Random Walk

Random Walk

Come Mr. Tally Man, Tally Me Bullets and Fiber Optic Cable Guys

More recession-winners, plus three new wrinkles to key RW themes, and finally some very good reads. My recommendations come highly recommended.

Moses Sternstein's avatar
Moses Sternstein
Apr 28, 2023
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Harry Belafonte died this week, so hoist your skirts a little higher, and enjoy a pre-weekend Random Walk:

  • Even more recession proof mattresses (plus some definite recession losers)

  • Help Wanted in the $ervice & Trade$ (munitions and cable edition)

  • Trouble at the top (for big spenders, at least)

  • CRE has only one card to play

Very good reads on:

  • excellence and serendipity

  • companies threatened by ChatGPT

  • BloombergGPT

  • ROBOTS!

  • Children (Missing, but Wanted)

Recession-proof mattresses (cont.)

A few more to add to the running list (of definitely not investment advice, just random thoughts on who thrives and survives when times get tough):

  • Fast-food and QSR: McDonalds MCD 0.00%↑ and Chipotle CMD 0.00%↑ both crushed it in Q1. Although, to be fair, both companies outperformed their peers on a foot-traffic basis (and the category as a whole took a hit), still trade-downs on necessities like “eating” tend to do well in a downturn.1

  • Car parts and repair: O’Reilly Auto ORLY 0.00%↑ and AutoZone AZO 0.00%↑ have benefited from the steady increase in the demand for car parts, the shortage of new cars, and a high-rate environment that makes consumers more likely to fix their existing cars, than buy a new one (and by extending the life of the car, presumably increase the need for repairs).

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