Best Shortman Studios Podcasts (2024)

1
China Stocks and Boeing, And Whether To Venture Into Troubled Waters 1:17:30

6M ago1:17:30

1:17:30

Our second podcast of this week and 2024 covers companies not priced for perfection, but that instead have struggled. We start with China stocks, and the question of whether China is uninvestible. We go into Akram's July 2023 Alibaba trade views and how that was also an investment thesis. We also talk about the connected nature of global economics …

1
Semiconductors: The Hottest Commodity On Earth (Or At Least Trading Like It) 1:08:48

6M ago1:08:48

1:08:48

The chip sector has been Hansel-level hot to start 2024. AMD and Nvidia have jumped 14% and 21% respectively in 2024, the SOXX ETF is up 8% in the last week, and the AI theme of 2023 is still driving things to start 2024. What does this say about the sector, and why is it like being a favorite to win the Super Bowl? We discuss the excitement, the b…

1
2023’s Big Finish: Where do we Stand? Is this another 2021? What makes sense? 1:00:02

7M ago1:00:02

1:00:02

Hey! We're back! It's been a while, but with 2023 finishing in such a one-direction flourish, we wanted to pick up the mic again. Akram and Daniel talk about what to make of the market's triumphal 2023. We cover the overall vibes in the market, but also get into the weeds on stocks like Nvidia, Micron, Docusign, Zoom, and even Alteryx and Roku, as …

1
The AI Rally: Sorting out Heft from Hype 1:07:54

1y ago1:07:54

1:07:54

It's been a while since we've posted a Razor's Edge episode, and a lot has happened! A whole banking crisis came and went and apparently is all resolved (?). More relevant to the sort of things we talk about, the Nasdaq has returned to full bull market mode, powered by the excitement around generative AI, as best embodied by Nvidia's smashing earni…

1
The 2023 Market’s Squeezy, Trashy, Inevitable Start to the Year 1:07:29

1+ y ago1:07:29

1:07:29

It’s been a funky start to the year, as a dash for trash rally has extended into a not as bad as expected earnings rally, and now it’s easy to be wrongfooted. We dive into this market, including how markets don't go straight to zero, no matter what December felt like; how recessions take a long time to play out; what we can learn from moves in Twil…

1
Docusign, Zoom, MongoDB, and the SaaS Circle of Life 46:39

1+ y ago46:39

46:39

On this week's The Razor's Edge, we talk about software as a service and how the market seems to repeat the same patterns over and over. Those patterns include: Taking the last three months and the next three months and extrapolating far into the future Ignoring valuation until it's too late to ignore valuation Searching for silver bullet explanati…

1
Compound248 on Twitter’s New Era and the SBF/FTX Meltdown 1:42:47

1+ y ago1:42:47

1:42:47

All-star guest Compound248 joins us to follow up on a wild week in the markets. We talk Elon Musk’s high volume start as owner of Twitter and the SBF, FTX, crypto crisis. Akram's Razor and Compound go back and forth on the import for the cryptosphere, why Elon and team could have taken easier shots on goal, and break down what breaking the buck mea…

1
Meta’s Crash And Tricky Position, and the Slowing of AWS and Public Cloud Growth 1:39:32

1+ y ago1:39:32

1:39:32

Last week was a big week in tech, so we’re back with an episode on two of the biggest stories. First, (2:40 minute mark) we break down Meta Platforms’ bummer of an earnings result and why it shouldn’t have been so surprising. What choice does Zuck have and where is the business heading? We then (57:00) get into Amazon and AWS’s disappointing quarte…

1
The Latest SaaS Turns: Okta, MDB, Veeva, and Twilio and the Challenges for SaaS 2.0 1:10:07

2y ago1:10:07

1:10:07

Q2 earnings season has delivered many surprises on the one hand and continuations of trends on the other hand. For SaaS companies, that has meant continued drifting. Last week, Okta, MDB, and Veeva reported, and we break down each of those companies on this week's the Razor's Edge (you can also read Akram's take here). We get into the challenges ea…

1
Roku’s Wipeout and whether the Black Box will Open 1:13:02

2y ago1:13:02

1:13:02

Roku's dud of a quarter echoed both Snap's report from the week earlier and the start of the pandemic as the sudden advertising slowdown hit them as well. The issues with Roku go beyond the quarter, starting primarily with how much harder it is to understand the details of their business. Will this quarter force a change? And what else does the adv…

