Preface: Please believe me when I say I really wanted to take this month off and enjoy the snow in Tahoe. But as I was driving, something caught my eye... Make no mistake. This stock is not going to be nearly as volatile or profitable as GME. In fact, this might be so boring that most of you will ignore me yet again. And that’s exactly why I like it. I’ll do my best to make this engaging, but the fact is, this is going to be a slow grind. Both this DD and the stock. Also, as a bonus, Reddit is currently public enemy #1 in the eyes of the media. Why don’t we do a quick heel-turn and join their side? Are they gonna hate us for buying boring value stocks? They won’t know what hit them. That will be a fun show to watch. Anyway… let’s take a look under the hood. As always, not financial advice. Just education. NOTHING IS A RECOMMENDATION. We are just sharing knowledge here. Ok SEC? Intro: Ford (NYSE: $F -- NOT NASDAQ:$FORD), is another depressed deep value multiple expansion arbitrage play. No short squeeze this time. The GME asymmetry may not be seen again for 10 years. It might seem boring and unsexy on the surface, but Ford is a fantastic company in the midst of one of the best turnarounds in American history. And with a little help from our friend Mr. Options (or as Buffett called, Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction) we can turn a boring old Ford into a lightning fast Ferrari using the quadruple income option wheel strategy. Don’t try this at home. If you don’t know what CSPs, CCs, or vega are, stick to shares. Those should work just fine. Let’s break this down into 5 parts: electrification story and leadership, multiples expansion, technical analysis, options, and the trade. By the way, in 2019, the Ford F-Series was second only to the Apple iPhone, which raked in $55 billion, in terms of total revenue generated. The F-Series generated more revenue than the NFL, MLB, NBA, and the NHL combined, which added up to $40 billion. Just something to think about.
The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round...
Electrification story and leadership: Let’s jump into history for a second. Ford had a meteoric rise from 1997 - 1999 from $15 to around $32 at the peak. This was due to $F reporting massive earnings increases each quarter:
They were just feasting and feasting. Jim Farley looks like the best person alive to revitalize Ford, capable of tripling the stock in 2-3 years. Look at the last two quarters:
Q3-2020 - Adjusted EPS: 65 cents vs 19 cents expected, Automotive revenue: $34.71 billion vs $33.51 billion expected (due to pent up demand)
Q2-2020 - Adjusted EPS: A loss of 35 cents per share versus a loss of $1.17 per share expected, Automotive revenue: $16.6 billion versus $15.95 billion expected.
Here are excerpts from the Q3 earnings and some other notable highlights:
Farley: Now that plan, which was introduced to the Ford team and many stakeholders on October 1, is very straightforward. Among other things, No. 1, we will compete like a challenger, earning each customer with great products but as well services with rewarding ownership experiences. Number two, we're moving with urgency to turn around our automotive operations, improve our quality, reduce our cost and accelerate the restructuring of underperforming businesses. And third, we're going to grow again but in the right areas, allocating more capital, more resources, more talent to our very strongest businesses and vehicle franchises; incubating, scaling and integrating new businesses, some of them enabled by new technology like Argo's world-class self-driving system; and expanding our leading commercial vehicle business with great margins but now with the suite of software services that drive loyalty and generate reoccurring annuity-like revenue streams; and being a leader in electric vehicle revolution around the world where we have strength and scale. So now speaking about EVs. To start with, we're developing all-new electric versions of the F-150 and the Transit, the two most important, highest-volume commercial vehicles in our industry. These leading vehicles really drive the commercial vehicle business at Ford, and we're electrifying them.
Quick sidebar here from my buddy M: "Whereas traditional manufact / consumer / industrials are valued on an EBITDA multiple, SAAS has historically been valued on a revenue multiple, which translates to flat out higher valuations. EVs themselves are not necessarily a higher margin product that justifies a higher multiple (at least not that I've seen), but tech services / subscriptions are the real money makers in this game. Hint Hint companies like Apple throwing everything they have at trying to integrate services and subscriptions over the last 5 years" This further justifies the expansion multiples we expect will catch up to leading EV automakers (see below).
We own work at Ford. And these electric vehicles will be true work vehicles, extremely capable and with unique digital services and over-the-air capabilities to improve the productivity and uptime of our important commercial customers. The electric Transit, by the way, will be revealed next month, and you heard about it here first, for all of our global markets. We believe the addressable market for a fully electric commercial van and pickup, the two largest addressable profit pools in commercial, are going to be massive. Now you're going to see our strategy of electrifying our leading commercial vehicles and our iconic high-volume products expand very quickly at Ford. When you look at our results, they reflect the benefit of our decision two years ago to allocate capital to our strongest franchise, namely: pickups, a whole range of utilities across the world, commercial vehicles and iconic passenger vehicles. Additionally, we saw higher-than-expected demand for our new vehicles in the quarter. Together, these factors, plus the strongest performance from Ford Credit in 15 years, led to a total company adjusted EBIT margin of 9.7%. That's 490 basis points higher than last year. As an outcome of all this, we generated $6.3 billion in adjusted free cash flow. The strong cash flow in the quarter gave us the confidence and the ability to make a second payment on our corporate revolver, which we did on September 24. So now we have fully repaid the entire $15 billion facility, and we ended the third quarter with a strong balance sheet, including nearly $30 billion in cash and more than $45 billion of liquidity, which provides us with the vital financial flexibility we need.
Check out this credit downgrade weeks before Ford paid off their revolving credit facility. Smells like GME? Alright. What about Q4-2020 and beyond? Ford is expected to post a loss. TA is signaling a beat (see the TA section). Ford is spending this money in order further restructure and deliver on the following items in their pipeline: Bronco:
Within the first month of open reservations, the Bronco had received an estimated 230,000 reservations. 230,000 reservations is an incredibly impressive figure, especially when put into the context of Ford’s total vehicle sales. 230,000 sales would represent 4% of Ford’s total sales.
Some other nice features: Fold down the shifter, lay seats down completely flat, speakers in headrest, tailgate worksurface (pen/pencil holders, rulers) C clamp, 120V outlet, bottle opener, light), sensing running board, tailgate step and railing, and more. Watch the video.
Ford Raptor launch (just happened today, customers are excited. Look at the comments on YouTube and IG) Further potential tailwinds:
The Postal Service told Trucks.com that it expects to reach a contract with one or more of the teams bidding for the business in the federal government’s second fiscal quarter of 2021. That works out to the first quarter of next year.
There is a historical inverse relationship between gas prices and car sizing. Tell me if I'm reaching here. But as America continues to head towards electrification and energy independence under Biden, larger gas cars will be more in demand. Furthermore, the aftershock of COVID will continue to propagate the dedensification of cities. Less commuter vehicles, and more travel vehicles. And look who is conveniently positioned to take advantage of all of this?
Dr. Anning Chen is also a killer CEO of Ford China. This is largely intangibles (which Wall Street cannot model), but watch his interviews here and here.
Dr. Chen used the COVID shutdown to improve the operational efficiency of the company. It has not shown on the bottom line thus far, but it will later.
Regarding the above leadership and BOD members, experienced executives are a better fit for running the day-to-day than any other. Add a sprinkle of savvy techfin folk and you have a recipe for a elite transition.
English please? Ford is a strong company. Farley is delivering on his promises and can lead the company towards an operationally efficient turnaround towards electrification. Combine this with a loyal customer base rivaled only by AAPL, and you get another special opportunity. This is the turning point. Multiples Expansion: Now here lies the crux of the thesis. Amidst all the EV hype, Ford is being unfairly ignored at an extremely depressed multiple compared to the other companies in the EV space. Here are some comparisons (numbers may be slightly outdated, pulled earlier this week, more relative comparison than absolute): $Ticker - Market Cap - TTM Revenue MM - TTM EBITDA MM - Revenue Multiple - Ebitda Multiple TSLA - $810B - $28B - $4B - 29X - 202X NIO - $92B - $12B - ($7B) - 7.6X - (NaN) GM - $78B - $116B - $18B - 0.7X - 4.3X F - $44B - $131B - $10B - 0.3X - 4.4X That’s an eyesore. Let’s focus on just TSLA and Ford, because why not. Assuming Ford can quickly turn towards electrification (from the evidence above), these two companies are fair comparisons. No Tesla is not a software/energy company, look at their automotive % of revenue. Stop it. It has only recently dropped to 80% due to the expansion of their leasing division. Energy is still a tiny part of TSLA. Revenue Multiple: TSLA = 29X F = 0.3X EBITDA Multiple: TSLA = 202X F = 4.4X Yes those numbers are correct. Look at them for 60 seconds and tell me what you see. Quick quote from my buddy M:
Just zoom out and think. TSLA is for sure ahead of the rest on their tech and charging infra right now. But in terms of just overall bottom line infrastructure and manufacturing capability; once the GMs, Fs, and VWs of the world can get the ball rolling, they are way ahead in that aspect. Much more experience in production and retail / distribution channels, as well as logistics sourcing. Plenty of battery makers, and self driving tech makers out there too right now. Small to mid scale M&A will probably be the name of the game if I had to guess.
This is why Burry is short $TSLA, but two scenarios can unfold: either the high-flying stocks drop, or Ford rises. I believe we will land somewhere in the middle, with Ford rising as we begin to enter the optimism phase in the final third of our bull market. Shorting is a dangerous game anyway... So I’ve been hearing on the news... TA, Options: Exhibit A from our resident chart whisperer J (who will remain unnamed because you monkeys keep bothering him). Larger view. As you can see, the trendline has broken out. Exhibit B from our resident quant T (also to rename unnamed):
Starting on 1/4 you'll find right tail distributions into any liquidation which represent large buying. Which has led up to a recent run-up and eventually left tail distributions which represent short coverings which lead into the gaps and thinner distributions where there aren't any major bids. Even with the pullback on 1/22 we see more right tail distribution after the profit taking from the recent run-up, which means someone is buying up the inventory. This is unusual for F, where F trades within tight ranges. On 2/1 you can see a bimodal distribution which means a new player has stepped in, which we assume has additional knowledge apart from the larger players that were already in the market. The recent range between 10.70 and 11.20 indicates that the market has accepted this price range as fair value. Without additional research at first glance we can see that a large player (or players) is buying up a significant amount of inventory. On 1/4 we find that the volume increased to 77,559,128 from the previous trading of 34,462,454 (125% increase) and 33,127,776 the day before that. Volume has been higher since. On our first major left tail distribution (which represents short covering) since the buying on 1/4 the volume was at 113,707,973.
Exhibit C 250k shares of F 10.92; 100k F 11.04; 3.53m F 9.78; 708k F 9.78; 500k F 9.64; 377k F 9.50; 338k F 9.50; 201k F 9.75; 192k F 9.80; 150k F 9.77 These are blocks of shares bought in the past 7 days Top OI changes: +19610 F 02/05/21 11 C 43821 38% 13% 48% +12904 F 02/05/21 12 C 31929 38% 11% 52% Top OI positions: 170902 F 02/19/21 10 C +807 26% 49% 25% 112480 F 02/19/21 12 C +3207 29% 29% 41% The percentages are bid mid ask. Someone is bullish on Ford. For an earnings play, daily RSI is oversold looking towards an uptick. Options gamma is interesting to note as well. Open interest on 2/5 $13 and $15Cs are also notable. Could be covered calls? Could be someone knows something? Could be Jeff reading too much into the tea leaves. Not financial advice. Just showing you what I see. The Trade: The simplest way is just to purchase shares and collect dividends as Ford may reinstate them sometime in 2021. Possibly leaps if you feel adventurous. For the option junkies like myself, and as a tribute to the greatest company in American history, I will use the wheel(s). The GME trade was a very special and momentous occasion. Now that we have a bankroll, we’ll just quietly play theta gang as we enjoy our lives and spend time with our families and loved ones. Here’s a good summary. This is not for amateurs. I mean, none of this is financial advice anyway, just educational. But in a nutshell, I will: 1) Buy shares, 2) Sell CSPs 30-45 days out with 0.3 delta, 3) sell CCs with 0.3 delta (will reconsider this if Ford goes vertical) 4) Collect dividends. The Wheel doesn’t work on everything. Here are the qualifications from the above post, let me know if this sounds familiar:
Profitable company that has solid cash flow
Bullish, or Very Bullish, analyst ratings
Priced around $10 to $50 so that I can afford to take the assignment if needed and I stay away from sub-$10 stocks as a rule
A stable chart without wild gyrations (especially those caused by CEO tweets!)
A nice dividend is always a good thing, both that you may collect it if assigned the stock but also that dividend stocks tend to more stable and predictable.
