Discover the art of investing in undervalued companies

  • Investing in unloved, mispriced companies can be profitable
  • Value investors look for businesses that are undervalued
  • Small-cap and medium-size companies can offer growth opportunities
  • Builders FirstSource and Tidewater are two stock picks from the veteran manager
  • Energy services and offshore oil and gas fields present growth potential
  • North America offers competitive advantages for companies over Europe
  • Investors should consider the metamorphosis of the old economy

Investing in unloved, mispriced companies can be a profitable strategy, according to veteran manager Bob Robotti. As a value investor, Robotti looks for businesses that are undervalued and have excellent growth opportunities. He tends to focus on small-cap and medium-size companies, which can offer significant growth potential. Two stock picks from Robotti include Builders FirstSource and Tidewater. Builders FirstSource has seen its market capitalization soar from $200 million to $20 billion, while Tidewater has returned 95% in 2023. Robotti also sees opportunities in the energy services sector, particularly in offshore oil and gas fields. He believes that North America offers competitive advantages for companies over Europe, thanks to lower energy costs. Investors should also consider the metamorphosis of the old economy, as cyclical businesses go through constant processes of oversupply, weakness, capacity shutdowns, and consolidation.

Public Companies: Builders FirstSource (BLDR), Tidewater (TDW), Tesla (TSLA), IBM (IBM), AT&T (T), General Dynamics (GD), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Baker Hughes (BKR), Netflix (NFLX), Texas Instruments (TXN), ASML (ASML), eBay (EBAY), SAP (SAP), United (UAL), Boeing (BA), Nvidia (NVDA), Digital World Acquisition (DWAC), NIO (NIO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Apple (AAPL), Alibaba (BABA), Plug Power (PLUG), Amazon.com (AMZN)
Private Companies:
Key People: Bob Robotti (Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Robotti & Co., Managing Director at Ravenswood Management Co.)


Factuality Level: 3
Justification: The article contains a mix of relevant and irrelevant information. It discusses the investment strategies of Bob Robotti and provides examples of companies he has invested in. However, it also includes unrelated information about stock futures, market performance, and other companies’ earnings. The article lacks depth and analysis, and it is unclear how reliable the information is.

Noise Level: 3
Justification: The article contains a lot of noise and filler content, such as market performance data and unrelated news updates. It also lacks scientific rigor and intellectual honesty, as it relies heavily on the opinions and experiences of one investor without providing evidence or data to support the claims made.

Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: The article discusses the performance of the S&P 500 and various stocks, including Tesla and Netflix, which could impact financial markets and companies.

Presence of Extreme Event: No
Nature of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating of the Extreme Event: No
Justification: The article primarily focuses on the performance of financial markets and companies, with no mention of any extreme events.

Reported publicly: www.marketwatch.com