RE: PI's buying while directors ...17 Mar 2025 06:29
I know what you mean, Guttersnipe. But the City is rarely fooled by opaque accounting techniques.
JD is not particularly 'bad' on this front, but I personally ignore EBITDA in any report that I read.
Because I take the same view that Charlie Munger held in relation to this particular metric.
I would suggest that the key things to be mindful of (in any name, not JD-specific) simply are: profit, revenue, debt (and debt maturity dates etc), and to a lesser extent, any other assets or liabilities (for some of the older names, even pensions can be a fairly important feature to consider) - and what is the trend of these key metrics over the past 2-3 years (eg going up or down?)
Someone like Pokerchips though would probably be able to tell you if I have missed anything out that also deserves mention. But IMO, the KISS method is the best way to go, in relation to this particular topic.
As for JD: I honestly do not know what the next set of results is going to show, beyond being within guidance. I suspect at the lower end, but it will IMO be the forward looking statement that is going to be very interesting.
Just the investment pot here still, and so close to results, I am probably not going to jump back in again for another side pot trade until then. But never say never :) GLA.