Hmm... Conclusion: Ford is a massive, complex, multinational corporation so I’ve likely missed very many things, but I wanted to get this out before ER so I can flex again. (No market manipulation here lol. My buddy's multi-million dollar block buys didn't move the needle one iota.) There are many things I haven’t covered, and simply don’t know yet. As more facts begin to unfold, and as I spend more time with the stock, I’ll share the information here. Also, every time I post about an equity, it seems to go down. Lol... (GME). With all this in mind, this is still a very risky bet. Nevertheless, I like what I’ve seen thus far. Ford looks like a fantastically healthy company in the midst of a turnaround towards electrification with a phenomenally depressed multiple according to the market’s appetite. It deserves a multiple trending towards TSLA’s, not a dying auto manufacturer. Jim Farley has shown early to be a great CEO and I think he can continue the transformation. We’ve begun to enter a phase of exuberance, so I’ll choose to long Ford instead of short TSLA. As a bonus, we have the opportunity to join forces with the boomers and talking heads and bet on one of their favorite companies. Time for America to be on the same side again. We’ve been divided for too long. I know my GME posts were lucky. I’ll stake my reputation on another bet. One call sure is lucky. What about two? In any case, investing is a marathon, not a sprint. Glad to be a part of this journey with you all. Note: I will not discuss GME in the comments, which all depends on Ryan Cohen. There is nothing further to add until Q4 earnings. And finally, we’ve officially entered the last phase of our very long bull market. This is not necessarily a sell signal yet, as some of the greatest returns can come in this period and can last for a long time. I will do my best to look for the signal and sound the alarm. The world will be celebrating, and I will be bearish. Burry’s passive indexing bubble call in combination with Thiel’s government debt bubble call will lead us into a dark time of unprecedented proportions. Tail risk hedging won’t work as the declines will be slow at first, and then fast and violent and unrecoverable. Be careful. Listen to Ken Fisher. Thank you very much for your time. Positions: Bullish shares, LEAPS, on-going quadruple income wheel strategy as Ford reinstates the dividend. Timeframe 12-18 months. Watch out VIGILANTLY for macro risks. Bear market is on the horizon. Drop some Fs in the chat to pay respects. PT: $32 with a chance of $98 if we start to see exuberance in the broader market. -JA
I was away the last few days giving depositions to a different three-letter government agency--sorry about that. GME continues to be a Carollian experience. Through this looking-glass, there is a world where stock prices do not reflect the value of the underlying companies whose partial ownership is traded through common stock. To some, the market is, more or less, broken, for now. That's not a good or a bad thing. The market mechanism is not supposed to make an implicit judgment. There is information in price, but that information is difficult to divine and interpret. Markets aren't good, bad, rational or irrational: they just are. When one group takes action in a market to alter the playing field, the market is not a pure market anymore. It's lost 'integrity' and loses more with every modification. This typically only happens in moments of crisis or technological change: countries ban short-selling, for instance; exchanges will unwind clear 'fat-finger' trades, etc; speed bumps may make the market more 'fair' for the technologically behind. We're learning more about how markets can have what appear to be 'unintended' consequences (flash crashes, GME-style reverse crashes), or can be 'gamed' (spoofing, quant as a whole), but we're back to square one: markets don't have feelings. The rules are simple: post your price, the amount, and the rest is order-matching. All of the rest are modifications against the spirit of the laws of the jungle. So, like you, I'm disgusted by what happened the other day. My guess is the DTC and others required incremental collateral for clearing any GME trades--this required RH to raise capital. I actually don't think RH is to blame here! Every broker did the same thing, so there must be a root cause. I mentioned something like this may happen the other day, and I repeat my admonition to not trade on margin. I suspect GME long buying will require 100% margin at virtually any broker. Brokers have to protect themselves, but they can be influenced by the rest of the parties in their food chain, as we saw. GME is still worthless compared to its current price. Keep that in mind. You're buying a flower, a baseball card, a beanie baby, a photocopy of a Picasso, all for prices that you know are a lot more--not just a lot more, but insanely more--than anything close to what it could be worth. Those are the facts: GME is just a shitty retailer that will struggle to survive, let alone become a business worth 20 or 30 billion dollars. All of the Ryan Cohen transformation stuff is BS relative to the price change. A good team may be able to turn around GME to the point where it is worth $40, MAYBE. It'll never be worth $300, or at least, the probability that GME operations could support a reasonable price like that is about as small as my odds of becoming a MLB starting pitcher. That doesn't mean the stock can't go up. The world is conflating what a market is by trying to assign it implicit judgment. Traders have the right to buy and sell anything they'd like for any price that they'd like. One man's "bubble" is another man's "deep value." I bought a rap CD for millions of dollars. That's my right. Did I overpay? Well, that's really not a judgment anyone can make, is it? If I paid $10,000,000 for a baseball card which is well-known to trade for $5, then it seems clear I've overpaid, right? No. Speculators buy assets for many reasons. Sometimes its because they're making a value judgment: this is WORTH more than my purchase price. But what does that imply? What is worth or value? Most speculators (I suppose you can define that as a buyer who has an explicit intention to sell at a later date, probably soon) buy things because they are confident they can sell at a higher price soon. The value judgment is secondary, and sometimes not relevant at all. Speculators are the animating spirit of the market. If you curb the ability for speculators to act, you have a farcical excuse of a market. But, you can't blame a clearing broker for saying, "what happens if your client can't clear this trade?". The stock just went from 300 to 150--what if your client is broke? To me, the simple answer there is to require 100% margin. Limiting the ability for someone to buy a stock for 100% margin (literally the cash to cover the trade is set aside) smells awful. I wouldn't bother with conspiracies--they won't help you trade well. Many of you are brand new to the world of trading. I've traded my whole life--it is very, very hard. I am not very good at it, to be frank. I do think I'm a very good value investor, and in biotech, an extremely good binary-event trader. 99% of people, including in finance, are not good traders. 99% of people are not good 'value' investors, either. That doesn't mean you shouldn't want to become one or try. But it is inordinately difficult. There's nothing wrong with hobbies or 'side gigs', but I really think you should think about the market like a professional sport, or fighting/boxing league, where you are permitted to 'play with the pros'. It doesn't make too much sense to 'part time' fight Brock Lesnar or take LeBron 1-on-1. But this is what you're doing when you trade. Be careful. For those newish to trading, here is my advice on some reading materials: 1) Market Wizards series. This is one of the best series on great investors/traders, which takes you into the mind of the successful trader, in their words. It's always by the same author (JS), too, who is very experienced and knowledgable. 2) Trading to Win by Ari Kiev. Read it. Probably the best book on the theory of trading ever written. 3) AVOID most books on trading. Unless there is a reason to read them that you can really digest, they're probably empty wastes of time at best, or at worse, could mislead you into some terrible strategy. You can't go wrong reading the books by or about people who have made fortunes in the market. But always take everything as a grain of salt. AVOID the opinions of others in general. This sounds self-referential, but will make a little bit more sense after reading 1/2. When you read these books, you'll realize that my life of 'value investing' is basically irrelevant to the near-term of the stock market, especially in situations like GME or TSLA. GME will probably go down over time, as I mentioned, because it is wildly overvalued and, generally, wildly overvalued stocks tend to go down over time. That doesn't have to be true. That's why investors diversify and 'stop-loss' and do other things to protect themselves. You should do all of that, too. My style, and those of others, simply relate the price of something to the amount of cash it can generate. That's value investing in a nutshell, and it is what the entire industry of Private Equity (Blackstone, Apollo, Carlyle, etc.) is all about. Hedge Funds and Mutual Funds do a little of this as well, but to decide whether a stock will go up or down is this dark art called 'trading'. The "next" Steve Cohen might be being born right here, right now, in WallStreetBets. Who knows. I still think GME will trade at 1,000. Why? I am guessing, like all of you, and every other trader out there. No one knows anything. As I mentioned, the borrow interest rate is what I think is important to watch. You're at a disadvantage to other traders in that respect: hedge funds can pull up that information through phone calls, contacts, etc. which you are hopeless to compete against. It doesn't mean they're going to make money and you won't. It's just something to think about. I like 1,000: it's a big round number that is meaningful in the psychology of the markets, to a very small extent. It may trade there for 5 seconds, or it may trade there and keep going higher. For some reason, I think the stock has a bit of "destiny" to go there. I may be 100% wrong. As I said, to the extent I have any skill at all, it's generally in being able to predict the value of stocks of companies (and other assets) many years from now, and in biopharma, if anywhere. I hope everyone does well, and even is being entertained, by all of this. Just make sure that if you have a massive gain in GME, that you 'take something off the table'. Don't be greedy. Some of this money is life-changing. Even if it is 10% of your position, book some kind of gain. It will feel good. Be objective. Don't use margin--you may lose more than you can afford. I've been there. It sucks balls worse than you can imagine. Don't do it for GME, even if RH or anyone else lets you. Don't go too crazy with options, even if they let you. I hope you all are able to buy Wu-Tang albums, tendies, autism treatment and whatever else your hearts desire at the 'end' of this, whatever that means. Good luck WSB, I love you! (sent from martin, posted by mo)
FuboTV DD (First time making DD, please give advice)
I tried to make it easy to skip around if you just want to see the financials or estimates. Just scroll to them if you don't care what the company is or their sectocompetition/management. TL;DR at bottom with final thoughts. Introduction “FuboTV ($FUBO) is an American streaming television service that focuses primarily on channels that distribute live sports, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer, plus news, network television series and movies. Launched on January 1, 2015 as a soccer streaming service, FuboTV changed to an all-sports service in 2017 and then to a virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) model. As a vMVPD, FuboTV still calls itself sports-first but its expanded channel lineup targets cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated features that can be streamed through smart TVs, mobile and tablets and the web. The service is available in the United States, Canada and Spain as of 2018." From their home page: They are the only competitors in their space of digital sports broadcasting, offer 4K streaming and upscaling of live sports, cloud DVR capability ranging from 250 or 1000 hours on standard plans, and is available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One, Android TV, Android Smart TVs, and Android/iOS smartphones and tablets, with plans ranging from $24.99/month to $79.99/month (not including add-ons). They have also recently acquired one company and have made plans to acquire another to allow for in-house sports betting. They have stated in a press release that they plan to release a sportsbook before the end of the year. This will push them into a broader spectrum outside of only TV and sports streaming, and into the sports betting sector along with DraftKings ($DKNG), FanDuel ($PDYPY), and Penn National Gaming ($PENN). Plans and Add-ons FuboTV offers three standardized plans as of February 8, 2021: the Family plan is priced at $64.99/month (normally $75.97/month), Elite at $79.99/month (normally $100.95/month), and Latino Quarterly at $24.99/month, along with offering additional add-ons. Each plan offers a range of channels, cloud DVR capabilities (which allows fast-forwarding through commercials), and casting to multiple devices simultaneously. Only the Elite plan does not offer a 7-day free trial (Channels page). The Family plan includes 117 channels (mostly news and entertainment with roughly 40 that offer sports, including ESPN), up to 250 hours of DVR space, and casting to 3 devices at once. The quarterly prepaid includes a free upgrade to 1000 hours of DVR space and 5 casting devices at home with 3 on the go (Channels page). The Elite plan includes 164 channels (includes an additional “47 entertainment channels”), up to 1000 hours of DVR space, and casting to 5 devices at home with 3 on the go. This plan does not offer a quarterly prepaid (Channels page). The Latino Quarterly plan includes 250 hours of DVR space and can be streamed on up to 3 devices at once, but only has 32 channels. This plan needs to be prepaid every 3 months for a total charge of $74.97 and does not offer a monthly service (Channels page). Upgrades include additional DVR space--1000 hours for an additional $6.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly--and increased device casting--an additional 2 devices at home with 3 on the go for another $9.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly plans. You can also add a variety of channels and sports packages (the Latino Quarterly has fewer channel add-ons compared to the Family and Elite plans, which both have the same channel varieties). Sports Plus with NFL RedZone is an additional $10.99/month, but includes all professional and college sports broadcasting services for football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, fighting, etc. (Channels page). Fubo has recently removed its former Standard plan, which included only 65 channels, up to 2 casting devices, and only 30 hours of DVR support for $60/month. Financials and Growth Fubo has yet to file an annual report as they have gone public in October of 2020, but they have filed a 10-Q for Q3 2020. All numbers in thousands. Assets- Between December 31, 2019 and September of 2020, assets have increased from $368,225 to $799,313 (a 117% increase) . Total current assets increased from $17,973 to $58,016, but accounts receivable decreased from $8,904 to $6,975--this may be attributed to the increase in prepaid subscriptions which increased from $1,445 to $12,177 which shows strong customer satisfaction and retention. Liabilities- Liabilities have increased from $145,049 to $290,376 (a 100% increase). The largest contributors to their liabilities are “Due to related parties” increasing from $665 to $85,847, “Warrant liabilities” increasing from $24 to $28,085, and “Accounts payable” from $36,373 to $61,679. Long-term borrowings have decreased from $43,982 to $25,905. Revenues- Subscription revenues increased by $53,433, totaling $92,945 for the year. Total revenues including advertisements and licensing have increased by $61,202, totaling $112,669 for the year and an increase of 47% YOY. Q4 revenue is estimated to be between $94,000 and $98,000 which would be a 77-84% increase YOY. Expenses- Subscriber related expenses total $114,315 for the year. Total expenses have totaled $500,249 for the year. Subscribers- Ended Q3 with 455,000 paid subscribers, a YOY increase of 58%, and plans to end 2020 with over 545,000, an increase of 72% YOY. Competition Its closest competitors are Hulu + Live TV (owned by Disney ($DIS)), YouTube TV (owned by Alphabet ($GOOG)), and Sling TV (owned by Dish Network ($DISH)). Hulu + Live TV
Includes league networks
50 hours of free DVR (200 hours for $9.99/month)
More than 74 channels
Unskippable ads on DVR without upgrade to 200 hours
2 streams at a time
$64.99/month
Can add ESPN+ and Disney+ for an additional $7/month
YouTube TV
Includes league networks
Unlimited DVR storage
More than 85 channels plus YouTube Red Originals
3 streams at a time
Sports Plus package for an additional $10.99/month
NBA LeaguePass for an additional $40/month or $119.99 annually
Starting at $64.99/month
Sling TV Blue
Includes league networks
DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
More than 45 channels
3 streams at a time
Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
Starting $35/month
Can be combined with Sling TV Orange for a total of $50/month
Sling TV Orange
Includes league networks
DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
More than 30 channels
1 stream at a time
Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
Starting at $35/month
Can be combined with Sling TV Blue for a total of $50/month
Merger with FaceBank for $100 million revolving credit
Analysts and Estimates Average analyst ratings put Fubo at a Buy to Strong Buy rating with an average price target of $45.50 with a high of $60 and a low of $30. EPS estimates are estimated to be -5.23 for 2020 and -1.64 for 2021. Currently has a short float of about 75%, but the short volume has been holding at roughly 15-20% over the last month and has drastically declined from its October short volume of over 50%. Originally valued at $700 million less than a year ago, a current valuation of $3.19 billion is respectable for this company and is on par for its current performance. Risks
Marketing fails and Fubo is never known as a household name, so consumers stick with other more known providers
Their sportsbook fails and becomes dead weight and wasted money
Subscriber count and streaming drops as quarantine lifts, reducing revenues while maintaining expenses
Consumers opt for cheaper options
People paying for the sports package cancel when the season is over, creating a boom and bust cycle if not managed correctly
Final Thoughts / TL;DR With its drastic growth over the last year (400% in the last 4 months), support from FaceBank and well-known investors, and plans to join the sports betting sector, FuboTV has potential to become a household name and grow well beyond its current valuation by combining both sports broadcasting and online sports betting into one convenient place. Although unlikely to overthrow any of the current forces, it can become the best live sports broadcaster that people can turn to when they cut cable but want to keep live sports. It has many hurdles to overcome (creating their sportsbook, better marketing, increasing subscriber count, etc.) before it is any real competition to its already established competition. At a $3.19 billion market cap and very high (75%) short interest, it will be very difficult to realize consistent growth, but it is on par for a company with almost $100 million in revenue. My Position 25 shares at $47.30 Edit: edited final thoughts/TL;DR Please provide feedback! First time actually researching and compiling information for a company and not just reading about them on here. Also, please ask questions to clear up any confusion; it was kinda hard to put everything together neatly, so I might have accidentally left stuff out or oveunder explained some things.
