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BIG: Closing Out BIG Short Idea With a 61.0% Gain and 90.6% Alpha Generation; Core Thesis Remains Intact

August 15th, 2019

Approximately 3-years ago we introduced BIG as a short idea. Our thesis at that time was as follows:   The financial benefits of gaining access to EBT/SNAP benefits and the introduction of Easy Leasing...

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BIG: What Would You Do?

August 31st, 2018

Somewhere in the Bay Area right now, a seasoned executive in the retail space sits in his office with a furrowed brow and clenched hands as he contemplates his move back to Ohio.  West Point grads are known for their tenacity in tackling a challenge, so there’s little doubt that Bruce...

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BIG: A Troubling Fact Pattern Emerges as Thesis Creep Sets in For Longs

March 9th, 2018

Heading into BIG’s 4Q17 earnings release, we thought the company would be able to generate positive comps, albeit lower than consensus, but would struggle to generate the kind of operating leverage on meager SSS growth it has achieved over...

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BIG: Will Unrelenting Competitive Pressures and Rising Cost Inflation Finally Lead to Massive EPS Degradation?

February 28th, 2018

Presumably BIG will report 4Q17 earnings results on Friday morning.  At this stage, the company has not yet announced an official reporting date which is somewhat unusual.  Historically, BIG has...

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BIG: A Low Quality Earnings Beat Is the Least Worrisome of the Red Flags

December 4th, 2017

Expanded square footage, broader product offerings and SKU sets (gray!), more liberal down payment options through Progressive, and the Big Lots private label credit card couldn’t prevent BIG from witnessing massive deceleration in growth...

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BIG: After Months of Frustration We Now Can See the Beginning of the End

August 25th, 2017

“I guess the best thing that I can say is from a strategic standpoint, Seasonal and Furniture and Soft Home seem to be categories that not everybody is focused on.” Timothy A. Johnson, Big Lots CFO, 8/25/17 2Q17 Earnings Conf....

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BIG: The Days of Leveraging Without Comps Are Over and the Implications Should Concern BIG Investors

March 3rd, 2017

“There is always a heavy demand for fresh mediocrity. In every generation the least cultivated taste has the largest appetite.” Paul Gauguin Following another 90-minute conference call in which...

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BIG: Celebrating Mediocrity, While Investors Are Left to Ponder How Long Financial Engineering Can Prop Up EPS,...

December 5th, 2016

“It's just that I've never seen people celebrate mediocrity the way you do.” Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro). Meet the Fockers. Dir. Jay Roach. Universal Studios 2004. For...

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BIG: Financial Engineering Has Run Its Course and “Jennifer” Is Nowhere to Be Found; Time to Get Short

August 25th, 2016

“Financial engineering is the use of mathematical techniques to solve financial problems. Financial engineering uses tools and knowledge from the fields of computer science, statistics, economics and applied...

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Current Ideas

EXPI

SELL/SHORT

$4

HUSQ.B

SELL

$50

UFPI

SELL/SHORT

$45

TREX

SHORT

$18

PRDO

SELL/SHORT

$5

STRA

SELL/SHORT

$42

CWH

LONG

$75

OSTK

LONG

$128

CM

SELL/SHORT

$50

RY

SELL/SHORT

$50

ARC

LONG

$5.50

AYI

SHORT

$50

BIG

SHORT

$28

WWE

LONG

$65

XOXO

LONG

$37

RLGY

PAIR TRADE

$10

RDFN

PAIR TRADE

$30

BCO

LONG

$35

ING.PA

SHORT

$35

TRUP

SELL/SHORT

$10

CTC

SHORT

$101

ATGE

SHORT

$15

HCG.TO

SHORT

$0

RON.TO

SHORT

$9

ESI

SHORT

$0

BGG

PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC

25%

TTC

PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC

25%

Z

SHORT

$14.00

NA.TO

SHORT

$22

ZU

SHORT

$15

TRLA

SHORT

$20

MCRS

SHORT

$31

APOL

SHORT

$35

OPEN

SHORT

$30

KNL

PAIR - LONG KNL/SHORT MLHR

25%

CSGP

SHORT

$100

GCA

LONG

$8

IPSU

LONG

$20

MLHR

SHORT

$22

LOOP

PAIR - LONG CSGP/SHORT LOOP

40%

THQI

LONG

$35

WPO

SHORT

$275

COCO

SHORT

$0

HNI

SIG

RGR