Skip to main
9,515 Followers • 13 Following

Mike Berner

@mikebernerFinance/Media
Mike Berner avatar
Creator of the Tycoonist, an irreverent online magazine covering business and finance. Get on the email list for weekly articles that entertain and inform ⬇️ #PublicPartner. The investments in my portfolio or mentioned in my posts are entirely my own, and not in any way recommendations or advice. Anyone wishing to buy or sell should conduct their own research to determine what investments are best suited for their particular financial situation and risk tolerance. All investing involves risk.
  1. Asset
    Price
  2. META logo
    Meta
    $584.06
    +0.29%

Posts

Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Invested in GEO Group
Lately I’ve been accumulating a position in $GEO . I started looking into it after Mike Burry got in, and there’s a lot to like. The owned real estate alone provides a huge margin of safety, and their electronic monitoring business is a notable growth segment. Recent negative news flow about closure of private prisons put a damper on the stock, but I think these cash flows are going to be stickier than people think. So, a lot of upside in this name - if you don’t mind the ick factor of owning a private prison (yes, I readily admit that I am an evil value investor). #value #valueinvesting #michaelburry
Tipped
1
4
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Sold Under ArmourInvested for 484 days
Lost57.82%
I took advantage of this market rally to exit my failed investment in Under Armour. Last year, I bet on their turnaround strategy, which seemed to be working at the time. But supply chain missteps hampered that effort, and UA fired the CEO who had spearheaded the turnaround. Now that the original thesis is dead, it’s time to move on. Fortunately, this was not a large position.
Tipped
0
0
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Sold Chord Energy CorpInvested for 489 days
Made58.08%
Over a year later, the stock is approaching why I think is fair value. Gain + special dividends have been pretty sweet in a down market. Still holding my other energy investments.
Tipped
3
0
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Added Meta to Watchlist
$META starting to look very interesting Moated business: Facebook (and to a lesser extent IG) remain the most measurable and cost-effective way for SMBs to reach local customers. Stability: 70% of Meta revenue comes from small businesses. Local ad spend is historically less sensitive to the business cycle than national, which is why Buffett loved local newspapers. Valuation: trading at 10x free cash flow, and that cash stream is growing. More stats: 80% gross margins, 30% operating margin, no debt And the company is still led by a shareholder-aligned founder in the prime of his life. Metaverse is an unknown; real story is the cash flow from the core business (no, Zuck is not “betting the company” as some media outlets have claimed). Oh, but wait - none of that counts because people are still being told that the platform is dying (a complete fabrication) and that they should hate Zuck for [insert reason]. I predict that we’ll see a prominent value investor (Icahn, Einhorn, or maybe even Buffett) get involved in this name very soon
0
1
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Theater stocks have faded even as they continue to demonstrate their underlying value. This presents an opportunity. Right now, the ‘news flow’ for movie theaters sucks. Regal Cinemas just filed for bankruptcy, and the media reported that the summer box office was 21% below. That seems terrible, except that the available movie slate was only HALF that of 2019! That will likely reverse as studios continue work on films delayed by the pandemic and back off the costly direct-to-streaming approach. Family-owned companies $RDI and $MCS could be VERY cheap if the business recovers. See my previous posts for more. #value #valueinvesting
Tipped
0
0
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
My thesis for movie theaters is simple: recovery of the box office to pre-pandemic levels (see full article below) 🎥 🍿 But what if I’m wrong, and theater foot traffic doesn’t recover? Some of these small, family-run theater/hotel chains such as $RDI and Marcus $MCS own a TON of real estate…probably worth more than the entire market value of the company! It’s an ideal value situation: upside from a recovering box office, with downside protected by hard assets. RDI had a buyout offer for $18 a share just a few years ago. Movie theaters might not be a great long-term hold, but I think you could potentially flip some of these stocks for a big profit in a year or two. We’ll see how the movie plays out… #valueinvesting #deepvalue #value https://thetycoonist.com/2022/08/01/the-end-of-movie-theaters-not/
Tipped
0
0
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
A number of tech/growth stocks have been de-risked considerably with the recent crash. So far I’ve found 59 names trading at less than 3-4x their cash and receivables on the balance sheet with minimal cash burn (or even positive cash flow). Here are a few: 1) $VMEO : $1B market cap, $300M cash, no debt, modest cash burn, $IAC spin-off 2) $KRNT See more
2
3
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Added a bit to my energy basket during the dip in oil 🛢. Last scooped up shares of oil and gas producers during the 2021 Omicron scare (remember that?). Recession scare might be a bit more real, but there’s always opportunity Amplify is not a great business, but it’s cheap. There’s definitely some risk, but it could still be worth $10 or $15 as long as oil prices don’t crash another 50% (a dicey proposition!). As always, DYODD. Check out the investor presentation on their website to learn the basics #energy #oil #valueinvesting
Tipped
1
5
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
The book “The Outsiders” profiled eight unconventional CEOs who generated monster gains for shareholders. The secret? Capital allocation…AKA investing the company’s money wisely 🤑 Probably the most famous example would be Warren Buffett, but what about some lesser-known CEOs? Here are three vIrtually unknown CEOs that I think are following the Outsiders set playbook: 1) Warren Kanders See more
9
7
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Added Activision Blizzard to Watchlist
Activision is set to be acquired by $MSFT for $95 a share in a deal expected to close in June 2023. That represents a 27% spread from the current share price. The stock is trading like the government could block the deal. Warren Buffett has taken a large position in a bet that the deal goes through. Interesting situation to keep an eye on 👀💰 #arbitrage #warrenbuffett
1
6
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
$UBER ’s business model is fundamentally uneconomic (no positive cash flow in 13 years). Compared to the traditional taxi company that it drove out of business, it is also the higher cost producer. So why were Uber and $LYFT so much cheaper for so long? Answer: massive investor subsidies (Uber has burned through $31 billion since its founding) and labor exploitation (shifting most operating costs toSee more
0
1
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Continuing to build my buy-and-hold TPL position. My reasons remain unchanged (see prior commentary).
Tipped
0
0
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Sold Delta ApparelInvested for 237 days
Made10.84%
I still think this is a cheap stock, but I’m selling to pursue (hopefully) better opportunities… more commentary to come soon
Tipped
0
3
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
The beating that $TGT $WMT $COST and other retailers have taken this week shows how many investors still don’t understand inflation 💰😳 We have a situation where retailer sales are rising on a nominal basis, but profitability is deteriorating due to higher input costs (inventory, labor, etc). Retail is competitive, which means it’s difficult to offset this with higher prices. The stock decline hasSee more
0
2
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Added Texas Pacific Land Trust to long-term portfolio
Unlike my other energy stocks (which I bought cheap and may sell when they reach full value), $TPL is a long-term play because it has none of the risk of traditional oil and gas producers. I will continue adding to my position as long as the price remains fair. See my previous post for more. #futurefocused #longterm #invest
0
7
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
$TPL is primarily an oil royalty company, meaning that it allows drilling on its land in exchange for a small percentage of revenue (around 4.4%). In the conventional sense, there’s no business risk. -No fixed assets. -Zero debt. -Counts just 92 employees. -Operating profit margin is 82% (not a typo). For context, Microsoft’s operating margin is 42% and Apple’s is 31%. -Could generate $80 a share in earnings this year with oil at $100, which would put shares at 18 times earnings. If you think inflation and oil prices will remain high, TPL offers a unique way to benefit. Wrote more on TPL two weeks ago. Be sure to join my email list for more content like this (link in the bio) https://thetycoonist.com/2022/04/04/anti-inflation-stocks-three-picks/
Tipped
4
26
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
Last week I asked the question how those who receive stock options as part of their compensation would feel if the stock went down and the options didn’t pay off. Clearly some people would be feeling a bit PO’d. Only 20% wouldn’t care at all. What happens if tech stocks don’t perform as well? Will their labor costs go up to satisfy angry employees? Something to think about. $FB See more
0
0
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner

For those who receive stock options as part of your pay package, how would you feel if your company’s stock declined and the options didn’t pay off? A recent CNBC article noted that Google employees were a bit pissy over the issue. Would appreciate your thoughts (will follow up on this poll with more content)👇 $GOOG $NFLX $AAPL $FB $MSFT $AMZN

Not concerned 20.12%
Would bother me a little37.2%
Company should pay more26.22%
Would look for a new job16.46%
164 votes • Ended 03/25/22
10
3
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
What’s going on with $AMC and Hycroft Mining $HYMC ? 🧐 Put on your tinfoil hats: there’s actually a connection between these two companies that the media has largely overlooked. Fact: Jason Mudrick, whose fund is the largest shareholder in See more
0
0
Mike Berner avatar
Mike Berner
@mikeberner
After briefly falling out of the top ten richest people in the world last year, Berkshire Hathaway $BRK.B $BRK.A CEO Warren Buffett has surged back into the #5 spot with a net worth of $124B. Meanwhile, Buffett’s 10-year performance has edged ahead of the S&P 500 (15% annually vs. 14% for the index) after lagging behind for years. Buff Dawg is back, baby.See more
Mar 22, 2021 - Mar 21, 2022
BRK.B logo
BRK.B36.64%
VOO logo
VOO15.51%
0
1
9,515 Followers • 13 Following