2/9/21 Update: Additional info posted here Funko is a good company with solid performance that is still trading at a reasonable price. Check out my DD below: Funko (FNKO) Share Price (1/28/21) : $11.97 Share Price (09/16/19) : $27.86 Short Interest (1/26/21) : 14% Next Earnings Release: March 2021 Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. They have over 1,000 licenses across music, video games, film, TV, sports and many other pop culture properties. Some of their most popular licensed brands include Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, Pokemon, Fortnite, NBA, NFL, MLB, DC Comics, and a variety of anime properties. Several points below support the belief that Funko’s revenue grew during the 2020 holiday season and could continue well into 2021: · Increasing search traffic for Funko products · Direct sales growth is driving increased revenue and profitability · Parents are buying more gifts for their kids due to COVID · People have more disposable income from staying at home and not going out · Expansion of new products and licensees continuing through 2021 · Collectible investments like Funko POP! figures are exploding in value and popularity · Recent analyst commentary, valuation, and financials are positive FUNKO’S SEARCH TRAFFIC REACHES AN ALL-TIME HIGH IN Q4 2020 “Funko” google trends search traffic was up 20-30% in Q4 2020 (vs. Q4 2019) Searches for “Funko” were up 2x in December vs the beginning of November 2020 After falling in December, “Funko” searches are trending back up to all-time-high levels FUNKO’S DIRECT SALES INITIATIVES DRIVING HIGHER REVENUE & MARGIN Funko Direct Sales (B2C) grew significantly in Q3 and likely to continue into Q4 · B2C business as a percentage of sales increased to 8% in Q3 2020 from 4% during the prior year. · Funko’s e-commerce site grew over 150% vs. the prior year in Q3 2020 · The number of SKU’s on Funko’s e-commerce site rose tenfold since June 2020 “We went from only 200 of our own products [on our website] as late as June this year, to now well over 2,000 products available on our website.” – Funko CEO, Brian Mariotti Funko’s first ever Selena Pop! sold out online in just 40 minutes. Funko’s Q3 2020 Gross Profit % and Operating Margin % were near all-time-highs for the company · Funko’s Q3 Gross Profit Percentage of 38.6% was its second highest ever (behind only Q1 2020) · Funko’s Q3 Operating Profit Percentage of 10.8% was its second highest ever (behind only Q4 2018) · As Funko continues to grow it’s B2C e-commerce sales in Q4 and beyond, it is possible that gross profit and operating profit percentages could rise as well Retail customers were able to shift their Brick & Mortar inventory to their e-commerce channels to Funko unit sales · Funko resellers who didn’t sell online were severely impacted by Brick & Mortar closures during COVID stay-at-home orders. As 2020 progressed, some of these retailers were able to create online stores (e.g.- Shopify, Amazon, eBay, etc.) through which they could sell their Funko inventory. · Larger retailers that already had an omni-channel presence were able to shift their sales inventory from their Brick & Mortar stores to online fulfilment. Funko has also created a mini-Pop! factory at its headquarters where customers can make their own custom Funko at a price of $25 each · According to Funko, you can customize your Pop! using thousands of combinations. It’s “Think Build-A-Bear meets Funko Pop!” according to CEO Brian Mariotti. · With a $25 price point, the margins are likely higher than the average Pop! figure that retails for between $10 to $15 PARENTS BUYING MORE GIFTS FOR THEIR KIDS DUE TO COVID Parents likely splurged on their kids out of guilt of having shelter at home because of restrictions and to keep them occupied while they had to work at home. · “Faced with rising transmission of the virus, state restrictions on retailers and heightened political and economic uncertainty, consumers chose to spend on gifts that lifted the spirits of their families and friends and provided a sense of normalcy given the challenging year. We believe President-elect Biden’s stimulus proposal, with direct payments to families and individuals, and further aid for small businesses and tools to keep businesses open, will keep the economy growing.” NRF President Matthew Shay · “2020 was an unprecedented year for the U.S. toy industry. The growth we’ve seen in the toy industry speaks to the fact that parents are willing to put their children’s happiness above all else. The industry’s resiliency is very much underpinned by the reality that, in times of hardship, families look to toys to help keep their children engaged, active, and delighted. Put simply, toys are a big part of the happiness equation.” Juli Lennett - VP, U.S. Toys at NPD Toy sales were strong in 2020 as US retail sales of toys was up 16% vs 2019; driven by pandemic spending · According to NPD, “Much of the growth in 2020 was directly correlated to the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing consumer behavior associated with widespread lockdowns and school closures, the disposable income diverted from other types of entertainment to toys, as well as the onset of federal stimulus checks.” Consumer spending on toys increased measurably due to lockdowns; with strong performance continuing through the holidays · Per NPD, “While toy sales through mid-March 2020 were flat vs. 2019, widespread lockdown measures led to an abrupt increase in sales. This was further amplified by the distribution of stimulus checks beginning in April, resulting in the strongest month of growth for the year in May (+38%). Toy industry growth peaked again in October with an increase of 33% when the holiday season kicked off with Amazon Prime Day along with other retailer deals the same week.” Key retail sources reporting significant sales growth during Q4 2020 suggest Funko sales performance was strong · Target Q4 sales were fantastic showing signs of retail strength with a consumer that overlaps well with the Funko > Overall comparable sales were up 17.2% > Comparable digital sales were up over 100% > Store-originated comparable sales were up 4.2% > Store traffic was up 4.3% > Average ticket size was up 12.3% · GameStop Q4 sales were solid; showing additional potential for Funko sales > Same store sales were up 4.8% in Q4 2020 > Online sales increased 309% in Q4 2020 · According to the NRF, 2020 Holiday Retail Sales were up 8.3% compared to the prior year despite the pandemic > A surge in online shopping drove the increase (rising 32% vs. 2019) > The increase of 8.3% was over double the average increase of 3.5% that the industry had seen over the last five years. MORE DISPOSABLE INCOME TO SPEND AT HOME BY NOT GOING OUT The National Retail Federation (NRF) says that strong retail performance has been driven by consumers with stimulus checks and extra savings from not going out or traveling · “There was a massive boost to consumer wallets this season. Consumers were able to splurge on holiday gifts because of increased money in their bank accounts from the stimulus payments they received earlier in the year and the money they saved by not traveling, dining out, or attending entertainment events” – NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz. Spending on “experiences” fell significantly in 2020 · The US Travel Association forecasts that spending on travel fell $500 billion in 2020 from $1.1 trillion in 2019 > The industry has lost about 40% of its direct travel jobs (about 3.5 million jobs) in 2020; driven by a reduction in business travel > Foreign visitors to the US fell about 75% in 2020; driving a $119 billion reduction in travel spending · Concert spending is down dramatically > Live Nation reported a 98% decline in concert revenue in Q2 2020 and a 95% decline in concert revenue in Q3 2020 > About 5.2 million tickets were refunded in Q3 2020 and 23.3 million tickets had been refunded so far in 2020 (as of the end of Q3) · Movie theater attendance is down substantially > AMC theaters saw a 97% decline in attendance and a 91% decline in revenue in Q3 2020 > Cinemark saw a 96% decline in revenue > Marcus Corporation (which also owns hotels and restaurants) saw a 84% decline in revenue > Studio Movie Grill filed for bankruptcy · Other anecdotal information points to more stay-at-home activity decreasing recreational spending > Chuck E Cheese’s declared bankruptcy > Dave & Busters is considering bankruptcy and plans layoffs of +1,000 > CiCi’s Pizza declares bankruptcy > Starbucks saw fewer customers, reduced store hours, increased store closures, and a 5% decline in revenues in Q4 2020. This has led them to plan a shift to more “to-go” formats > Many Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos have decided to close “part-time” during the week due to lower attendance and travel. These include Encore, Rio, Linq, Planet Hollywood, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, and Mirage The majority of food buffets at the major hotels and casinos have been shuttered for the time being Stimulus checks and other government programs to support consumer spending provide tailwinds for retail activity · The US government authorized more than $10,000 per person in stimulus spending in 2020 over the course of five relief bills totaling $3.5 trillion · More stimulus spending is expected; including a potential $1.9 trillion package that could include an additional $1,400 in stimulus checks MORE SKUS / LICENSES ARE GROWING AND EXPECTED TO CONINUE STRONG Active properties continue to rise and are expected to grow well into the future · The number of active properties in Q3 2020 grew 15% over 2019 · Active properties grew from 644 in Q2 to 715 in Q3 2020 · The potential universe for Funko Pops! is limitless as new films, tv shows, musicians, anime characters, sports stars, and other media properties are created every year. Some of the hot properties for this year and beyond · Star Wars: Baby Yoda, Mandalorian, Rey, Valentine’s Day, etc. · Marvel: WandaVision, Deadpool, Lucha Libre, Spiderman, Venom · Anime: Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bakugan, My Hero Academia · Films: Harry Potter, The Goonies, The Mummy, Fast & Furious · TV: The Office, Umbrella Academy, The Queen’s Gambit, The Simpsons · Sports: NFL, NBA, MLB, WWE · Others: Disney, Pokemon, etc. Retail exclusives can grow the potential universe of licenses and increase retailer buy-in · For example: A retailer like GameStop could lobby Funko to make a GameStop exclusive of the WallStreetBets Kid like this person suggested here. (The exclusive Pop! would be made into a limited edition and sold only to GameStop to sell at their stores) COLLECTIBLE INVESTMENTS ARE GROWING IN VALUE & POPULARITY · Funko: The average Pops! Figure has a retail price from between $10 and $15 which allows most people an affordable entry point into collecting. Over time some Pops! Figures increase substantially in price; from $50 to $100 to even several thousand dollars. While some collectors buy Pops! as primarily an investment, many more buy them as a way to show their fandom. Whether they are avid Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pokemon, Sports, or Anime fans; collectors build large collections and show them off to friends. · Sports Cards: To those paying attention, sports cards have been on a massive run with some cards worth more than your parent’s house and your sister’s car. Since the pandemic started, the demand for sports collectibles from basketball to football to soccer (and many others) has skyrocketed. Countless videos of box-breaks and pack openings have become the norm on social media. Some of these boxes are being purchased for tens of thousands with “hits” ranging from several hundred to hundreds of thousands. · Collector’s Universe: This company that grades sports cards and other collectibles has tripled in value since June 2020. The number of sports collectors grading cards has exploded as demand rises. The popularity of grading sports cards is expected to maintain as prices continue to rise and the hobby becomes more mainstream. ANALYST COMMENTARY AND FINANCIALS ARE A POSTIVE FOR THE STOCK Piper Sandler: Upgraded Funko from “Neutral” to “Overweight” (raising their price target from $6 to $12). · Analyst Erin Murphy sees evidence of “subsequent revenue pillars” with their recent launch of Snapsies at 800 Target stores; along with an expansion into board games and its digital efforts, which include a newly launched website in six European countries. Valuation Comparison: Market Cap / Revenue (TTM) · Funko: MC - $604 million / Rev - $640 million (0.9x sales) · Mattel: MC - $6.27 billion / Rev - $4.43 billion (1.4x sales) · Hasbro: MC - $13.13 billion / Rev - $5.17 billion (2.5x sales) Key Financial Trends For Funko · Q3 2020 EPS (Adjusted) = $0.31 > Third highest ever (only Q4 2018 & Q3 2019 were higher) · Q3 2020 Revenue = $191 million > Fourth highest ever (only Q4 2018, Q3 2019, and Q4 2019 were higher) · Q3 2020 Revenue increase vs prior quarter of 94% > Q1 and Q2 2020 saw significant declines due to COVID > Q3 2020 only down 14% vs Q3 2019 despite Q2 2020 being down 49% > Q3 2020 strength driven by Funko adapting quickly to online in the US market. (Q4 2020 revenue growth could be aided substantially by Funko’s development of their e-commerce shop in Europe.) · Q3 2020 SG&A was reduced 20% vs. the prior year as Funko rationalizes costs and adjusts to focus more on D2C e-commerce TL;DR After a tough summer, Funko sales have rocketed back in Q3 to near where they were pre-pandemic; setting up a potentially historic earnings for Q4 2020. Google search activity suggests that Funko is as popular as ever and is set up well for a strong year in 2021. People are spending less on “going out;” instead buying things to use at home and presents for their kids. As time passes, Funko’s status as a popular collectible only continues to gain momentum. Their direct sales initiative allows Funko to capture additional margin by sidestepping traditional brick and mortar retail to reach their customers. Investments in collectible products like Pops! and sports cards continue to increase in popularity and price. And the company continues to release even more products beyond Pops!; including games and apparel. While some Wall Street Analysts have already begun to take notice, a strong Q4 earnings announcement can drive even more attention to the stock. Positions: Long Shares & Calls Disclosure: I am long FNKO. This is not investment advice. I reserve the right to buy or sell FNKO without updating this thread. Do your own research and share (or not share) with the community in this thread. Thank you to the others on Reddit that shared this idea earlier. Feedback: If you have any additional information, ideas, or critiques please make sure to comment. It is great to get the perspective of others when making an investment. Also that information can be incorporated into future posts and updates. Previous DD:Herman Miller
