New Constructs
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The Ride Is Over: Sell Ariba Inc. (ARBA)

Over the past 10 years, ARBA appears as quite a success story and one of the few ‘internet bubble’ companies to survive and reach profitability, on a GAAP accounting basis at least. Looking beyond the reported accounting results, however, reveals that ARBA is not quite as profitable a company as it seems, and its valuation has out-grown its profits by a wide margin – the required combination of factors for making February’s list of most dan­ger­ous stocks.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Stock Pick of the Week: Sell/Short BJ’S Restaurants (BJRI)- Very Dangerous Rating

Red flags: 1. Mis­lead­ing earn­ings: BJRI reported a $3mm increase in GAAP earn­ings while our model shows eco­nomic earn­ings declined by $2mm (a dif­fer­ence of $5mm or nearly 40% of reported net income) during the last fiscal year. 2. Very dan­ger­ous val­u­a­tion: stock price of $34 implies BJRI must grow its NOPAT at over 20% com­pounded annu­ally for 15 years. A 15-year growth appre­ci­a­tion period with a 20%+ com­pound­ing growth rate sets expectations for future cash flow performance quite high. Historical growth rates are much lower. 3. Free cash flow was -$83mm or -11% of the company’s enterprise value last year. 4. Off-balance sheet debt of $265mm: 79% of net assets and 25% of market value. 5. Outstanding stock option liability of $44mm or 5% of current market value.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Stock Pick of the Week: Sell/Short Discover Financial Services (DFS) – Very Dangerous Rating

RED FLAGS: 1. Mis­lead­ing earn­ings: DFS reported a $295mm increase in GAAP earn­ings while our model shows eco­nomic earn­ings declined by $998mm (a dif­fer­ence of $1,293mm or over 100% of reported net income). The majority of the overstated reported earnings comes from a one-time gain from an anti-trust settlement of $1,892mm. 2. Very dan­ger­ous val­u­a­tion: stock price of $19 implies DFS must grow its NOPAT at over 10% com­pounded annu­ally for 40 years. A 40-year growth appre­ci­a­tion period with a 10%+ com­pound­ing growth rate sets expectations for future cash flow performance quite high. Historical growth rates have never been much lower. 3. Free Cash Flow was -$2,470mm or -26% of the company’s enterprise value last year. 4. Asset write-offs of $428mm or 5% of net assets – this means that management has written off at least $0.05 of assets for every $1 on the current balance sheet. Writing off assets is the opposite of creating shareholder value as it reflects management’s inability to derive any profits for the investments it makes with shareholder funds. 5. Off-balance sheet debt of $38mm or 0.5% of net assets. 6. Outstanding stock option liability of $8mm or less than 1% of current market value.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Stock Pick of the Week: JDA Software Group Inc (JDAS) – Very Dangerous Rating

Red Flags: 1. Mis­lead­ing earn­ings: JDAS reported a $14.6mm increase in GAAP earn­ings while our model shows eco­nomic earn­ings declined by $12.9mm (a dif­fer­ence of $27.5mm or 155% of reported net income). 2. Very dan­ger­ous val­u­a­tion: stock price of $27 implies JDAS must grow its NOPAT at over 20% com­pounded annu­ally for 10 years. A 10-year growth appre­ci­a­tion period with a 20%+ com­pound­ing growth rate sets expectations for future cash flow performance quite high. 3. Free Cash Flow was -$203mm or -15% of the company’s enterprise value last year. 4. Asset write-offs of $21mm or 3% of net assets – this means that management has written off at least $0.03 of assets for every $1 on the current balance sheet. Writing off assets is the opposite of creating shareholder value as it reflects management’s inability to derive any profits for the investments it makes with shareholder funds. 5. Off-balance sheet debt of $40mm or 6% of net assets. 6. Outstanding stock option liability of $13mm or 1% of current market value.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Stock Pick of the Week: Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM) – Very Dangerous Rating

RED FLAGS: 1. Misleading Earnings: AKAM reported a $1mm increase in GAAP earnings while our model shows economic earnings declined by $10mm (a difference of $11mm or 7% of reported net income). 2. Very Dangerous Valuation: Stock price of $47 implies AKAM must grow its NOPAT at over 20% com¬pounded annu¬ally for 15 years. A 15-year growth appreciation period with a 20%+ compounding growth rate sets expectations for future cash flow performance quite high. 3. Asset write-offs of $2,000mm or 102% of Net Assets – this means that management has written off at least $1 of assets for every $1 on the current balance sheet. Writing off assets is the opposite of creating shareholder value as it reflects management’s inability to derive any profits for the investments it makes with shareholder funds. 4. Off-balance sheet debt of $128mm or 7% of Net Assets. 5. Outstanding Stock Option Liability of $212mm or 3% of current market value.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Stock Pick of the Week: Sell/Short CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (CBG) — Very Dangerous Rating

RED FLAGS: Mis­lead­ing Earn­ings: CBG reported a $1,045mm increase in GAAP earn­ings while our model shows eco­nomic earn­ings declined by $358mm. Very Dan­ger­ous Val­u­a­tion: Stock price of $19.06 implies CBG must grow its NOPAT at 20% com­pounded annu­ally for 15 years. Has any company ever done that, much less a commercial real estate company?
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Stock Pick of the Week: Sell/Short CBS Class B (CBS) Very Dangerous Rating

CBS’s get our Very Dan­ger­ous Rating. There is lots of down­side risk given the Mis­lead­ing Earn­ings and there is lit­tle upside reward given the already-rich expec­ta­tions embed­ded in the stock price. RED FLAGS: 1. Mis­lead­ing Earn­ings: CBS reported a $11,899mm increase in GAAP earn­ings while our model shows eco­nomic earn­ings declined by $548mm. 2. Underfunded Pensions of $2,239mm (20% of market value) 3. Asset-write-offs of $10,559mm in asset write-offs (50% of Net Assets and nearly 100% of the market value) 4. High Valuation: market price implies CBS must grow its revenue at 10% com­pounded annu­ally for 23 years and increase its ROIC from 2.4% to 6% over the same time frame.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO