Curb Co. vs. Sears

**recyclersteve** · 09-24-2018, 10:31 AM

This may sound rather strange, but it is a serious question to ponder. Which is worth more:

1) The sum of all Curb Co. stuff sitting outside houses in this country right now? or
2) The total value of Sears Holdings stores nationwide (Ticker: SHLD)?

Sears in 2007 was a $144 stock- today it is $1.17 as I write this. There is a really good chance they will declare bankruptcy in the near future.

Yes, the Curb Co. stuff is used for the most part, so you'd have to assign a fair market value based on it being used.

But I still think Curb Co. may actually be worth more than Sears. If true, that is a staggering thought!

**unknownk** · 09-24-2018, 05:54 PM

You are assuming the stuff people leave on the curb is functional and in decent cosmetic condition that it can be resold with no effort expended by the seller.

There are plenty of companies who's stocks are worth less then the sum of their holdings. People have made billions of dollars buying up companies to be taken apart and sold for a profit. Sears market cap is something like $135M while their real estate holdings (stores they own) was something like $2B in 2017 and still more then their stock currently.

**auminer** · 09-24-2018, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by unknownk

Sears market cap is something like $135M while their real estate holdings (stores they own) was something like $2B in 2017 and still more then their stock currently.

Kinda reminds me of Ask Jeeves in 2002-3ish. This was right after the dot bomb days when having a 'dotcom' at the end of your name went from people throwing money at you hand over fist (fogdog.com, anyone?) to having a dotcom at the end of your name meaning that ""Everyone KNEW"" you were going to go bankrupt.

Thing is, ASKJ was bouncing around 70-90 cents, and was losing money. 12 cents a share that year, and forecast loss of 6 cents the following year.

But they had no debt and $2.17 cash on hand. Every share was backed by 300% MORE CASH than it was trading at.

I looked at it 8 ways from Sunday and couldn't find one reason not to buy the stock. (other than that it was literally a penny stock of an unprofitable company! LOL)

I loaded up and convinced the fund's head manager to buy some as well, though he was leery of "loading up'.

Within a year it went to $3 and I sold a goodly chunk of mine, sold the rest at 25, and it went as high as 42 before the company was bought out at 28.

A penny stock dotbomb was my best ever investment. It made our funds investors a pretty penny and got me the boss' ear for a couple of other high-risk/high-reward plays. TIMET being the best one. (Who buys a company that just went 1:12 reverse split??? NOONE! (But I did))

I would have to look at SHLD, particularly to see if there are any debt or bondholders in line ahead of stockholders, but yeah, it could be the same kind of deal: irrationally pessimistic market creating an opportunity for a savvy, nimble, THINKING investor.

Sometimes I miss those days, but I love being alive more.

**RLS0812** · 09-24-2018, 08:57 PM

You need to buy the preferred stock if you plan on trying to capitalize on the bankruptcy ( assuming the stock is cheap enough ).
Sometimes folks make a lot of $ buying bonds at the last possible second before a company goes under.

At any rate, I have no clue how someone with less than $50,000 USD can trade in the pink sheets without massive fees .

**recyclersteve** · 09-24-2018, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by auminer

TIMET being the best one. (Who buys a company that just went 1:12 reverse split??? NOONE! (But I did))

I agree that reverse splits can be the death of a company. Look at Dryships (DRYS)- their split adjusted price not that many years ago was in the millions of dollars PER SHARE. One that was a notable exception was Priceline.com (PCLN). I remember when they did a 1:10 reverse split. The stock was around $10 a share- now it is $1,900+. Even factoring in inflation, that is a staggering return. Note that Priceline.com recently changed their name to Booking Holdings (BKNG).

I follow the markets pretty closely, but have to admit that I have no clue who TIMET is or what their symbol is. Can you shed some light on this one?

**auminer** · 09-24-2018, 11:13 PM

Titanium Metals Inc. No longer public.

I misremembered, it was a 10:1 reverse split in 2003.

**recyclersteve** · 09-28-2018, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by auminer

Titanium Metals Inc. No longer public.

I misremembered, it was a 10:1 reverse split in 2003.

Titanium Metals was acquired by Precision Castparts, and PCP was acquired by none other than Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway. I saw the PCP booth at his annual meeting in Omaha in May, 2017. They had one impressive booth.

Going home to the hotel one night after the meeting I stopped at the Nebraska/Iowa state line to take a picture of the "Welcome to Iowa" sign. I have a collection of these photos from my travels. Just as I was getting ready to snap the photo, I noticed something on the ground very close to me- perhaps 5-6 feet away. It was a porcupine! Yikes- I'm glad he didn't shoot at me! That would have ruined the trip.