2/9/21 Update: Additional info posted here Funko is a good company with solid performance that is still trading at a reasonable price. Check out my DD below: Funko (FNKO) Share Price (02/01/21) : $12.90 Share Price (09/16/19) : $27.86 Short Interest (1/26/21) : 14% Next Earnings Release: March 2021 Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. They have over 1,000 licenses across music, video games, film, TV, sports and many other pop culture properties. Some of their most popular licensed brands include Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, Pokemon, Fortnite, NBA, NFL, MLB, DC Comics, and a variety of anime properties. Several points below support the belief that Funko’s revenue grew during the 2020 holiday season and could continue well into 2021: · Increasing search traffic for Funko products · Direct sales growth is driving increased revenue and profitability · Parents are buying more gifts for their kids due to COVID · People have more disposable income from staying at home and not going out · Expansion of new products and licensees continuing through 2021 · Collectible investments like Funko POP! figures are exploding in value and popularity · Recent analyst commentary, valuation, and financials are positive FUNKO’S SEARCH TRAFFIC REACHES AN ALL-TIME HIGH IN Q4 2020 “Funko” google trends search traffic was up 20-30% in Q4 2020 (vs. Q4 2019) Searches for “Funko” were up 2x in December vs the beginning of November 2020 After falling in December, “Funko” searches are trending back up to all-time-high levels FUNKO’S DIRECT SALES INITIATIVES DRIVING HIGHER REVENUE & MARGIN Funko Direct Sales (B2C) grew significantly in Q3 and likely to continue into Q4 · B2C business as a percentage of sales increased to 8% in Q3 2020 from 4% during the prior year. · Funko’s e-commerce site grew over 150% vs. the prior year in Q3 2020 · The number of SKU’s on Funko’s e-commerce site rose tenfold since June 2020 “We went from only 200 of our own products [on our website] as late as June this year, to now well over 2,000 products available on our website.” – Funko CEO, Brian Mariotti Funko’s first ever Selena Pop! sold out online in just 40 minutes. Funko’s Q3 2020 Gross Profit % and Operating Margin % were near all-time-highs for the company · Funko’s Q3 Gross Profit Percentage of 38.6% was its second highest ever (behind only Q1 2020) · Funko’s Q3 Operating Profit Percentage of 10.8% was its second highest ever (behind only Q4 2018) · As Funko continues to grow it’s B2C e-commerce sales in Q4 and beyond, it is possible that gross profit and operating profit percentages could rise as well Retail customers were able to shift their Brick & Mortar inventory to their e-commerce channels to Funko unit sales · Funko resellers who didn’t sell online were severely impacted by Brick & Mortar closures during COVID stay-at-home orders. As 2020 progressed, some of these retailers were able to create online stores (e.g.- Shopify, Amazon, eBay, etc.) through which they could sell their Funko inventory. · Larger retailers that already had an omni-channel presence were able to shift their sales inventory from their Brick & Mortar stores to online fulfilment. Funko has also created a mini-Pop! factory at its headquarters where customers can make their own custom Funko at a price of $25 each · According to Funko, you can customize your Pop! using thousands of combinations. It’s “Think Build-A-Bear meets Funko Pop!” according to CEO Brian Mariotti. · With a $25 price point, the margins are likely higher than the average Pop! figure that retails for between $10 to $15 PARENTS BUYING MORE GIFTS FOR THEIR KIDS DUE TO COVID Parents likely splurged on their kids out of guilt of having shelter at home because of restrictions and to keep them occupied while they had to work at home. · “Faced with rising transmission of the virus, state restrictions on retailers and heightened political and economic uncertainty, consumers chose to spend on gifts that lifted the spirits of their families and friends and provided a sense of normalcy given the challenging year. We believe President-elect Biden’s stimulus proposal, with direct payments to families and individuals, and further aid for small businesses and tools to keep businesses open, will keep the economy growing.” NRF President Matthew Shay · “2020 was an unprecedented year for the U.S. toy industry. The growth we’ve seen in the toy industry speaks to the fact that parents are willing to put their children’s happiness above all else. The industry’s resiliency is very much underpinned by the reality that, in times of hardship, families look to toys to help keep their children engaged, active, and delighted. Put simply, toys are a big part of the happiness equation.” Juli Lennett - VP, U.S. Toys at NPD Toy sales were strong in 2020 as US retail sales of toys was up 16% vs 2019; driven by pandemic spending · According to NPD, “Much of the growth in 2020 was directly correlated to the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing consumer behavior associated with widespread lockdowns and school closures, the disposable income diverted from other types of entertainment to toys, as well as the onset of federal stimulus checks.” Consumer spending on toys increased measurably due to lockdowns; with strong performance continuing through the holidays · Per NPD, “While toy sales through mid-March 2020 were flat vs. 2019, widespread lockdown measures led to an abrupt increase in sales. This was further amplified by the distribution of stimulus checks beginning in April, resulting in the strongest month of growth for the year in May (+38%). Toy industry growth peaked again in October with an increase of 33% when the holiday season kicked off with Amazon Prime Day along with other retailer deals the same week.” Key retail sources reporting significant sales growth during Q4 2020 suggest Funko sales performance was strong · Target Q4 sales were fantastic showing signs of retail strength with a consumer that overlaps well with the Funko > Overall comparable sales were up 17.2% > Comparable digital sales were up over 100% > Store-originated comparable sales were up 4.2% > Store traffic was up 4.3% > Average ticket size was up 12.3% · GameStop Q4 sales were solid; showing additional potential for Funko sales > Same store sales were up 4.8% in Q4 2020 > Online sales increased 309% in Q4 2020 · According to the NRF, 2020 Holiday Retail Sales were up 8.3% compared to the prior year despite the pandemic > A surge in online shopping drove the increase (rising 32% vs. 2019) > The increase of 8.3% was over double the average increase of 3.5% that the industry had seen over the last five years. MORE DISPOSABLE INCOME TO SPEND AT HOME BY NOT GOING OUT The National Retail Federation (NRF) says that strong retail performance has been driven by consumers with stimulus checks and extra savings from not going out or traveling · “There was a massive boost to consumer wallets this season. Consumers were able to splurge on holiday gifts because of increased money in their bank accounts from the stimulus payments they received earlier in the year and the money they saved by not traveling, dining out, or attending entertainment events” – NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz. Spending on “experiences” fell significantly in 2020 · The US Travel Association forecasts that spending on travel fell $500 billion in 2020 from $1.1 trillion in 2019 > The industry has lost about 40% of its direct travel jobs (about 3.5 million jobs) in 2020; driven by a reduction in business travel > Foreign visitors to the US fell about 75% in 2020; driving a $119 billion reduction in travel spending · Concert spending is down dramatically > Live Nation reported a 98% decline in concert revenue in Q2 2020 and a 95% decline in concert revenue in Q3 2020 > About 5.2 million tickets were refunded in Q3 2020 and 23.3 million tickets had been refunded so far in 2020 (as of the end of Q3) · Movie theater attendance is down substantially > AMC theaters saw a 97% decline in attendance and a 91% decline in revenue in Q3 2020 > Cinemark saw a 96% decline in revenue > Marcus Corporation (which also owns hotels and restaurants) saw a 84% decline in revenue > Studio Movie Grill filed for bankruptcy · Other anecdotal information points to more stay-at-home activity decreasing recreational spending > Chuck E Cheese’s declared bankruptcy > Dave & Busters is considering bankruptcy and plans layoffs of +1,000 > CiCi’s Pizza declares bankruptcy > Starbucks saw fewer customers, reduced store hours, increased store closures, and a 5% decline in revenues in Q4 2020. This has led them to plan a shift to more “to-go” formats > Many Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos have decided to close “part-time” during the week due to lower attendance and travel. These include Encore, Rio, Linq, Planet Hollywood, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, and Mirage The majority of food buffets at the major hotels and casinos have been shuttered for the time being Stimulus checks and other government programs to support consumer spending provide tailwinds for retail activity · The US government authorized more than $10,000 per person in stimulus spending in 2020 over the course of five relief bills totaling $3.5 trillion · More stimulus spending is expected; including a potential $1.9 trillion package that could include an additional $1,400 in stimulus checks MORE SKUS / LICENSES ARE GROWING AND EXPECTED TO CONINUE STRONG Active properties continue to rise and are expected to grow well into the future · The number of active properties in Q3 2020 grew 15% over 2019 · Active properties grew from 644 in Q2 to 715 in Q3 2020 · The potential universe for Funko Pops! is limitless as new films, tv shows, musicians, anime characters, sports stars, and other media properties are created every year. Some of the hot properties for this year and beyond · Star Wars: Baby Yoda, Mandalorian, Rey, Valentine’s Day, etc. · Marvel: WandaVision, Deadpool, Lucha Libre, Spiderman, Venom · Anime: Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bakugan, My Hero Academia · Films: Harry Potter, The Goonies, The Mummy, Fast & Furious · TV: The Office, Umbrella Academy, The Queen’s Gambit, The Simpsons · Sports: NFL, NBA, MLB, WWE · Others: Disney, Pokemon, etc. Retail exclusives can grow the potential universe of licenses and increase retailer buy-in · For example: A retailer like GameStop could lobby Funko to make a GameStop exclusive of the WallStreetBets Kid like this person suggested here. (The exclusive Pop! would be made into a limited edition and sold only to GameStop to sell at their stores) COLLECTIBLE INVESTMENTS ARE GROWING IN VALUE & POPULARITY · Funko: The average Pops! Figure has a retail price from between $10 and $15 which allows most people an affordable entry point into collecting. Over time some Pops! Figures increase substantially in price; from $50 to $100 to even several thousand dollars. While some collectors buy Pops! as primarily an investment, many more buy them as a way to show their fandom. Whether they are avid Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pokemon, Sports, or Anime fans; collectors build large collections and show them off to friends. · Sports Cards: To those paying attention, sports cards have been on a massive run with some cards worth more than your parent’s house and your sister’s car. Since the pandemic started, the demand for sports collectibles from basketball to football to soccer (and many others) has skyrocketed. Countless videos of box-breaks and pack openings have become the norm on social media. Some of these boxes are being purchased for tens of thousands with “hits” ranging from several hundred to hundreds of thousands. · Collector’s Universe: This company that grades sports cards and other collectibles has tripled in value since June 2020. The number of sports collectors grading cards has exploded as demand rises. The popularity of grading sports cards is expected to maintain as prices continue to rise and the hobby becomes more mainstream. ANALYST COMMENTARY AND FINANCIALS ARE A POSTIVE FOR THE STOCK Piper Sandler: Upgraded Funko from “Neutral” to “Overweight” (raising their price target from $6 to $12). · Analyst Erin Murphy sees evidence of “subsequent revenue pillars” with their recent launch of Snapsies at 800 Target stores; along with an expansion into board games and its digital efforts, which include a newly launched website in six European countries. Valuation Comparison: Market Cap / Revenue (TTM) · Funko: MC - $604 million / Rev - $640 million (0.9x sales) · Mattel: MC - $6.27 billion / Rev - $4.43 billion (1.4x sales) · Hasbro: MC - $13.13 billion / Rev - $5.17 billion (2.5x sales) Key Financial Trends For Funko · Q3 2020 EPS (Adjusted) = $0.31 > Third highest ever (only Q4 2018 & Q3 2019 were higher) · Q3 2020 Revenue = $191 million > Fourth highest ever (only Q4 2018, Q3 2019, and Q4 2019 were higher) · Q3 2020 Revenue increase vs prior quarter of 94% > Q1 and Q2 2020 saw significant declines due to COVID > Q3 2020 only down 14% vs Q3 2019 despite Q2 2020 being down 49% > Q3 2020 strength driven by Funko adapting quickly to online in the US market. (Q4 2020 revenue growth could be aided substantially by Funko’s development of their e-commerce shop in Europe.) · Q3 2020 SG&A was reduced 20% vs. the prior year as Funko rationalizes costs and adjusts to focus more on D2C e-commerce TL;DR After a tough summer, Funko sales have rocketed back in Q3 to near where they were pre-pandemic; setting up a potentially historic earnings for Q4 2020. Google search activity suggests that Funko is as popular as ever and is set up well for a strong year in 2021. People are spending less on “going out;” instead buying things to use at home and presents for their kids. As time passes, Funko’s status as a popular collectible only continues to gain momentum. Their direct sales initiative allows Funko to capture additional margin by sidestepping traditional brick and mortar retail to reach their customers. Investments in collectible products like Pops! and sports cards continue to increase in popularity and price. And the company continues to release even more products beyond Pops!; including games and apparel. While some Wall Street Analysts have already begun to take notice, a strong Q4 earnings announcement can drive even more attention to the stock. Positions: Long Shares & Calls Disclosure: I am long FNKO. This is not investment advice. I reserve the right to buy or sell FNKO without updating this thread. Do your own research and share (or not share) with the community in this thread. Thank you to the others on Reddit that shared this idea earlier. Feedback: If you have any additional information, ideas, or critiques please make sure to comment. It is great to get the perspective of others when making an investment. Also that information can be incorporated into future posts and updates. Previous DD:Herman Miller
Once again, the Calvary comes to the rescue. Americans can now heave a sigh of relief after months of having to watch their fate hang in the balance as both Democrats and Republicans sparred over stimulus. After foot-dragging and name-calling for several months, Congress decided to approve a $600 stimulus package. However, the incoming Biden administration has promised an additional $1,400 making the total of $2000 in stimulus to be received by Americans. As expected, some of that money would find its way into the stock market. The explosion of retail trading made possible by apps such as Robinhood and Etoro has meant that more people can trade in stocks for zero or little commission. Flush with cash from the government, people are trying to the stock market to increase their money. Based on the prevailing macro-economic conditions, financial valuation, and social trends, we have compiled a list of stocks you should be spending your $2000 stimmy on. DraftKings As more states become amiable towards online gambling, one of the stocks which would benefit from expected legislation would be DraftKings. The expanding legalization of digital sports betting is an emerging trend. The November election results showed voters in several states largely approved ballot measures that legalized sports betting and other gaming expansion measures. On the revenue side, DraftKings saw a 98% year-over-year surge to $132.8 million in the latest quarter, reported on Nov. 13. In the quarter, the company raised its full-year 2020 revenue range to $540 million-$560 million, which equates to 25%-30% annual revenue growth. DraftKings also introduced 2021 revenue guidance of $750 million to $850 million, which equates to 45% year-over-year growth using the midpoints. The resumption of major sports such as the NBA, MLB, and the NHL in the third quarter, as well as the start of the NFL season, has generated tremendous customer engagement and revenue which implies that this stock would definitely see some significant upside. Square 2020 was a very good year for Square. The company’s share price soared above 250% last year and was one of the pandemic winners in the market. Given the company’s fundamentals, Square's stock price will repeat the type of growth it saw in 2020. The services that Square provides -- particularly its Cash App, which allows people to send and receive money without physical contact -- have become more necessary during these times of social distancing and working from home. Revenue for the Cash App was up a whopping 574% year over year in the third quarter. The company is also invested in bitcoin having out in seed capital in acquiring bitcoin. With bitcoin estimated to cross the $40,000 mark and possibly running as far as $146,000, this would shore up the company’s reserves. GM One reason why investors have been wary of the EV sector is the mounting debt and huge cash burn. This has made investors question the profitability of stocks in the electric vehicle space. With more EV stocks coming through the market through SPACS, investors are already mulling the idea that this may be a bubble. However, one company that many believe to have potential in the EV space is GM. Apart from having the infrastructure necessary to build cars, the company is can leverage its brand to ensure loyalty from customers. In addition, while other EV stocks such as Tesla and NIO may be fully stretched, share prices of General Motors are cheap, plus the company is been raking in profits. In November, GM announced it plans to invest $27 billion in EV and autonomous vehicles through 2025. GM also plans to release 30 EV models globally by 2025. For comparison, Tesla currently has exactly four EV models. Earlier this week, the company signed a deal with Microsoft for its autonomous vehicles. GM continues to execute well on its Core and Future businesses and remains one of the best-positioned companies in our coverage over the long run. The stock is a good buy for the long haul. AMD As the digitalization of the world continues at an astronomic pace, microchips would continue to play a more prominent role. Already, there is a shortage of chips worldwide which means demand and prices would surge. One company poised to benefit from this growing demand is AMD. The company has managed to chip away at Intel's CPU dominance thanks to its superior product line, which is based on a smaller manufacturing node, allowing it to deliver better computing performance and reduce power consumption. The use of chips would continue to grow as more people are drawn to cryptocurrency mining, online gaming, and data center storage. AMD was one of the biggest winners in2020, and the trend is expected to continue well into this year. It is also one stock that may not be affected by the rotation into value as microchips would continue to be in demand. TSM Taiwan Semiconductor is a dedicated foundry that manufactures semiconductors for other companies. It aims to lead in both semiconductor technology and manufacturing, providing an open collaboration platform to build enduring trust with its customers. The core strategy of Taiwan Semiconductor is its flexible business model. TSM does not need to design its own chips and prove its performance against the competitors; it only has to provide the technology and base for producers looking to make the best and fastest chips suited to their products' needs. By maintaining high-quality manufacturing processes and offering a collaborative platform to its customers, Taiwan Semiconductor ensures that it caters to producers across the spectrum even as technology rapidly evolves. The company has experienced strong growth: From 2015 to 2019, net revenue increased by a solid 26.9%, while net income increased 12.7%. However, as smart technology has become ever more central to lives the company's growth has begun to heat up. In Q3 2020, the company boosted its net revenue by 21.6% year over year, while net income increased by 35.9%. ETSY Etsy provides an online e-commerce platform where creators of arts and crafts, vintage items, and other unique goods go to sell their products. Etsy has something that many high-growth companies don't -- a profitable business model. It boasts a trailing-12-month operating margin of 16%, making this unique online marketplace a buy today even at its premium valuation. It has outmaneuvered eBay (EBAY), avoided the Amazon (AMZN) crush, and dodged competition from Overstock.com (OSTK) and Wayfair (W). When it reported third-quarter results on Oct. 28, Etsy reported a 128% leap in revenue to $451 million, well above Wall Street estimates of $412.7 million. Adjusted earnings came in at 70 cents, vs. estimates of 57 cents. In addition, gross merchandise sales jumped 119% to $2.6 billion. Sunpower Interest in renewable energy sources has soared immensely and continues to rise with each passing day. Two key forces are behind this surge: Increased awareness and urgency to address climate change, and falling costs of generation using renewables. Among renewable sources, solar energy looks most promising, due to its more predictable generation pattern. Solar's share in electricity generation is expected to rise from roughly 3% currently to more than 20% by 2050. SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) is one stock poised to benefit from these trends. With a huge government push, California leads the way in solar adoption. Still, only 9% of homes in California have solar installations, representing a huge untapped market. In the new homes segment, SunPower has headway, having already worked with 18 of the top 20 builders in California. The company captures more than half of California's new homes market. Its low-cost model positions it well to compete on pricing. The company can leverage its vast customer base to sell its storage products. Moreover, its leading position in the commercial and California's new homes market provide SunPower an edge over others in these segments. PLUG Plug power provides hydrogen fuel cell turnkey solutions to electric mobility and stationary power markets. The company continues innovating end-to-end hydrogen fuel solutions by harnessing its unique capabilities and is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen in North America. Though the company has not posted any profit, many hedge funds are bullish on the stock, with analysts having high recommendations. The company’s $1.5bn deal with South Korean conglomerate SK Group into American hydrogen company has certainly drawn a lot of attention, with many investors gauging the company’s profitability. Plug Power’s core business is providing fuel cell-powered forklifts for commercial customers. However, it has expanded to hydrogen production following its acquisition of two hydrogen companies. These acquisitions expand the plug’s addressable market which has already exceeded $30 billion. The resulting vertical integration of the acquisitions makes Plug Power an even stronger company as can now provide the hydrogen that powers its vehicles. This definitely allows Plug to leverage on its already existing customer base which includes some of the best companies in the country. Plug Power raised its 2024 guidance to $1.2 billion in revenue and $200 million in operating income. Shares of PLUG have risen by 111% in the last month. Tesla Returning to the green-energy theme, Tesla is one stock that has significant upside. The company is positioned to benefit from the clean energy drive of the Biden administration. Apart from that, Tesla is the leader in its sector and continues to increase its delivery numbers. Tesla is now the most valuable auto company in the world. It has recently surpassed Facebook (FB) by market capitalization. The stock has recently received upgrades from analysts and if the EV market continues to evolve, Tesla would continue to be in the pole position, which gives it significant market share and of course revenue. GrowGeneration Corp. For those looking at balance sheets and income statements, GrowGeneration Corp is one highly profitable marijuana stock to watch in 2021. The company has the largest chain of specialty hydroponic and organic garden centers in the U.S. with 36 storefront locations. In essence, the company supplies products necessary for growing cannabis and works closely with major marijuana companies in the U.S. market. Shares of Grow Generation returned a whopping 880.98% in 2020, posting the fastest-growing quarterly results in the industry. It is expected that the company would continue its momentum this year. The shares of the company have so far risen by 20% this year. Additionally, the company continued strategic acquisition and expansion plans in the quarter, giving GrowGen more growth potential for 2021. It was easily one of the best performing cannabis stocks for 2020. In essence, GRWG stock showed greater market stability than other pot stocks in the U.S. in 2020. Thanks for reading! Checkout Afroxyz's page for more.
Game Matchups Preview Playoff Round #1: Bills vs. Colts
Before every Bills’ game I spend some time, probably too much time, digging into how the Bills roster stacks up against their opponent’s. While doing this I specifically look at 5 matchups; Bills’ Pass Offense vs. Opponent’s Pass Defense, Bills’ Rush Offense vs. Opponent’s Rush Defense, Bills’ Pass Defense vs. Opponent’s Pass Offense, Bills’ Rush Defense vs. Opponent’s Rush Offense, Bills’ Special Teams vs. Opponent’s Special Teams. After doing all of this I try to come up with reasons “Why We Will Lose” and “Why We Will Win” ultimately leading to a prediction. Below I present 2020’s 17th iteration of this analysis for the Bills upcoming home game against the Colts. Included is a scale to rank the advantage in each matchup from 👏👏👏👏👏 (Massive Advantage) to 👏 (Minimal Advantage). NOTE: If you have followed this series all season long be prepared, this is the longest post I have written by a large amount. If this is your first time reading, I hope you enjoy and can find the time to finish the whole thing. Bills’ Passing Offense vs. Colts’ Passing Defense Trivia, which QBs finished 2020 Top 5 in all the following categories; Completion %, Pass Yards, Pass TDs, Pass 1st Downs, Pass Y/A, Passer Rating, and QBR? Josh Allen, that’s it, that’s the entire list. Allen’s remarkable season is one that quieted a lot of skeptics in 2020, most of whom were rightly skeptical, and will likely earn him one of the most lucrative contracts in NFL history. The massive improvements by the Bills’ QB were amplified by a dominate group of receivers with unique skill sets. Stefon Diggs is arguably the best all around WR in the NFL right now, Cole Beasley is the best Slot WR in the NFL, John Brown is an oft-overlooked weapon about to be unleashed, Gabe Davis is one of the more promising young offensive weapons in the NFL, and Isaiah McKenzie is a human Swiss Army Knife that consistently expands the box. The Bills have one of the best offenses in the NFL, and the passing attack is the primary reason why. Against the Colts the Bills’ Pass Offense will need to find a way to deal with an offshoot of the popular Cover 2 scheme. At a high-level Cover 2 is a zone scheme with two deep safeties. In the first few games of the season the Bills rarely saw two deep safety sets with teams testing Josh Allen’s ability to hit the deep ball, but after torching opposing offenses over that span future opposition took note and shifted multiple players deep in order to avoid a barrage of big throws by the Bills. The Colts’ Defensive Coordinator, Matt Eberflus, is an expert of this concept and also a sub concept known as Tampa 2. YouTuber Zach Hicks has a good breakdown of this concept if you want to see it in video format, but at a high level Tampa 2 is the same as a Cover 2 except that on a pass play one of the LBs is generally responsible for the deep middle of the field meaning 3 players are generally protecting against the deep ball. What makes the Colts so proficient at this type of defense is a well-rounded 2nd level that starts with a superstar at LB. Have you heard of Darius Leonard? If not, you are about to. This “Maniac” was named first team All-Pro his rookie season after being drafted 36th overall by the Colts in the 2018 NFL Draft. Coming into this analysis I had Leonard marked as an incredible run defender with quite possibly the best instincts in the NFL but after watching some film on this guy I realized he is also one of the best zone defending LBs there is. In 2019 Leonard had 5 Interceptions, 4 of which came as the middle zone defender and 1 while man covering an RB. Against the Bills Leonard will be especially dangerous due to his exceptional abilities as a QB spy that when coupled with his instincts and zone coverage capabilities makes him as close to a perfect Josh Allen counter as you will find. This will be the determining factor in whether or not the Colts will be able to slow down the Bills’ vaunted passing attack, slow that down and the Colts will win this running away. Behind Leonard is a solid stable of DBs, all of whom will provide unique challenges for the Bills. The primary outside corner is former Minnesota Vikings 1st rounder Xavier Rhodes who has built an 8-year career off being an exceptionally physical corner. Rhodes excels most with his hands on a receiver so even in the Colts’ Cover 2 expect him to press the WR lined up in front of him. The other outside position is predominantly controlled by 2nd year CB Rock Ya-Sin but because of an injury he will miss Saturday’s game and be replaced by 30-year old T.J. Carrie. While less talented than Rhodes, Carrie plays a similar style and within the Colts’ defense is playing the best football of his 7-year career. But the most dangerous CB on the Colts’ roster is their slot CB, one of the best in the NFL, Kenny Moore. Moore has exceptional instincts and out of the slot can read his primary responsibility while simultaneously providing help to his outside CBs. The last portion of this secondary are the safeties, Julian Blackmon and Khari Willis, both of whom can force game changing plays in the event any opposing QB tries to test them over the top. With the key to the Bills’ offense being their ability to move the ball through the air this matchup could ultimately determine the first round of the playoffs. Diggs, Brown, and Davis will all be pressed by outside CBs who they will need to beat if the Bills even want to consider taking a deep shot. In the slot it remains to be seen if Cole Beasley will be good to go, though it is looking promising, but regardless if the slot is him, Stills, McKenzie, or even Roberts all may struggle against Kenny Moore. Brian Daboll will need to come prepared with his best playbook to beat this defense while all the weapons will need to execute if the Bills intend to host another playoff game. EDGE: Bills 👏 👏 👏 👏 Bills’ Rushing Offense vs. Colts’ Rushing Defense 89 times this season a player has rushed for 100+ yards in a game. Out of the 32 NFL teams only 4 of them did not have such a player, the Panthers, Chargers, Seahawks…and Bills. A stunning turn of events for a Bills’ team that has not finished outside the Top 10 in rushing yards since 2014 has seen them fall to 20th this season averaging just 107.7 Y/G. And don’t blame the shift to a pass first offense as the primary reason for this as the Bills’ rank 19th in Y/A at just 4.2 with their top two RBs, Devin Singletary and Zack Moss, at just 4.4 and 4.3 respectively. I’ve wrote about this in past “Matchup Preview” posts, that the issue is best described by the fact that out of the 51 NFL players with 100+ rushing attempts Devin Singletary ranks 49th (1.5) and Zack Moss ranks 43rd (1.8) in Yards Before Contact (YBC). This points to two root causes; RBs not hitting the hole fast enough or poor OL blocking, and while I believe both are part of the problem to me it is the latter that is the predominant issue. The Colts run a 4-3 scheme meaning in their base package there are 4 DL and 3 LB but with the current state of the NFL most teams “Base” is actually their Nickel Package (1 LB is replaced by a DB). This is important to note in the context of the Bills running the ball because with the Colts predominately in Nickel the Bills may have success running the ball outside the tackles. To help visualize what it will look like picture the package where Tremaine Edmunds is flanked by one of A.J. Klein or Matt Milano. Ultimately this presents a situation where a defense becomes fully reliant on their DEs maintaining contain so that their LBs can scrape down the line and make a play on the ball carrier. In the worst case, where contain is blown and LBs can’t get to the ball carrier, a defenses reliance shifts to their CBs coming off a WR block or a safety coming down field and making a tackle in the open field. The Colts have the players in the secondary to accomplish this which is one reason why they are one of the best run defenses in the NFL. While this section lends itself to be just another breakdown of Darius Leonard, he was covered in detail in the passing section of this post so instead the the emphasis here is on the Colts’ DL. This is a DL which is headlined by ex-49er, the 2016 #7 overall pick DeForest Buckner. While Buckner primarily excels as a Pass Rusher (9.5 Sacks this Season) he is also a great run defender capable of using his large frame (6’7”, 240lb) and a great stable of moves to wreak havoc against the run. Next to him at Nose Tackle is Grover Stewart the 4th year man out of Albany State. Stewart plays and looks more massive than his 315lb listing and is meant to be a plug in the middle that takes up 2 interior linemen. On the outside is a 4-man rotation (In order of Snap %) of Denico Autry, Justin Houston, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Tyquan Lewis. Autry and Houston are vets that primarily rush the