Blackjack, other AP gaming vs. stock market.

[flyingwind]

Buy what you like. If you ride, buy Harley. If you are a fast food junkie, buy Mickey Ds.

I don't buy that.

Of course, you did give examples of good companies. I've heard multiple similar stories. A father who finally decided to understand why his kids were into comics, then realized that he should invest in Marvel. Others who looked at which stores the kids shop at, then bought stock in Gap. Where do they eat? Let's buy some stock in Chiptole. There is some investing that can be done by following the fad of the year. Apple - fad? Or will it still be here in 25 years, the next IBM?

 

[flyingwind]

Don't overthink it. Just invest on financial ratios. Price/earnings, price/sales, price/book, dividend yield.

As with many things, I'm sure I'm over thinking it.

But I'll take your suggestion, jot it down, and look into these.

 

[moo321]

As with many things, I'm sure I'm over thinking it.

But I'll take your suggestion, jot it down, and look into these.

You can take a look at Benjamin Graham's book (forget the name). Old but still worth a read.

Otherwise, I recommend "The little book that beats the market" by Joel Greenblatt.

Basically, just get a stock screener and pick out cheap stocks. Do a little research to make sure the numbers are legit, and diversify.

 

[shadroch]

I don't buy that.

Of course, you did give examples of good companies. I've heard multiple similar stories. A father who finally decided to understand why his kids were into comics, then realized that he should invest in Marvel. Others who looked at which stores the kids shop at, then bought stock in Gap. Where do they eat? Let's buy some stock in Chiptole. There is some investing that can be done by following the fad of the year. Apple - fad? Or will it still be here in 25 years, the next IBM?

If I eat at one particular chain over the others, it's because I like the food.
For a place to succeed as a chain, it generally needs to offer a superior product and be efficent. Isn't that what you are looking for in a stock as well ?
Marvel Comics is a great example. When it went public in the early /mid 90s I bought some. It went crazy, splitting four or five times and I made a small fortune. Trouble was that the revenue it was making as a $50 million dollar company wasn't nearly enough when it became a $500 million dollar company so they were forced to release much more product, and couldn't keep the quality up. What had once been a tight cohesive company became a mishmash of epic proportion, relieing on gimmicks instead of quality to sell product. The handwriting was on the wall, and they went bankrupt a short time later. They came back, lean and mean putting out much fewer product but concentrating on quality. Eventually Disney bought them out and the rest is history.

 

[flyingwind]

Marvel Comics is a great example. When it went public in the early /mid 90s I bought some. It went crazy, splitting four or five times and I made a small fortune.

Sigh. I missed out on Marvel. Just like I missed out on Apple.

You can take a look at Benjamin Graham's book (forget the name). Old but still worth a read.

Otherwise, I recommend "The little book that beats the market" by Joel Greenblatt.

Basically, just get a stock screener and pick out cheap stocks. Do a little research to make sure the numbers are legit, and diversify.

Read the Graham book already. My trouble is converting theory to real world practice. Though maybe this deserves a second look. After all, it took several re-reads to apply the CC theory into practice correctly.

I will get the Greenblatt book.

Which stock screener do you use? Google and Yahoo each have one. I'm sure there are many others.