1
Twitter Trial Breakdown 1:44:54

2y ago1:44:54

1:44:54

It’s all happening: Elon Musk filed to terminate his deal to buy Twitter, Twitter sued him for specific performance, and now the trials begin. Today, not a trial actually but a hearing to see whether the trial should take place on Twitter’s requested timeline, in September, or Musk’s requested timeline, in February. Still, the two sides are startin…

1
The Bear Market Is Here: What Next? 58:53

2y ago58:53

58:53

On this week’s The Razor’s Edge, we talk about the bear market. It’s here, it’s real, so now what? Neither Akram nor Daniel are in an apocalyptic mood, so we explain why we’re not, what green shoots there are on the supply side, what risks there are on the demand side, how this echoes 2020 (or not), how much crypto contagion worries us, and why it’…

1
The 2022 Whipsaw Market and the Hedgehog: Retail Stocks, Tech, and More 1:12:09

2y ago1:12:09

1:12:09

This week's episode picks up where last week's The Razor's Edge episode left off. We talk the current whipsaw/whiplash macro environment, where a smaller, often over optimistic social media company can trigger a panic, and then news that is no worse than expected can fire up a bear market rally. We discuss tech stocks, retail stocks, and whether it…

1
The Twitter Endgame, Again: Logic & Legality 1:07:38

2y ago1:07:38

1:07:38

In part two of our recording this week, we get to Elon Musk and Twitter. Both because how can we not at this point, as the drama continues to unfurl, and also because Akram makes the case for this as a good merger arb play given the strength of contract law. We talk about whether Musk can work his way out of this and why Akram thinks he can’t, and …

1
Growth Stocks Approaching a Bottom? 1:07:54

2y ago1:07:54

1:07:54

Markets are in turmoil, and we almost busted out the siren. But instead of commemorating the second bear market in the Razor's Edge's lifetime, we focused on whether, actually, growth stocks might have bottomed. In an episode recorded Sunday, May 22nd, we talk about the growth stock washout, whether sentiment or operating momentum has bottomed, whe…

1
The Changing Story At Juniper, A Rare 2022 Tech Winner 45:10

2y ago45:10

45:10

Tech as a sector has been a theme of the Razor's Edge from the beginning. Tech as a sector to avoid has been a theme of the Razor's Edge for at least the last few months. While there have been exceptions and nuances to the sector, the market has shown little interest in nuance, as this week's earnings have made clear. Juniper Networks, an old dot c…

1
Twitter’s Endgame 46:05

2y ago46:05

46:05

We planned to do another episode this week, but on a different tech stock. We did indeed record that episode, but at the same time, with all the developments around Twitter - the board's adoption of a poison pill, Elon Musk's discussion of his bid during a Ted talk, and Jack Dorsey's subtweets of the board, among other things - we decided to discus…

1
The Consumer Goods Cliff, and also Elon Musk and Twitter 1:20:12

2+ y ago1:20:12

1:20:12

A lot has happened since we last published a Razor’s Edge episode: the outbreak of war, increased Fed hawkishness, and continued market volatility. We pick up the thread we’ve been following for some time, though: how to understand ‘normalized’ earnings power and behavior amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the global response, and all the knock-on effec…

1
The Tail Wagging the Dog: Big Tech Earnings And the 2022 Market 1:17:09

2+ y ago1:17:09

1:17:09

Last week was a wild one. Given we’re not in a period of acute crisis, and that the market finished higher on the week, the swings from Wednesday to Thursday to Friday were especially pronounced, even before you throw in Monday’s comeback rally. The triggers to those moves? At least on the surface, big tech earnings. To figure out what’s happening …

1
New Year, Same Trading? Breaking Down The Bumpy Start To 2022 1:53:23

2+ y ago1:53:23

1:53:23

Happy New Year! Though this week’s The Razor’s Edge touches on what may not be the happiest start for people investing in software names or tech more generally. So what’s going on? We throw together a bit of recent and longer-term history, a bit of market sentiment analysis, and some opinions on what might still work, to see why a shift has been co…