passer while Muhammad and Lewis excel more against the run. Yet, the more you look at this DL and their rotations the more you come to realize it is eerily similar to the Bills, albeit a more successful version against the run. Running the ball against the Colts will be a tough task for this Bills’ team as the Colts rank 2nd in the NFL in Rush Y/A Against (3.7) while playing the likes of Dalvin Cook, the Ravens, Derrick Henry (x2), and Josh Jacobs. Most the of praise is owed to Leonard, and MLB Anthony Walker, but the whole of the defense is a highly disciplined unit that consistently does their 1/11th in order to dominate the defensive side of the ball. The one area where the Bills may be able to expose the Colts is via a run that is technically a pass, the McKenzie “Push Pass”. I expect this play to be run multiple times on Saturday and if I were to set an OveUnder on it I’d give out 2.5. Running this to the opposite side of Buckner should find success and if it does should slow down the outside pass rush of the Colts. EDGE: Colts 👏 👏 👏 👏 Bills’ Passing Defense vs. Colts’ Passing Offense Coming into this analysis I hypothesized that a reason for the Bills’ struggles against the pass was that teams were throwing against the Bills far more in 2020 than they had in previous seasons. After all, the Bills’ offense was so prolific this season that more often than in a long-time, teams were playing from behind against the Bills. Turns out the 573 Passing Attempts against the Bills this season was only 20 more than the 553 from 2019 and remarkably the same number of pass attempts against as 2017. Digging deeper I found that even though the Bills had given up the same number of 300 yard passing games in 2020 (5) that they had from 2017 to 2019 their Passer Rating against was not drastically different. In fact their passer ratings against over the past 4 seasons were; 78.9 (2017), 82.6 (2018), 78.8 (2019), and 86.9 (2020) while the league wide Passer Rating over the same span followed a similar trend being 86.9 (2017), 92.9 (2018), 90.4 (2019), and 93.6 (2020). Turns out the Bills’ pass defense didn’t really regress all too much and in fact is still one of the most dominant units in the NFL, peaking at the perfect time. And in the first round of the playoffs the Bills will play a team which I describe as a Run First team that really likes to throw the ball. What does that mean exactly? The Colts did run the ball (459) less than they passed (552) so doesn’t that make them a pass first team? Technically yes, but with only 371 of those passes being completed and 114 of those going to RBs the Colts either ran or had an RB touch the ball on an astounding 69% of “completed” offensive plays. For context the leading rusher in the NFL was Derrick Henry of the Titans where they ran or had an RB touch the ball on just 66.8% of those plays. Moral of this all is exactly what was stated, Run First but love to pass, but make no mistake about it, when the Colts need to air the ball out, they do have some weapons to do so. The Colts have 3 good WRs and 3 solid TEs giving them high level depth in the passing game. By now every NFL fan knows T.Y. Hilton who has been one of the best deep threats in the NFL for just under a decade and though 31 still put up over 750 yards with a 13.6 Y/R in 2020. Opposite him is Zach Pascal who is in the 3rd year of his career and while unlike T.Y. in stature, coming in at 6’2” 215lb, is like him in that he is primarily a deep threat at this point in his career. The last WR of note is by far the most intriguing, 2nd round rookie Michael Pittman Jr. A player that was at times mocked to the Bills, Pittman is a massive receiver at 6’4” 225lb and has 4.5s 40yd speed. At moments he has looked unguardable for the Colts in 2020 but has a long way to go to reach his full potential, though he seems fully capable of it. At TE the Colts’ 3-man rotation is Jack Doyle, Mo Allie-Cox, and Trey Burton. Each of them is 6’2” 230lb or bigger and have at least 20 receptions with the 3 of them accounting for a total of 82 catches. These guys aren’t’ just redzone threats either, though they do account for 8 TDs, they are also big-time weapons in the middle of the field moving the sticks a combined 46 times. Throwing all those guys the ball will be the walking HOF-litmus test, Phillip Rivers. At 39 years old he has without a doubt lost a bit of zip on his throws but still was able to put up over 4000 passing yards and complete 68% of his passes. One very interesting stat of note is that Rivers, and the Colts, has only played 3 outdoor games north of Tennessee this season. In those games Rivers completed 60.4% of his passes, had a 2:3 TD:INT Ratio, and a passer rating of 81.2. In all other games Rivers completed 69.6% of his passes, had a 22:8 TD:INT Ratio, and a passer rating of 100.4. Needless to say the weather in Buffalo will have a major impact on the outcome of the game Saturday but if you don’t think Tre White, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, and the rest of the Bills’ secondary will also have an impact, well…just wait. EDGE: Bills 👏 👏 👏 Bills’ Rushing Defense vs. Colts’ Rushing Offense The Buffalo Bills’ ability to stop the run will ultimately be the reason they have a successful or unsuccessful playoff run. If you believe in Dualism the Buffalo Bills’ run defense should improve your ability to debate it. The Bills have had 8 (5-3) games where the opponent rushed for 100+ yards, for an average of 167.6, and 8 (8-0) games where the opponent has rushed for under 100 yards, for an average of 71.6 Y/G. The crazy thing about this is that there is no tangible pattern, not competition, not location of game, not injuries, the Bills are simply just really good or really bad against the run. This week they can’t afford to be bad against it. To fully understand just how integral RBs are to the Colts’ offense see the analysis of their Pass Offense above. This Colts’ team by all measures had 4 solid RBs rostered going into the start of the 2020 season with Marlon Mack, Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines, and Jordan Wilkins but when Mack popped his ACL in Week 1 the Colts were forced to scramble. Over the next few weeks, they would rely most on rookie Jonathan Taylor to carry the load on the ground but saw mixed results. By Week 8 Wilkins was out carrying Taylor and by Week 10 both Wilkins and Hines were. And then something happened, and this something happened to the Colts’ play calls and to Taylor who quickly shifted into the monster from Wisconsin. Over his final 6 games Taylor rushed 119 times (19.8 G) for 741 (123.5 Y/G) which is a Y/A of 6.2. At the end of the day Taylor is who a lot of draft experts thought he would be, a dominant all around back that can single handedly change games. Don’t get it twisted though Bills Mafia, Nyheim Hines will also play an integral role for the Colts’ offense on Saturday. But the talent at RB is one thing, the talent on the OL is a whole different monster. Working from right to left this week at RT is Braden Smith a 2nd round pick that has been a 3-year starter for the Colts. Smith is a freak of a human at 6’6” 315lb giving him the ability to toss opposing defenders around at will though the one knock on him is his slow dissection of incoming blitzes. At RG is Mark Glowinski a 6-year vet who like Braden Smith has power to spare but lacks elite quickness, yet he still exceeds the description of proficient RG. Then there are the big boys. At Center is Ryan Kelly who just earned his 2nd consecutive Pro Bowl nod as one of the best Centers in the NFL. An incredible blocking center and a master of dissecting opposing defenses Ryan Kelly is not only himself great, but he also makes the QB under him and the OL to the left and right of him better every single play. LG Quenton Nelson. 3 years into his career, 3 Pro Bowls, 2 All-Pros (and possibly a 3rd on the way), is it absurd to call a player a HOF 3 years into his career? Not for Nelson. This kid is a monstrosity that will control not only who is in front of him, but he will throw that man back into an LB like they are a rag doll. So, the Colts have 4 good to incredible OL, until we get to their LT. Starting LT Anthony Castonzo hit IR after an ankle injury in practice on Christmas Eve and was replaced by retired Jared Veldheer against the Jaguars. This is the only question mark for the Colts’ OL but if Veldheer can even play at 75% of his pre-retirement level he should provide suitable protection on the left side of the line. The old adage is control the trenches and you control the game. While I 100% agree with that statement I don’t think that is the key to this matchup. Whatever the Bills’ DL looks like this week will obviously need to do their job up front and make a play or two, and I’m especially excited to see what Ed Oliver and A.J. Epenesa will do this week. For me though, the LBs and Jordan Poyer are the entire key to this matchup. I fully expect Poyer in the box more often this game than we have seen all season allowing the Bills to put their Best Big Nickel (Foot) forward. Stop the run in whatever way you can and force Rivers to beat you through the air means the Bills will be stunting at whatever gap they can to force the young Taylor to try to bounce to an opening. For me this game will not determine my feelings on Tremaine Edmunds but will go a long way in deciding his future. Edmunds must make multiple big plays this week, and if he does, I’d fully expect McDermott to hand him the game ball regardless of how the offense plays. EDGE: Colts 👏 👏 👏 👏 Bills’ Special Teams vs. Colts’ Special Teams It is officially no longer hyperbole to say that the Buffalo Bills have the best Special Teams group in the NFL. The Bills’ primary return man, Andre Roberts (Pro Bowl, #1-NFL Kick Y/R, #7-NFL Punt Y/R) got a rest on Sunday resulting in backup return man, Isaiah McKenzie, bringing a punt 84 yards to the house for the Bills. That was the Bills first Punt Return TD since Marcus Thigpen did so on December 14, 2014. At Punter is the Bills’ second most improved player of 2020, Corey Bojorquez. Of punters who played all 16 games Bojo finished with the least punts (41) but lead the league in Punt Average (50.8), had the longest punt in the NFL (72), and finished 5th in Net Punt Average (44.0). Outside of one bad punt against the Cardinals, Bojo had just about as good as season as a punter can have. Last is the single season record holder for Points by a Buffalo Bills’ player, rookie Kicker Tyler Bass. Bass drilled 57 of 59 PATs (Possibly 58) and 28 of 34 FGs finishing the season with 141 points. It is also worth noting that the Bills finished 7th in the NFL in Opponent Average Drive Start (Own 26.6) primarily because of Bass’ ability to control the location of his high arced kicks resulting in the NFL’s second-best Kick Y/R Against (17.9). Bass is just another weapon on a team filled with them. The Colts also have one of the better special teams’ groups in the NFL. The Colts go about returns differently than the Bills using one player primarily for Kicks and another primarily for Punts. Handling Kick Returns is 2020 6th round pick Isaiah Rodgers who is averaging 28.8 Y/R which includes a 101-yard return for a TD in Week 5. Small in stature at 5’10, 170lb Rodgers has barn burning speed (4.28 40yd) and has the ability to return kicks for big yardage which may alter the Bills’ “Short-Kick” strategy on Saturday. Handling Punts is dynamic RB Nyheim Hines who has a Y/R of 10.0 and a long of just 26 implying consistent positive gains on Punt Returns. Punting for the Colts is Rigoberto Sanchez, who also handles kickoffs, ranks 14th in Punt Average (46.2) and 19th in Punt Net Average (40.0) giving up just 7.5 Y/R. At kicker for the Colts is another rookie, Rodrigo Blankenship. Blankenship is having a similar season to Bass missing just 5 FGs and 2 XPs but looks to be a kicker that will spend a long time in the NFL. EDGE: Bills 👏 👏 Why We Will Lose The Colts matchup surprisingly well against the Buffalo Bills, probably more so than they would have against any other team in the AFC playoffs, outside of maybe the Browns. On defense the Colts should without a doubt stop the Bills’ RBs from moving the ball on the ground which means the Bills’ ability to score points will come down to how often Josh Allen and the Bills’ receivers can beat the Colts’ secondary. More importantly for the Colts is how many turnovers their defense, which ranks 5th in Takeaways, can force. With the way that Josh Allen and the Bills are playing right now it seems the only way to beat them is to take the ball away from them and keep it away, the Colts can do that. On offense the matchup is even better for the Colts. The Bills struggle against the run and while they have at times shown the ability to successfully defend against it their inconsistency will be a problem against one of the hottest RBs in the NFL, Jonathan Taylor. Colts’ fans know that they will be getting some yardage on the ground and while how much, and how many TDs, remains to be seen the consistent movement of the ball in this fashion is paramount. If successful, the Colts will take time off the clock and keep the ball away from Josh Allen. In the event the Colts must throw the ball they will likely be testing the Bills’ LBs with throws to their TEs and RBs allowing them to avoid the Bills’ highly talented secondary. All of this spells points for Indy, less time for the Bills’ offense, and the possibility of stealing this game in Buffalo. Why We Will Win Talk about broken records? “The Buffalo Bills are the more talented football team” Saturday. How many times did we get to say that in 2020? On offense it really hasn’t mattered the talent level of the defense in front of the Bills; Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, John Brown, Cole Beasley, Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, Dawson Knox, Lee Smith, Reggie Gilliam…Ok I’ll stop but they have all shredded opposition through the air. And let’s not forget the RBs, sure the Bills have struggled on the ground this season but have flashed big play potential with both Zack Moss and Devin Singletary and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them has another Saturday. This offense will put up points regardless of who is on the other side of the ball and have proven that time in time again this season. On defense here is the deal, the Bills should completely stymie Phillip Rivers in the cold air of Buffalo. When I say “stymie”, I mean that when he must throw the Bills should be all over the ball and if he tries to fit one in a tight window take it away. I’ll put money on it that the Bills have at least one interception Saturday and might even drop the same bet on two because the Colts will HAVE to throw the ball. When they can avoid throwing, they will run and run again which is something Bills’ fans should be fearful of. But remember those 6 games where Jonathan Taylor had success which we discussed in the Colts’ Rushing Offense section of this post? The 6 defenses he played over that span ranked 18th (GNB), 30th (HOU), 28th (LVR), 30th (HOU), 5th (PIT), and 24th (JAX) by Run Defense DVOA. The Buffalo Bills rank better than all but one of those teams coming in at 17. This is the Bills’ game to win. Prediction:Bills 31 – Colts 20 When the Bills made the playoffs last season, I predicted they would win the game, and they should have. But that team was different than this one. This team isn’t coming to the playoffs to win just one game, this team is angry, this team is afraid of no one, and they are the hottest team in the NFL. This year there’s no “Foot off the pedal”, there’s no “Worrying about Common Sense”, there’s no Overtime. There’s just a Buffalo Bills’ team that wants much more than a “Fine and Dandy” hat and shirt. Your Buffalo Bills are coming for everyone and everything and it all starts on Saturday with 6700 fans greeting them in a stadium that will sound like it has 100,000 in it. Paraphrasing the great Steve Tasker, buckle up Colts, “It might be Chilly”. EDIT 1: Corrected Titans to Colts in Bills Rushing Offense section (Thank you some_random_noob)
RBAC debuted back in October and since then, it has seen an uneventful existence until recently. Shares spiked to an ATH of $12.40 before triggering a CB halt due to volatility. Once it resumed trading, it promptly dropped and now it’s trading at relatively the same price as before the uptick in volume and volatility. I started digging more into RBAC, the management team, the board and the space. Here are my thoughts as to why RBAC is a great risk:reward at this stage.
