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Up Close With CVS

A 10k means different things to different people. For some, to use what I think is a British term, it's a footrace. If you're thinking rings, it's a measure of the purity of gold. For others, a not-so-breezy 100+ page annual report that's filed with the SEC by US-listed companies, full of footnotes, official risks, financial statements, a business overview, legal proceedings, and more. It's not the same as the glossy annual report, which, though it shows numbers, and uniquely and usefully, the ...

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Time Frames and Adjusted EBITDA

Corporate earnings calls are dry but can be entertaining. There are the rare "boring boneheaded questions are not cool" Elon Musk type comments. There was a lively moment yesterday on FedEx's earnings call when a Deutsche Bank analyst started the Q&A session by asking CEO Fred Smith about "balancing capital investments and returns," given negative cash flow numbers while reporting 17% adjusted earnings growth. His answer: "the perspective of Wall Street is always give me the money; perspecti ...

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March’s Index

As a tip of the hat to the beautiful Harper's Index, here is the March Index on cool, interesting, and thought-provoking stats related to healthcare and finance. Change in hospital discharges per 1,000 in the US since 1999: -10%. Hospital discharges per 1,000: 111 Reduction in hospital beds per 1,000 since 1999: -17%; as of 2017: 2.5; in 1999: 3.0 The median hospital beds per 1,000 for the 15 states that don't have certificate of need (CON) laws: 2.2 For CON states: 2.5 Total ...

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Healthcare Advice On An Index Card

Harold Pollack is a University of Chicago professor famously said: "that the best (financial) advice for most people would fit on an index card." He and writer Helaine Olen ironically wrote a whole book The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicatedabout the expanded topic. I haven't read it yet. The card that inspired the book is below. Twitter version: contribute to your 401(k). Limit fees. Invest. Save. Don't have dumb debt. Live below your means.   ...