1
Twitter‘s CEO Change And The Market Whirlwinds Around The Company 55:48

2+ y ago55:48

55:48

We pick up this week's conversation where last week's (and so many of our past episodes left off) - what about Twitter, at this price, in this economy? We talk about the succession decision and why the set-up for the incoming CEO, intentionally set or not, is pretty attractive. We talk about Elliott Management's role in all this, and what they migh…

1
The Docusign Sell-Off And The Latest Market Veer 56:45

2+ y ago56:45

56:45

Docusign’s sell-off on Friday and the corresponding market (and Nasdaq) sell-off are the latest sign of market uncertainty. No one knows anything – as Monday’s rally reminds us – but the question is whether we know we don’t know. In this week’s The Razor’s Edge, we focus on the uncertainty in the market, the importance of valuation even when growth…

1
The Future Of Compute: Naveen Rao on How The AI Landscape Has Changed 1:21:28

2+ y ago1:21:28

1:21:28

We wrap up our Future of Compute series with a leading force in the field, Naveen Rao. Rao founded Nervana Systems, the first next-gen AI chip company, which he sold to Intel. He then drove Intel's AI road map before stepping down from the company in 2020, and just recently announced the founding of MosaicML, an AI startup focused on making algorit…

1
Peloton‘s Stock Dropping Back To The Pack: A Bad Sign, An Opportunity, Or Both? 1:20:47

2+ y ago1:20:47

1:20:47

This week we take a break from our Future of Compute series on the Razor’s Edge to talk Peloton. In an earnings season full of big moves and surprises, Peloton's downhill fall has been one of the headline events. As we mention on the call, who would imagine that COVID would still be a part of our lives, but Zoom and Peloton shares would be flat fro…

1
The Future Of Compute: Cerebras‘s CFO, Tony Maslowski, On The Fragmenting AI Market 1:05:03

2+ y ago1:05:03

1:05:03

The accelerating growth in the AI market requires different approaches from the hardware side. Cerebras's approach is that size matters and bigger is better: the company's massive wafer chip is the base of its AI intentions. CFO Tony Maslowski discusses the company's core insights and how that positions them to compete in the market. Maslowski, the…

1
The Future of Compute: Ampere Computing‘s CPO, Jeff Wittich, On The Data Center Chip Industry 1:05:56

2+ y ago1:05:56

1:05:56

The semiconductor industry is in a period of transition. Supply chain problems and questions over whether we are now in a secular growth environment; changing leadership as Intel loses ground and Taiwan Semiconductor, Nvidia, and even a new generation of start-ups stake out a claim; and the new demands posed by Artificial Intelligence and its burge…

1
The Market Misperceptions Around Alibaba, Stitch Fix, And Twitter 1:21:45

3y ago1:21:45

1:21:45

*** Before you listen, there is a The Razor's Edge newsletter now available. Written by Akram's Razor, the Razor's Edge will come out at least twice a month and include ideas, analysis, macro input, and the insights you would expect from this podcast. Check it out at: https://the-razors-edge.ghost.io *** We revisit three The Razor's Edge names from…

1
PagerDuty‘s Present And Future Growth With CFO Howard Wilson 46:06

3y ago46:06

46:06

*** Before you listen, there is a The Razor's Edge newsletter now available. Written by Akram's Razor, the Razor's Edge will come out at least twice a month and include ideas, analysis, macro input, and the insights you would expect from this podcast. Check it out at: https://the-razors-edge.ghost.io *** PagerDuty has been a regular topic on The Ra…

1
Travel Stocks Like Booking And Boeing Set For Another Take-Off 1:14:33

3y ago1:14:33

1:14:33

The quick hit re-open trade of January/February came and went. The U.S. is facing the delta variant of COVID-19 in full, which has shaken out some of the fast money from the travel sector. And yet... On this week's The Razor's Edge, we talk about why we think, in different ways, that the travel stocks are set up well for this year and beyond. There…

1
Covid-Era Comps Begin: A Look At Netflix's And Twitter's Earnings 1:14:18

3y ago1:14:18

1:14:18

Earnings season this quarter comes with a special kick. It’s the first one lapping full COVID comps, which means we can start to see what the wonky pull forward or shut down year ago will do to company’s reports, and how the market will respond. We focus today on Netflix and Twitter, two of our old standbys. On the one hand, they had opposite quart…