The Environment Sports in general are hurting right now. Revenues are down across the board due to Covid and they won’t fully recover for a few years. What this means is that sports management organizations and owners are hurting for revenue streams where they used to be consistent. The above, coupled with the absolutely crazy year SPACs (and the market in general) have been having, paint a picture that it might be in the financial best interest of privately held sports organizations to go public. If a sports owner ever wants to cash out, it usually involves a complicated sale of the team. With the sale of the Mets last year, Financial Times reflected on the fact that the Mets transaction might be the last of its kind, the “wealthy single owner” teams. The business model just doesn’t fit today’s environment like it did in the past.
The SPAC The team assembled is solid and you can review their bios here. There are a few standout names on the list, but let’s start with the main “celeb” power name: Billy Beane. For those that aren’t aware, Billy is the Moneyball guy. By focusing on data and analytics, he was able to help transform a sport that hadn’t seen any innovation for decades. Billy has been working within the Oakland A’s front office as the EVP of Baseball Ops since ~2015. The main question is: will Billy be leaving the A’s in order to join Redball AC in their pursuit of a deal? In my opinion, I’m betting on “Yes”, and here’s why: Looking at Billy’s past in terms of what he’s accomplished in his career, even before baseball, until now, there is one thing that’s clear: he’s a disruptor. Folks that look at the status quo and seek to upend it in order to spark innovation and opportunity generally do not remain in a single position for extended periods of time, especially if they’ve spotted a new opportunity elsewhere. If you feel so inclined, listen to this recent (December 30th) podcast with Beane. He talks a lot about where sports is going as a whole, how Covid has impacted the sports world, etc.. To me, it sounds like someone who’s looking to tackle bigger challenges. Dr. Luke Bornn is the next interesting person, at least to me. He’s a data scientist that is innovating in the space of sports analytics much in the same way Beane did when he essentially revolutionized how data was utilized for baseball. Dr. Bornn is also the VP of Analytics for the Sacramento Kings and he’s published a ton of papers and research on applying machine learning and advanced analytics to sports. One recent and fascinating paper can be found here. Essentially, with the help of some colleagues, Dr. Bornn was able to determine the “EPV” (expected possession value) of a soccer possession which represents the likelihood of a team either scoring or receiving the next goal of the match. The net-net here is that Bornn is a leader in the sports analytics space and potentially the next-gen Billy Beane: a huge asset to the team. RHGM LLC. Rice, Hadley, Gates and Manuel LLC is a consulting firm with some names you might recognize. This incredibly prestigious firm focuses on international markets and organizations. Redball (and Fenway) would be in an incredible position to expand operations to multiple international franchises and maximize the ROI for all parties. RHGM has the reputation, expertise and connections to help make that international expansion possible.
The Potential Risk The main hurdles for any DA/LOI would be the MLB itself and Beane’s status with the A’s. As far as I’ve been able to find, the only reason folks are doubting any positive RBAC news in the near term is due to a report from an A’s beat writer stating that the A’s GM mentioned they “expect” all front office folks back for the upcoming season. The key quote from the article is this: “Had MLB approved a merger between Beane’s RedBall investment project and Red Sox owner John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group, Beane was expected to step away from the A’s to focus on European soccer and other potential acquisitions. But that deal has yet to go through, so Beane is likely to remain at the A’s helm through 2021.” To me, the above quote sounds like personal conjecture on the part of the journalist, based on the fact that no deal has been formally announced. The other major hurdle would be the potential of MLB blocking/not approving. To me, there is minimal risk of this happening as A) other MLB teams have gone public in some way in the past and B) this potentially opens up a new revenue stream/way for teams and the league to raise capital at a time when cash and money are flowing like crazy in the market while traditional revenue streams are down due to Covid. Conclusion At the end of the day, Beane is the linchpin here for a deal happening soon. My take is that being able to revolutionize the way sports franchises and teams are monetized and marketed is a great opportunity for Beane to further his career, legacy and (let’s be honest) wealth. If he officially announces he’ll remain with the A’s for the upcoming season, I’ll probably exit. But for now, it appears like a fantastic risk:reward in a space where there is a ton of opportunity for disruption and innovation. The team, the macro (Covid) environment and the domains involved (sports + technology) represent a great opportunity. Share price is barely above NAV and options are still relatively cheap (IV-wise). Leaps are low volume at the moment, but relatively low IV for the large potential upside of a deal being completed. Personally, I’m in roughly 30 contracts across the following options (looking to add shares Tuesday if we dip): $10c 3/19 $12.5c 3/19 $10c 6/18 $12.5c 1/22 I’m a RH pleb so I know nothing about the warrants. I'd love to hear contrarian opinions (honestly) as it helps me stay relatively objective. Edit: F in the chat for this one. At least not much above NAV so loss is minimized. On to the next
Full credit to u/AlbibiG. The original post was posted on February 8th 2021. Enjoy. -
Introduction “FuboTV ($FUBO) is an American streaming television service that focuses primarily on channels that distribute live sports, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer, plus news, network television series and movies. Launched on January 1, 2015 as a soccer streaming service, FuboTV changed to an all-sports service in 2017 and then to a virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) model. As a vMVPD, FuboTV still calls itself sports-first but its expanded channel lineup targets cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated features that can be streamed through smart TVs, mobile and tablets and the web. The service is available in the United States, Canada and Spain as of 2018." From their home page: They are the only competitors in their space of digital sports broadcasting, offer 4K streaming and upscaling of live sports, cloud DVR capability ranging from 250 or 1000 hours on standard plans, and is available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One, Android TV, Android Smart TVs, and Android/iOS smartphones and tablets, with plans ranging from $24.99/month to $79.99/month (not including add-ons). They have also recently acquired one company and have made plans to acquire another to allow for in-house sports betting. They have stated in a press release that they plan to release a sportsbook before the end of the year. This will push them into a broader spectrum outside of only TV and sports streaming, and into the sports betting sector along with DraftKings ($DKNG), FanDuel ($PDYPY), and Penn National Gaming ($PENN). Plans and Add-ons FuboTV offers three standardized plans as of February 8, 2021: the Family plan is priced at $64.99/month (normally $75.97/month), Elite at $79.99/month (normally $100.95/month), and Latino Quarterly at $24.99/month, along with offering additional add-ons. Each plan offers a range of channels, cloud DVR capabilities (which allows fast-forwarding through commercials), and casting to multiple devices simultaneously. Only the Elite plan does not offer a 7-day free trial (Channels page). The Family plan includes 117 channels (mostly news and entertainment with roughly 40 that offer sports, including ESPN), up to 250 hours of DVR space, and casting to 3 devices at once. The quarterly prepaid includes a free upgrade to 1000 hours of DVR space and 5 casting devices at home with 3 on the go (Channels page). The Elite plan includes 164 channels (includes an additional “47 entertainment channels”), up to 1000 hours of DVR space, and casting to 5 devices at home with 3 on the go. This plan does not offer a quarterly prepaid (Channels page). The Latino Quarterly plan includes 250 hours of DVR space and can be streamed on up to 3 devices at once, but only has 32 channels. This plan needs to be prepaid every 3 months for a total charge of $74.97 and does not offer a monthly service (Channels page). Upgrades include additional DVR space--1000 hours for an additional $6.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly--and increased device casting--an additional 2 devices at home with 3 on the go for another $9.99/month for the Family and Latino Quarterly plans. You can also add a variety of channels and sports packages (the Latino Quarterly has fewer channel add-ons compared to the Family and Elite plans, which both have the same channel varieties). Sports Plus with NFL RedZone is an additional $10.99/month, but includes all professional and college sports broadcasting services for football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, fighting, etc. (Channels page). Fubo has recently removed its former Standard plan, which included only 65 channels, up to 2 casting devices, and only 30 hours of DVR support for $60/month. Financials and Growth Fubo has yet to file an annual report as they have gone public in October of 2020, but they have filed a 10-Q for Q3 2020. All numbers in thousands. Assets- Between December 31, 2019 and September of 2020, assets have increased from $368,225 to $799,313 (a 117% increase) . Total current assets increased from $17,973 to $58,016, but accounts receivable decreased from $8,904 to $6,975--this may be attributed to the increase in prepaid subscriptions which increased from $1,445 to $12,177 which shows strong customer satisfaction and retention. Liabilities- Liabilities have increased from $145,049 to $290,376 (a 100% increase). The largest contributors to their liabilities are “Due to related parties” increasing from $665 to $85,847, “Warrant liabilities” increasing from $24 to $28,085, and “Accounts payable” from $36,373 to $61,679. Long-term borrowings have decreased from $43,982 to $25,905. Revenues- Subscription revenues increased by $53,433, totaling $92,945 for the year. Total revenues including advertisements and licensing have increased by $61,202, totaling $112,669 for the year and an increase of 47% YOY. Q4 revenue is estimated to be between $94,000 and $98,000 which would be a *77-84% *increase YOY. Expenses- Subscriber related expenses total $114,315 for the year. Total expenses have totaled $500,249 for the year. Subscribers- Ended Q3 with 455,000 paid subscribers, a YOY increase of 58%, and plans to end 2020 with over 545,000, an increase of 72% YOY. Competition Its closest competitors are Hulu + Live TV (owned by Disney ($DIS)), YouTube TV (owned by Alphabet ($GOOG)), and Sling TV (owned by Dish Network ($DISH)). Hulu + Live TV
Includes league networks
50 hours of free DVR (200 hours for $9.99/month)
More than 74 channels
Unskippable ads on DVR without upgrade to 200 hours
2 streams at a time
$64.99/month
Can add ESPN+ and Disney+ for an additional $7/month
YouTube TV
Includes league networks
Unlimited DVR storage
More than 85 channels plus YouTube Red Originals
3 streams at a time
Sports Plus package for an additional $10.99/month
NBA LeaguePass for an additional $40/month or $119.99 annually
Starting at $64.99/month
Sling TV Blue
Includes league networks
DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
More than 45 channels
3 streams at a time
Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
Starting $35/month
Can be combined with Sling TV Orange for a total of $50/month
Sling TV Orange
Includes league networks
DVR up to 50 hours (200 hours for $5/month)
More than 30 channels
1 stream at a time
Sports Extra package for an additional $11/month
Starting at $35/month
Can be combined with Sling TV Blue for a total of $50/month
Merger with FaceBank for $100 million revolving credit
Analysts and Estimates Average analyst ratings put Fubo at a Buy to Strong Buy rating with an average price target of $45.50 with a high of $60 and a low of $30. EPS estimates are estimated to be -5.23 for 2020 and -1.64 for 2021. Currently has a short float of about 75%, but the short volume has been holding at roughly 15-20% over the last month and has drastically declined from its October short volume of over 50%. Originally valued at $700 million less than a year ago, a current valuation of $3.19 billion is respectable for this company and is on par for its current performance. Risks
Marketing fails and Fubo is never known as a household name, so consumers stick with other more known providers
Their sportsbook fails and becomes dead weight and wasted money
Subscriber count and streaming drops as quarantine lifts, reducing revenues while maintaining expenses
Consumers opt for cheaper options
People paying for the sports package cancel when the season is over, creating a boom and bust cycle if not managed correctly
Final Thoughts / TL;DR With its drastic growth over the last year (400% in the last 4 months), support from FaceBank and well-known investors, and plans to join the sports betting sector, FuboTV has potential to become a household name and grow well beyond its current valuation by combining both sports broadcasting and online sports betting into one convenient place. Although unlikely to overthrow any of the current forces, it can become the best live sports broadcaster that people can turn to when they cut cable but want to keep live sports. It has many hurdles to overcome (creating their sportsbook, better marketing, increasing subscriber count, etc.) before it is any real competition to its already established competition. At a $3.19 billion market cap and very high (75%) short interest, it will be very difficult to realize consistent growth, but it is on par for a company with almost $100 million in revenue. My Position 25 shares at $47.30 Edit: edited final thoughts/TL;DR Please provide feedback! First time actually researching and compiling information for a company and not just reading about them on here. Also, please ask questions to clear up any confusion; it was kinda hard to put everything together neatly, so I might have accidentally left stuff out or oveunder explained some things.
