Real Estate Wars 2026: Adding Compass, Inc. (COMP) as a Short Idea, Closing out CSGP Short with (-50%+) Gain

Buyback Outliers: 1Q26 Update

Are buybacks about to become a favorable factor for the markets?  We asked this question a few months ago and the answer remains somewhat uncertain.  Thus far this year, the S&P 500 Buyback Index is down a modest (3.5%) compared to a (-5.0%) decline for the S&P 500....

KNSL: The Cognitive Dissonance – Give Me an Insurance Policy With Nothing!

“Hey Jimmy, give me a cheese with nothing! Nothing????” Polly-O String Cheese commercial “We received an Excess proposal from $KNSL on our business. Pricing was fair. What concerns me is they omit a lot of...

STRA: Hitching Company Hopes to the Most Commoditized Segments of Higher Education; Consensus Estimates Appear Way Too...

“I don't see anything that gives me alarm around any sharper declines in U.S. Higher Education enrollment. And I'm confident that in time, it's going to normalize to...

FRPT: As Store Productivity Turns Negative, Shareholders Could Start to Worry About a “Code Blue”(Buffalo)

No, FRPT will not be disintermediated by Cluade or any other AI model, at least not in the short term (if you want to go down the Citrini path, consumer stocks like FRPT could get demolished).  However,...

SAF Surveys: Winter 2026 - Channel Checks Across NINE Different Industries

The report below summarizes feedback we received from our proprietary surveys conducted across nine different industries: Decking dealers Powersports equipment Lighting Construction equipment Recreational vehicles Office...

TRUP: When 4% Penetration of the TAM Becomes Worrisome and the Four Other Things That Matter Most from TRUP’s 4Q25...

Since the day the company went public, the mandate for Trupanion management has been one grand exercise in narrative creation and getting investors to focus on self-created (and oft changed)...

Z/ZG: Focus on the Signals, Not the Noise

f you told us that FY26 and FY27 revenue estimates for Zillow would be higher on a 1, 3, 6, and 12-month basis and the stock would be down close to (-40%) over the past 6-months, we wouldn’t have believed you.  Zillow shares have been under siege for the past...

TRUP: Desperate Times and More Desperate Measures

It’s been an uninspiring start for TRUP shareholders thus far in 2026.  The stock has declined (-14.0%) to start the year, compared to a modest 0.3% gain for the S&P 500.  On a longer term basis, TRUP shares are down (-72.7%) over the past 5-years...

ATGE: An Atrocious “Beat” as Chamberlain’s Structural Woes Remain on Full Display; Walden’s Worrisome Growth

Believe it or not, there was a time in ATGE’s journey as a public entity that the company would be subject to some level of scrutiny from sell-side analysts and investors.  No one would...

ATGE/LOPE/PRDO/STRA: Higher Education Crisis? It's Not Just AI - Introducing LOPE as a Short Idea

In our 25+ years following the for-profit education industry, there has never been a time when the overall level of angst was this high.  Ongoing concerns about return on educational investment and student debt levels...