Mike Berner

@mikebernerFinance/Media
Mike Berner avatar
Creator of the Tycoonist, an irreverent online magazine covering business and finance. Get on the email list for weekly articles that entertain and inform ⬇️ #PublicPartner. The investments in my portfolio or mentioned in my posts are entirely my own, and not in any way recommendations or advice. Anyone wishing to buy or sell should conduct their own research to determine what investments are best suited for their particular financial situation and risk tolerance. All investing involves risk.

Invest in everything on Public

Public is an all-in-one investing platform where you can build a multi-asset portfolio that includes everything from stocks and options to bonds, crypto, and a High-Yield Cash Account.
Sign Up

© Copyright 2025 Public Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Market data powered by Xignite.

All investments involve the risk of loss and the past performance of a security or a financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. You should consult your legal, tax, or financial advisors before making any financial decisions. This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to purchase or sell securities, open a brokerage account, or engage in any investment strategy.

Stocks, ETFs, Options, Bonds.
Self-directed brokerage accounts and brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities, options, and Bonds, except for treasury securities offered through Jiko Securities, Inc., are offered to self-directed customers by Open to the Public Investing, Inc. (“Public Investing”), a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA & SIPC. Additional information about your broker can be found by clicking here. Public Investing is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Holdings, Inc. (“Public Holdings”). This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities or open a brokerage account in any jurisdiction where Public Investing is not registered. Securities products offered by Public Investing are not FDIC insured. Apex Clearing Corporation, our clearing firm, has additional insurance coverage in excess of the regular SIPC limits. Additional information can be found here.

Options.
Certain requirements must be met in order to trade options. Options can be risky and are not suitable for all investors. Options transactions are often complex, and investors can rapidly lose the entire amount of their investment or more in a short period of time. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing in options. Refer to the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before considering any options transaction. Supporting documentation for any claims, if applicable, will be furnished upon request. Tax considerations with options transactions are unique and investors considering options should consult their tax advisor as to how taxes affect the outcome of each options strategy.

Options Order Flow Rebates.
If you are enrolled in our Options Order Flow Rebate Program, Public Investing will share a percentage of our estimated order flow revenue for each completed options trade as a rebate to help reduce your trading costs. Rebate rates vary monthly from $0.06-$0.18 and depend on your current and prior month’s options trading volume. This rebate will be deducted from your cost to place the trade and will be reflected on your trade confirmation. To learn more, see our Options Rebate Program Terms & Conditions, Order Rebate FAQ and Fee Schedule.

Bonds.
“Bonds” shall refer to corporate debt securities and U.S. government securities offered on the Public platform through a self-directed brokerage account held at Public Investing and custodied at Apex Clearing. For purposes of this section, Bonds exclude treasury securities held in treasury accounts with Jiko Securities, Inc. as explained under the “ Treasury Accounts” section.

Investments in Bonds are subject to various risks including risks related to interest rates, credit quality, market valuations, liquidity, prepayments, early redemption, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors. The value of Bonds fluctuate and any investments sold prior to maturity may result in gain or loss of principal. In general, when interest rates go up, Bond prices typically drop, and vice versa. Bonds with higher yields or offered by issuers with lower credit ratings generally carry a higher degree of risk. All fixed income securities are subject to price change and availability, and yield is subject to change. Bond ratings, if provided, are third party opinions on the overall bond's credit worthiness at the time the rating is assigned. Ratings are not recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell securities, and they do not address the market value of securities or their suitability for investment purposes.

A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. The Bond Account’s yield is the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule.

Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. You should evaluate each bond before investing in a Bond Account. The bonds in your Bond Account will not be rebalanced and allocations will not be updated, except for Corporate Actions.

Fractional Bonds also carry additional risks including that they are only available on Public and cannot be transferred to other brokerages. Read more about the risks associated with fixed income and fractional bonds. See Bond Account Disclosures to learn more.

High-Yield Cash Account.
A High-Yield Cash Account is a secondary brokerage account with Public Investing. Funds in your High-Yield Cash Account are automatically deposited into partner banks (“Partner Banks”), where that cash earns interest and is eligible for FDIC insurance. See here for a list of current Partner Banks. Your Annual Percentage Yield is variable and may change at the discretion of the Partner Banks or Public Investing. Apex Clearing and Public Investing receive administrative fees for operating this program, which reduce the amount of interest paid on swept cash. Neither Public Investing nor any of its affiliates is a bank. Learn more.

Cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency trading, execution, and custody services are provided by Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC (NMLS ID 1828849) (“Bakkt”). Cryptocurrency is highly speculative, involves a high degree of risk, and has the potential for loss of the entire amount of an investment. Cryptocurrencies offered by Bakkt are not securities and are not FDIC insured or protected by SIPC. Your cryptocurrency assets are held in your Bakkt account. Bakkt is a licensed virtual currency business by the New York State Department of Financial Services and a licensed money transmitter, but is not a registered broker-dealer or a FINRA member. Your Bakkt Crypto account is separate from your brokerage account with Public Investing, which holds US-listed stocks and ETFs. Please review the Risk Disclosures before trading.

Treasury Accounts.
Investing services in treasury accounts offering 6 month US Treasury Bills on the Public platform are through Jiko Securities, Inc. (“JSI”), a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA & SIPC. See JSI’s FINRA BrokerCheck and Form CRS for further information. JSI uses funds from your Treasury Account to purchase T-bills in increments of $100 “par value” (the T-bill’s value at maturity). T-bills are purchased at a discount to the par value and the T-bill’s yield represents the difference in price between the “par value” and the “discount price.” Aggregate funds in your Treasury Account in excess of the T-bill purchases will remain in your Treasury Account as cash. The value of T-bills fluctuate and investors may receive more or less than their original investments if sold prior to maturity. T-bills are subject to price change and availability - yield is subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Investments in T-bills involve a variety of risks, including credit risk, interest rate risk, and liquidity risk. As a general rule, the price of a T-bills moves inversely to changes in interest rates. Although T-bills are considered safer than many other financial instruments, you could lose all or a part of your investment. See Jiko U.S. Treasuries Risk Disclosures for further details.

Investments in T-bills: Not FDIC Insured; No Bank Guarantee; May Lose Value.

Banking services and bank accounts are offered by Jiko Bank, a division of Mid-Central National Bank. JSI and Jiko Bank are not affiliated with Public Holdings, Inc. (“Public”) or any of its subsidiaries. None of these entities provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal, tax, or financial advisors before making any financial decisions. This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to purchase or sell securities, open a brokerage account, or engage in any investment strategy.

Commission-free trading refers to $0 commissions charged on trades of US listed registered securities placed during the US Markets Regular Trading Hours in self-directed brokerage accounts offered by Public Investing. Keep in mind that other fees such as regulatory fees, Premium subscription fees, commissions on trades during extended trading hours, wire transfer fees, and paper statement fees may apply to your brokerage account. Please see Public’s Investing’s Fee Schedule to learn more.

Fractional shares are illiquid outside of Public and not transferable. For a complete explanation of conditions, restrictions and limitations associated with fractional shares, see our Fractional Share Disclosure to learn more.

Investment Plans. Investment Plans (“Plans”) shown in our marketplace are for informational purposes only and are meant as helpful starting points as you discover, research and create a Plan that meets your specific investing needs. Plans are self-directed purchases of individually-selected assets, which may include stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrency. Plans are not recommendations of a Plan overall or its individual holdings or default allocations. Plans are created using defined, objective criteria based on generally accepted investment theory; they are not based on your needs or risk profile. You are responsible for establishing and maintaining allocations among assets within your Plan. Plans involve continuous investments, regardless of market conditions. Diversification does not eliminate risk. See our Investment Plans Terms and Conditions and Sponsored Content and Conflicts of Interest Disclosure.

Alpha.
Alpha is an experiment brought to you by Public Holdings, Inc. (“Public”). Alpha is an AI research tool powered by GPT-4, a generative large language model. Alpha is experimental technology and may give inaccurate or inappropriate responses. Output from Alpha should not be construed as investment research or recommendations, and should not serve as the basis for any investment decision. All Alpha output is provided “as is.” Public makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy, completeness, quality, timeliness, or any other characteristic of such output. Your use of Alpha output is at your sole risk. Please independently evaluate and verify the accuracy of any such output for your own use case.

Market Data.
Quotes and other market data for Public’s product offerings are obtained from third party sources believed to be reliable, but Public makes no representation or warranty regarding the quality, accuracy, timeliness, and/or completeness of this information. Such information is time sensitive and subject to change based on market conditions and other factors. You assume full responsibility for any trading decisions you make based upon the market data provided, and Public is not liable for any loss caused directly or indirectly by your use of such information. Market data is provided solely for informational and/or educational purposes only. It is not intended as a recommendation and does not represent a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any particular security.