[Game Preview] Week 12 - Philadelphia Eagles(3-6-1) vs Seattle Seahawks (7-3)
Philadelphia Eagles (3-6-1) vs Seattle Seahawks(7-3)
Another week has passed and the Eagles notched another in the loss column, the saving grace now is after the Football Team won on Thanksgiving the Eagles are no longer kings of shit mountain. That title rests with Washington, though it could end up in the hands of the Giants by the team the Eagles kickoff on Monday night. Pathetically they could take that title back with a win over the Seahawks, though that appears to be unlikely. The Seahawks pack a potent offense led by All-Pro QB Russel Wilson who has made Jim Schwartz is bitch the past 4 years. What this Eagles team has in talent it completely lacks in discipline, heart and accountability which rests entirely on this coaching staff which repeatedly fails to get this team motivated and put them in the best position to win football games. Seattle has one of the worst defenses in the league especially against the pass, however I doubt Doug Pederson will come up with a game plan to exploit it, especially with Carson Wentz struggling to find any rhythm this season and leading the league in all the wrong categories. Both the coach and the QB will need to find some of that magic from the 2017 season if they have any hope of beating this tough Seahawks team Monday night.
Calling the game on 94WIP and the Eagles Radio Network will be Merrill Reese, the NFL’s longest-tenured play-by-play announcer (44th season). Joining Reese in the radio booth will be former Eagles All-Pro wide receiver Mike Quick, while Howard Eskin will report from the sidelines.
Location
Station
Frequency
Philadelphia, PA
WIP-FM
94.1 FM and 610 AM
Allentown, PA
WCTO-FM
96.1 FM
Atlantic City/South Jersey
WENJ-FM
97.3 FM
Levittown, PA
WBCB-AM
1490 AM
Northumberland, PA
WEGH-FM
107.3 FM
Pottsville, PA
WPPA-AM
1360 AM
Reading, PA
WEEU-AM
830 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WAFL-FM
97.7 FM
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA
WEJL-FM
96.1 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WAFL-FM
97.7 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WEJL-AM
630 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD
WBAX-AM
1240 AM
Williamsport, PA
WBZD-FM
93.3 FM
Wilmington, DE
WDEL-FM/AM
101.7 FM
York/LancasteHarrisburg, PA
WSOX-FM
96.1 FM
Philadelphia Spanish Radio
Rickie Ricardo and Bill Kulik will handle the broadcast in Spanish on Mega 105.7 FM in Philadelphia and the Eagles Spanish Radio Network.
Location
Station
Frequency
Philadelphia, PA
LA MEGA
105.7 FM
Allentown, PA
WSAN
1470 AM
Atlantic City, NJ
WIBG
1020 AM; 101.3 FM
Seahawks Radio
Seahawks Radio Network Steve Raible returns for his 38th season in the radio booth, his 15th as the play-by-play announcer and “Voice of the Seahawks” after 22 seasons as the Seahawks analyst. Former Seahawks LB Dave Wyman will provide color commentary.
National Radio
Westwood One will broadcast the game to a national audience with Kevin Harlan on play-by-play and Ron Jaworski providing analysis.
December 12th, 1976 at Veteran's Stadium Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia Eagles 27 - Seattle Seahawks 10
Points Leader
Seattle Seahawks lead the Philadelphia Eagles (367-327)
Coaches Record
Doug Pederson: 0-4 against the Seahawks
Pete Carroll: 6-1 against Eagles
Coaches Head to Head
Doug Pederson vs Pete Carroll: Carroll leads 4-0
Quarterback Record
Carson Wentz: Against Seahawks: 0-4
Russell Wilson: Against Eagles: 5-0
Quarterbacks Head to Head
Carson Wentz vs Russell Wilson: Wilson leads 4-0
Records per Stadium
Record @ Lincoln Financial Field: Seahawks lead the Eagles: 5-0
Record @ CenturyLink Field: Seahawks lead 3-2
Rankings and Last Meeting Information
AP Pro 32 Ranking
Eagles No. 11 - Seahawks No. 7
Record
Eagles: 3-6-1
Seahawks: 7-3
Last Meeting
Sunday, Nov 24th, 2019
Seahawks 17 – Eagles 9
The Eagles season ended with their first loss at home since Week 12 of the regular season, which was, coincidentally, also a 17–9 home loss to the Seahawks. They failed to score a touchdown for the first time since Week 17 of the 2017 season. Carson Wentz left the game in the first quarter with a concussion following a dirty hit by Jadeveon Clowney, where he led with the crown of his helmet into the back of Carson Wentz’s head when he was already going to the ground. No penalty was called on the play, and Wentz was later ruled out for the game. This was the Eagles' third straight home Wild Card playoff loss.
Eagles HC Doug Pederson was born in Bellingham, WA, and grew up in Ferndale, WA. Pederson recently admitted that he "Grew up a Seahawks Fan" and used to attend Seahawks games at The Kingdome.
Eagles LBs coach Ken Flajole is from Seattle and previously coached the Seahawks’ DBs (1999, 2001-02) and LBs (2000).
Eagles Safeties coach Tim Hauck played for the Seahawks in 1997.
Seahawks Northeast Area Scout Todd Brunner worked for the Eagles for four seasons (1994-97) as an area scout covering the Northeast. He joined the Eagles as a scouting intern in 1992 and worked as a scouting assistant in 1993.
2020 Pro Bowlers
Eagles
Seahawks
DT Fletcher Cox (Starter)
QB Russel Wilson (Starter)
OG Brandon Brooks (Starter)
MLB Bobby Wagner (Starter)
TE Zach Ertz
C Jason Kelce (Starter)
LS Rick Lavato (Starter)
General
Referee: Brad Allen
Philadelphia hosts Seattle for the first time since the 2019 NFC Wild Card playoff game. The Eagles are aiming for their third con-secutive win at Lincoln Financial Field after defeating N.Y. Giants (W, 22-21) and Dallas (W, 23-9) during Weeks 7-8.
Miles Sanders leads the NFL with 5.7 yards per rushing attempt (min. 100 attempts). His 83.6 rushing yards per game rank 4th in the NFL, trailing only Dalvin Cook (118.8), Derrick Henry (107.9) and Nick Chubb (95.8) in that category.
Jason Kelce has started 99 consectuive regular-season games, which is the longest active streak among NFL centers as well as the longest by an Eagles center since the 1970 merger (previously 95 by Guy Morriss from 1977-83). The last NFL center with 100 consecutive starts was Chris Myers from 2007-14 (123).
Brandon Graham leads the Eagles defense with 7.0 sacks, which ranks 9th among NFL players. Graham (11 TFLs) joins T.J. Watt (9.0, sacks, 14 TFLs) and Za’Darius Smith (8.0 sacks, 10 TFLs) as the only NFL players with 7.0+ sacks and 10+ TFLs this season.
Draft Picks
Eagles
Seahawks
WR Jalen Raegor
LB Jordyn Brooks
QB Jalen Hurts
DE Darrell Taylor
LB Davion Taylor
OG Damien Lewis
S K’Von Wallace
TE Colby Parkinson
OT Jack Driscoll
RB Deejay Dallas
WR John Hightower
DE Alton Robinson
LB Shaun Bradley
WR Freddie Swan
WR Quez Watkins
TE/WR Stephen Sullivan
OT Prince Tega Wanogho
LB/DE Casey Toohill
Notable Off-season Additions
Eagles
Seahawks
S Will Parks
S Jamal Adams
DT Javon Hargrave
OT Cedric Ogbuehi
CB Nickell Robey-Coleman
RB Carlos Hyde
CB Darius Slay
RT Brandon Shell
DE Carlos Dunlap
DE Benson Mayowa
WR Phillip Dorsett
DT Bruce Irvin
TE Greg Olsen
CB Quinton Dunbar
Notable Off-season Departures
Eagles
Seahawks
S Malcom Jenkins
S Bradley McDonald
CB Ronald Darby
DE Jadaveon Clowney
RB Jordan Howard
OT George Fant
WR Nelson Agholor
DL Quiton Jefferson
OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai
DL Al Woods
LB Kamu Grugler-Hill
OL Germain Ifedi
RB Darren Sproles
DE Ziggy Ansah
DT Timmy Jernigan
LB Mychal Kendricks
LB Nigel Bradham
Milestones
Eagles QB Carson Wentz (109) needs 1 passing TDs to take sole possession of 4th on the Eagles all-time passing yards list moving ahead of QB Norm Snead.
Eagles DT Fletcher Cox (52.5) needs 2 sacks to move up to 5th on the Eagles all-time sack list tying DE Hugh Douglas
Eagles DE Vinny Curry (29) needs 1 sacks to move up to 18th on the Eagles all-time sack list passing DT Jerome Brown
Stats to Know
Stat to Know: Bird is the Word
The average Bald Eagle's wingspan is considerably more than an Osprey's. The weight disparity between the two is even more pronounced, the male Bald Eagle doubling its counterpart's weight. So whereas Bald Eagles are known to harass Osprey nests and even steal Ospreys' food directly from them, this Philadelphia Eagles team is anything but average and is an embarrassment in the turnover department, currently third-to-last in turnover margin at -9, while the Seahawks are middle-of-the-pack at +1. A Bald Eagle is expected to be large, strong, agile, pesky, and majestic. The 2020 Philadelphia Eagles field 2 Cornerbacks 5'9 and under, they field undersized Linebackers and Safeties, and don't have a bruising Running Back to feature. They have been incapable of imposing their will on Offense or Defense. The only consistency shown in 2020 is in just how bad the team is, while still on top of the division. Some mornings I stare into the foggy mirror, with Lionel Richie's "Hello" playing on my Google speaker, and wonder what we've done to deserve this. Sad Eagles
Matchups to Watch
Russel Wilson vs. the Eagles Run Defense
This Eagles team has been woefully pathetic against the run this season, but even more so against opposing QBs who are not afraid to take off. Of the top 5 rushing performances against the Eagles defense this season 3 of them are QBs (Lamar Jackson and Daniel Jones 2x). Russell Wilson may turn 32 Sunday, but he is still a threat with his legs as he currently leads the Seahawks in rushing yards and is on pace for his second biggest rushing season in his career. Jim Schwartz has had zero answer the past 4 years against Russel Wilson and I don’t expect that to magically change on Monday. Schwartz best bet may be to spy Wilson with Rookie Davion Taylor, who has the athletic ability to keep up with Wilson, however Schwartz has failed to used spies on Wilson in the past, so if he makes a change in how it operates it will be a large evolution in his character which doesn’t seem realistic. I expect much of the same with Schwartz against Wilson on Monday, base Nickel defense with Cover-1 man and the corners playing 10 yards off to give easy outlets to Wilson.
A Moveable Object vs a Stoppable Force
If Philly wants to have any chance to win on Monday they are going to need to score points on the offensive side of the football, something they have failed to do regularly this season. Carson Wentz has been one of if not the worst QB in the NFL this season, at least the worst who hasn’t been benched yet. He has been a turn over machine and has been sacked the most in the NFL. But the offensive woes don’t lay solely at his feet, Doug Pederson has done Wentz no favors. Despite Wentz’s struggles Pederson has continued to lead on the QB, despite having one of the best running backs in the league who is averaging 5.7 yards per carry and has big play potential in Miles Sanders. It isn’t just that Pederson is abandoning the run, he is also calling a bland predictable offense which has failed to put his players in the best position to succeed. On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks have had issues stopping anyone this season, especially through the air where they rank dead last. They have given up an average of 343.7 yards per game. In recent weeks, they’ve been better in this area. They have given up over 300 passing yards just once in the last four games. If the Eagles have any shot to win Sunday, they need to win this matchup.
Carlos Dunlap vs Jordan Mailata
After Jason Peters gave up 3 sacks, 3 QB hits and 7 pressures in just 47 snaps before leaving the last game with an injury, he's thankfully moving to right guard somewhere he should have been after returning from the IR. This means Mailata will be back at LT where he was playing well before being benched for Peters return. He will face off against Carlos Dunlap who has 3 sacks in 3 games since joining the Seahawks. This is going to be the second time the Eagles faced Dunlap who in Week 3, had 4 pressures, 9 tackles, a QB hit, a TFL and a batted pass when facing Peters. If Mailata can play the way he was before he was wrongly benched by this inept coaching staff. Suring up Wentz’s backside should give him a little more confidence, something he has woefully lacked this season. This should be a good matchup against the young Mailata and the ageless vet in Dunlap.
Special thanks to abenyishay for their help in creating this Game Preview.
For the first time since 2013, no player received the 75% of votes needed for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Curt Schilling came the closest, appearing on 71.1% of ballots, and three This isn’t your normal MLB player prop pick. Check out the best picks and predictions and cash out the best bets! With two games about to kick off the season on Thursday, we present our best MLB prop bets at BetMGM, with a World Series pick at the end. Our favorite over/under win total bets . Scott Pianowski Finding the best MLB betting site for you can be an easy task as long as you know what you are looking for. It is in your best interest to only deal with the reliable and highly rated betting options that also includes composition and outstanding service. These top-priced betting options were chosen based off of extensive research, ranking the best site for better top-rated betting options Welcome to our MLB best bets section where we outline our top MLB play for the day. If you want all of our other MLB plays then head over to our MLB picks homepage.We have free daily picks for every game on the slate and a daily parlay. Best MLB Bets. MLB Futures Betting: 2020 AL MVP odds, picks and best bets. The American League's Most Valuable Player award will once again go through Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout, who has won the award three of... MLB / 10 months ago 2020 World Series Futures Betting: 3 sleeper bets to consider. Players have reported to the league's 30 spring training sites and Cactus League and Best MLB 2020 prop bets ahead of Opening Day By Jason Weingarten, VSiN. View author archive; Get author RSS feed; Most Popular Today 1 Ginger dishes on Mary Ann after 'Gilligan's Island' star's Today's Top Picks: Three MLB best bets include two underdogs and fading one playoff-clinching team Also, watch SportsLine on CBS Sports HQ live at 6 p.m. ET for all today's best bets MLB picks and MLB predictions every day of the 2020 season. Get free MLB expert picks for all 900 games of the shortened MLB regular season plus every game of the 2020 MLB Playoffs. Check out our MLB best bets for our top plays on today’s games. These are the best Opening Day moments in Cardinals history, both in St. Louis and on the road: 1. McGwire sparks historic homer season with grand slam March 31, 1998 Mark McGwire's ascension toward Roger Maris' single-season home run record began in grand style on Opening Day 1998, when his fifth-inning grand slam off Ramon Martinez sent the Cardinals to a 6-0 win over the Dodgers. It was the
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