Fresh round of company write-ups from Substack worth reading, all published within the last week.
Not my work - sourced from Giles Capital's weekly compilation: [https://gilescapital.substack.com](https://gilescapital.substack.com)
# Americas
**Wolf of Oakville** on [**ADF Group**](https://www.wolfofoakville.com/p/adf-group-inc-drxto-fins-review) (🇨🇦 DRX TSX - CAD$294m)
Structural steel fabricator, 9.9x earnings, $646m contracted backlog after a record quarter. It quietly reshuffled to 72% Canadian clients as US tariffs hit. Founders own 51%.
**Karst Research** on [**Titan America**](https://karstresearch.substack.com/p/titan-america-ttam) (🇺🇸 TTAM US - US$2.9bn)
East Coast cement producer at 8x EV/EBIT, generating mid-teens returns on capital. The Keystone Cement acquisition just added 990,000 tons of capacity and 50 years of mineral reserves.
**Rijnberk Invest Insights** on [**Synopsys**](https://rijnberkinvestinsights.substack.com/p/whoever-wins-the-chip-war-synopsys) (🇺🇸 SNPS US - US$91bn)
Electronic design automation, the software that makes chip design possible. Whoever wins the chip war, Synopsys gets paid. Trades at 31x earnings with net debt of $7.5bn.
**Rebound Capital** on [**Lululemon Athletica**](https://reboundcapital.substack.com/p/deep-dive-lululemon-lulu) (🇨🇦 LULU US - US$13.8bn)
Premium athletic apparel brand off its 2023 highs. Rebound Capital's case is that the China slowdown and North America plateau are temporary. Worth watching if margins recover toward historical levels.
**TQI Capital** on [**Ollie's Bargain Outlet**](https://valueb9b.substack.com/p/olli-when-the-weather-takes-the-blame) (🇺🇸 OLLI US - US$5.2bn)
US off-price retailer with 550+ stores at 18x earnings. Two soft quarters blamed on poor weather. The article asks whether this is a buying opportunity or a business in decline.
**The Pursuit of Compounding** on [**MarineMax**](https://thepursuitofcompounding.substack.com/p/marinemax-when-the-sharks-smell-blood) (🇺🇸 HZO US - US$758m)
America's largest specialty boat dealership, carrying net debt well above its market cap after a rate-driven sales collapse. Three percent insider ownership. The Pursuit of Compounding sees a contrarian entry.
**0xAnalysis** on [**Optimum Communications ($OPTU)**](https://0xanalysis.substack.com/p/optimum-communications-optu-short) (🇨🇦 OPTU NYSE - US$505m) SHORT
Canadian telecoms company. The author argues the balance sheet is more fragile than it appears and debt covenants require a level of operating performance the historical data has not consistently delivered.
**PP Invest** on [**Serabi Gold**](https://ppinvest007.substack.com/p/margin-explosion-and-transformation) (🇧🇷 SRB LN - US$342m) TOP PICK
Brazilian gold miner growing output 20% year-on-year, trading at 6x earnings. No debt and $64m cash. Record gold prices are widening margins faster than consensus expects.
# Europe, Middle East & Africa
**Rock & Turner** on [**Wise Group**](https://rockandturner.substack.com/p/wise-the-holy-grail-investment) (🇬🇧 WISE LN - £16.8bn)
Cross-border payments platform processing $243bn in annual volume, growing 27%. Management is now applying for a US national bank charter to move beyond payment rails into deposits.
**Crack the Market** on [**Umicore**](https://crackthemarket.substack.com/p/umicore-the-cash-came-back-before) (🇧🇪 UMI BB - €6.5bn)
Belgian materials group supplying both battery chemicals and catalytic converters. Cash generation has recovered ahead of schedule. Trades at 15x earnings with €1.5bn net debt.
# Asia-Pacific
**8 Percent Per Annum** on [**Trend Micro**](https://8percentpa.substack.com/p/investment-idea-33-trend-micro-activist) (🇯🇵 4704 JP - ¥787bn)
Japanese cybersecurity firm with $1.5bn in net cash, trading at 21x earnings. An activist investor is pushing for capital returns. Four analysts cover it, mostly locally.
**Deep Value Capital by Kyler** on [**Cochlear**](https://deepvaluecapitalbykyler.substack.com/p/cochlear-coh-deep-dive) (🇦🇺 COH AU - AUD$6.6bn)
Australian maker of cochlear implants and global market leader in a high-barrier niche. Trades at 20x earnings. The recurring upgrade revenue from each implant underpins the long-term valuation.
**Continuous Compounding** on [**Oricon**](https://continuouscompounding.substack.com/p/unveiling-my-highest-conviction-stock) (🇯🇵 4800 JP - ¥13.5bn) TOP PICK
Japan's music charts data company, trading at 4.4x EV/EBIT with net cash equal to 35% of market cap. A management buyout at 1,332 yen per share looms over the thesis.
