on-the-us-cable-industry/ Gio

Due to the recent increase in price $VRX has become my largest investment. Gio

As I was saying then, the biggest risk is a regulatory risk… But I see Charter as a special situation investment: an investment in LBRDA now is a bet that the mergers with TWC and Bright House go through successfully. Period. If this happens, later we could come back here and discuss about the future of the cable industry ;)… This is anyway what Malone had to write in his 2014 AL: Emphasis mine. Cheers, Gio

BAM: Misunderstood 83% Free Cash Flow Machine: Brookfield Asset Management Gio BAM-July272015.pdf

CAE sells Datamine to Constellation Software http://seekingalpha.com/news/2657935-cae-sells-datamine-to-constellation-software?app=1&uprof=25 Gio

Well, I guess when the time finally comes to build a new fiber infrastructure, Charter will be among the first ones to recognize the need and to seize the opportunity. If they truly are the outstanding operators I think they are, they won't be sleeping at the wheel. Until then it might go on enjoying strong cash flow and growing through acquisitions. We will see! ;) Gio

Imo if you do not give something to people, they will not feel the need to have it. If nobody builds a new infrastructure for the internet, nobody will feel the need to use it. With RAM Intel and others kept giving us larger and larger products, because the return on the investment needed to do so was quite good. Basically, it was an intellectual effort… almost no capital required. But to lay down thousands of miles of new fibers? Well, that’s another story… No one is going to do that, if no good returns on their capital could be achieved… Therefore, no one will feel its need! ;) Cheers, Gio

Well, they are joined at the hip, aren't they? ;) Wow! Congratulations for the wonderful trade! :) Cheers, Gio