1
After Didi Global: Are Chinese Stocks Investable? 1:11:53

3y ago1:11:53

1:11:53

The Didi Global IPO feels like a fiasco - company goes public one week, gets booted from the app store by Chinese regulators the next. With RLX Technology undergoing a similar crackdown earlier this year, and with Ant Financial still being kept off the market, and with concerns around Jack Ma's well-being in light of his criticism of the government…

1
Short-Selling In 2021: Beware The Crowded Trade, And Eyes On Nvidia 1:14:19

3y ago1:14:19

1:14:19

"I'd rather short a real company than a fraud or a meme stock." Akram's Razor made this case on a recent Twitter Space, and we unpack the point on today's episode of the Razor's Edge. In a year when many short-sellers have been run over by trains, and have the AMC and GME shaped scars to prove it, betting against a popular, universally loved name m…

1
Fed Reaction and the (Re)-Rise of SaaS 1:23:11

3y ago1:23:11

1:23:11

Last week's Fed meeting played to expectations - slightly tougher talk, limited changes in policy. The market's reaction was to pile back into the Covid winners, which meant SaaS stocks among others. So for today's episode, we follow up on our Fed discussion from last week, talking their decision and the market and media reaction. We then move over…

1
Meme Stonks Part Deux: AMC, Algos, and The Fed 1:24:53

3y ago1:24:53

1:24:53

We've seen this movie before, but it still doesn't really make sense: a group of traders has taken up the cause of inflating the stock price of a motley bunch of stocks, including AMC as the most prominent company this time around. There are hints of financial populism as there were with GameStop in January, but this time it feels more like pure fi…

1
The Yalla Buzz And The Back Talk 1:07:36

3y ago1:07:36

1:07:36

A couple weeks ago, Akram released a short thesis on Yalla, calling out an odd business model and then some major issues with the platform - duplicative accounts, low engagement, glitches with the gifting model, etc. On this week's episode we recap that short thesis for those who haven't heard it yet, but then we also go into the aftermath. What's …

1
Transitory Inflation Vs. The Looming End Of Covid 52:15

3y ago52:15

52:15

Inflation realities and fears struck the market last week, sending indices lower and helping drive the Nasdaq's 3rd consecutive losing week. At least that's the straightforward read, but as with so much of the market, there could be other things going on. While many are talking about the CPI report, the CDC's updated mask guidance is a reminder tha…

1
The Big Tech Ticket: The Calculus Behind Facebook's Oversight Board And The Trump Decision 44:23

3y ago44:23

44:23

We're sharing the debut episode of a new Shortman Studios podcast, The Big Tech Ticket. The show, hosted by veteran journalist James Rogers, will cover many of the topics you hear on The Razor's Edge, but from a different angle. AI, semiconductor supply chain, antitrust, all the big issues facing tech and our society today, from the perspective of …

1
Opening The Box On Stitch Fix's Bull Case Amidst A Rocky Year 55:23

3y ago55:23

55:23

On this week’s The Razor’s Edge, we’re talking Stitch Fix. The e-commerce apparel retailer has had quite a six months – a strong earnings report in December sent shares higher, propelled perhaps by high short interest in the name. That high short interest took on rocket fuel in January amidst the Gamestop frenzy. The air came out of the shares, and…

1
The Semiconductor Shortages And Why Building Foundries Might Not Solve It All 1:01:57

3y ago1:01:57

1:01:57

Semiconductor shortages have been one of the big economic themes emerging in 2021, in our ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ pandemic stage. We have to mention the pandemic because that’s a proximate cause of many of the shortages and supply chain issues that have beset the semiconductor industry and many others. The Auto industry has been a headline…

1
Season 2 Bonus Episode 2: A Reading Of The Wasteland 27:30

3+ y ago27:30

27:30

As listeners will know, A Positive Jam Season 2 host Shawn Westfall has called Separation Sunday our generation's The Wasteland, and so our final bonus episode of the season puts that to the test. We read T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland in a Craig Finn-inspired voice. We think and hope you will enjoy it as another lens on the wisdom of The Hold Steady. …

