Less Than Meets The Eye

Avatar photo Doug Kass on July 9, 2026

* S&P EPS growth, that is….

The business media has been ecstatic about strong, aggregate S&P EPS growth – serving as the foundation of the bullish argument.

But, take out Micron ($MU) and Nvidia’s ($NVDA) earnings, all the non recurring gains (in the hyperscalers) from unrealized investment gains coupled with the (one time) energy sector contributions (from much higher oil prices – which will likely become more difficult two quarters out) – and things look much different and far less robust.

Positions: None 

Examining ‘Group Stink’

Avatar photo Doug Kass on July 8, 2026

* And fading it…

I don’t own and am currently short (and have been recently short C, JPM, GS, MS, UBER, NFLX, homebuilders, etc.) some of the most consensus sectors.

I am long some of the most non-consensus sectors.

Consensus Longs:

* Memory: SanDisk ($SNDK), Micron ($MU), Intel ($INTC), AMD ($AMD), Applied Materials ($AMAT) (“it’s different this time”)

* Value Tech: Adobe ($ADBE), Oracle ($ORCL), ServiceNow ($NOW) and Nvidia ($NVDA)

* Tech With Biggest Moat: Apple ($AAPL)

* Value Industrial: Caterpillar ($CAT)

* Best Overall Value: Homebuilders

* Streaming: Netflix ($NFLX)

* Autonomous: Uber ($UBER)

* Entertainment: Disney ($DIS)

* Financials: JPMorgan ($JPM), Citigroup ($C), Goldman Sachs ($GS), Morgan Stanley ($MS) 

* Frontier Exposure “For The Long Haul”: SpaceX ($SPCX)

Non-Consensus Longs:

* Cannabis: $MSOS, $VRNOD, $TRLV, $GTBIF, $GLAS

* Private Equity: Apollo ($APO), Blackstone ($BX), KKR ($KKR)

* Consumer Staples: Kimberly-Clark ($KMB), PepsiCo ($PEP), Procter & Gamble ($PG)

Positions:

Long MSOS (L), VRNOD (S), TRLV (S), GTIBF (S), GLAS (S), APO (S), BX (S), KKR (S), KMB (S), PEP (S), PG (S)

Short SPCX (VS), SNDK (VS), MU (VS), INTC (VS), AMAT (VS), AMD (VS), CAT (VS)

 

As Seen On ‘Halftime’

Avatar photo Doug Kass on July 8, 2026

* On Apple’s margins and Micron’s average price realizations… you can’t have it both ways!

Wait, the same panelists who own Micron ($MU) because “it’s different this time” are now arguing that the pressure from Micron’s high memory prices will be fleeting (so Apple’s ($AAPL) margins will mean revert higher as memory prices “normalize”)?

That doesn’t compute and the arguments are not consistent.

Position: Short MU (VS)

Not Losing My Memory Shorts

Avatar photo Doug Kass on July 7, 2026

In response to some subscriber emails I am maintaining a small portion of my high-beta, high-tech short package – including (but not restricted to ($SNDK), ($MU), ($CAT), ($INTC), ($AMD), ($AMAT), ($CRWV) etc.)

Positions: Short Package VS (including stocks mentioned above)