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Data Update 4 for 2021: The Hurdle Rate Question!

Musings on Markets

What is a hurdle rate for a business? There are multiple definitions that you will see offered, from it being the cost of raising capital for that business to an opportunity cost , i.e., a return that you can make investing elsewhere, to a required return for investors in that business. What is a hurdle rate?

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Data Update 5 for 2024: Profitability - The End Game for Business?

Musings on Markets

In my last three posts, I looked at the macro (equity risk premiums, default spreads, risk free rates) and micro (company risk measures) that feed into the expected returns we demand on investments, and argued that these expected returns become hurdle rates for businesses, in the form of costs of equity and capital.

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Data Update 5 for 2023: The Earnings Test

Musings on Markets

During the course of the year, investors also rediscovered that the essence of business is not growing revenues or adding users, but making profits from that growth. In this post, I will focus on trend lines in profitability at companies in 2022, with the intent of addressing multiple questions.

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In Search of Safe Havens: The Trust Deficit and Risk-free Investments!

Musings on Markets

In every introductory finance class, you begin with the notion of a risk-free investment, and the rate on that investment becomes the base on which you build, to get to expected returns on risky assets and investments. What is a risk free investment?

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Transcript: Tim Buckley, Vanguard’s CEO

Barry Ritholtz

We have lowered the cost of investing, and we have improved the quality of those funds. It forced us to make some tough choices in that time in some big investments, whether we were building out our advice capabilities and building virtual teams to do it, or you know, tough choices in our retirement business.

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Data Update 7 for 2023: Dividends, Buybacks and Cash Flows

Musings on Markets

The dividend principle, which is the focus of this post is built on a very simple principle, which is that if a company is unable to find investments that make returns that meet its hurdle rate thresholds, it should return cash back to the owners in that business.

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Data Update 1 for 2021: A (Data) Look Back at a Most Forgettable Year (2020)!

Musings on Markets

Put simply, I possess no exclusivity here, and staying consistent with my thesis, I don't expect to expect to make money by investing based upon this data. So, why bother? You would like those answers now, but stay tuned to the rest of my data updates and the data will speak for itself.)