1
The Last Thing We Needed: Breaking Down the Archegos Capital Blowup 1:10:44

3+ y ago1:10:44

1:10:44

The Archegos Capital blow-up at the end of Q1 marked the second huge non-fundamental market event, mirroring the GameStop/Melvin Capital/vintage investing short squeeze dynamics of January. While these can feel like localized events, making or spoiling GSX or VIAC investors' quarters, they at the very least offer important reminders of risk managem…

1
Season 2 Bonus Episode 1: Dictating Doxologies With Father Christian Raab 47:04

3+ y ago47:04

47:04

In our first of two bonus episodes for Season 2, we welcome Father Christian Raab, a Catholic Priest and scholar who also has a musical and Midwestern background, which gives him quite the perspective on Separation Sunday. We talk about beauty, man and God searching for each other, female mystics, the strings of baptism, other St. Theresas, and, so…

1
Season 2 Track 11: How A Resurrection Really Feels 52:28

3+ y ago52:28

52:28

We're crashing the Easter mass, hair done up in broken glass, and despite what the mural says up on East 13th (which one?) we're going to walk on back. For the last track of Separation Sunday, we do one of our closest readings, wondering about video booths and redemption, amen cadences and calm and collected priests. Somehow we span from Wilco to M…

1
March Madness: PagerDuty Earnings, Just Eat Takeaway Ready For Pick Up, and GoPro or Go Home 1:23:05

3+ y ago1:23:05

1:23:05

This week’s the Razor’s Edge takes a March Madness theme, as we break down a bracket of ideas. We start off with PagerDuty, breaking down their very solid Q4 report and FY 2022 guidance, as well as the swagger management had on the call. Then we each pitch a new idea. Daniel talks up the favorable economics of Just Eat Takeaway (in the process of b…

1
Streaming Endgame, The fuboTV Bear Case, And The Rise Of Audio With Andrew Freedman 1:18:26

3+ y ago1:18:26

1:18:26

One of our regular areas of focus on the Razor’s Edge is the streaming space, and there are few people who are following that space as closely as Andrew Freedman of Hedgeye. To the point where his name has come up on our episodes more than once. So it was long overdue to have him join the Razor’s Edge to share what he’s seeing. We focus on what’s g…

1
Season 2 Track 10: Crucifixion Cruise 48:23

3+ y ago48:23

48:23

"Crucifixion Cruise" is the briefest track on Separation Sunday, and arguably both the most forgettable and the biggest sign of concept album excess on the album. But! But there are some serious questions the song poses that we try to put our mouth around, like: What's the difference between a poem and a song? Why is it good that this is a concept …

1
Covid Conundrum: Zoom's Earnings, Bellwether Warnings, and PagerDuty Preview 1:15:26

3+ y ago1:15:26

1:15:26

Just over a year ago, we released an episode of The Razor’s Edge called Correction City. As we lap the beginning of the pandemic, we also are starting to glimpse the end, and the market is starting to look like a long, strange trip. Bellwethers are moving lower, rotations are happening, and 40% revenue growth guidance isn't what it used to be. We t…

1
Season 2 Track 9: Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night 1:04:54

3+ y ago1:04:54

1:04:54

Hard rocking blues, scene reports and literary or religious spirits, and one of the tightest cover bands we've ever heard: "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night" has a lot going on. And since Craig Finn told us what to celebrate, we invited a special guest to join us: Matthew Hess, founder of the famed Clicks and Hisses Hold Steady fan resource. He join…

1
Ramp Co-Founder Karim Atiyeh On The Corporate Spend Market And Ramp's Position 1:25:07

3+ y ago1:25:07

1:25:07

This week on the Razor's Edge, we speak with Karim Atiyeh, a serial fintech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Ramp, a fast-growing spend management fintech company. He talks about the company's positioning and alignment with customers, what he learned from his time at Capital One after the credit card giant acquired his previous company, and wh…

1
Season 2 Track 8: Don't Let Me Explode 42:00

3+ y ago42:00

42:00

Everything is corroding, so we're hitting the road. Well, we never made it to Los Angeles, and Jackie O warned us off of Dallas, but on The Hold Steady's "Don't Let Me Explode", a doo wop dance across the country, we find ourselves talking about curveballs, Rage Against the Machine, things falling apart, and, most of all, the Upper Midwest. It's no…

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