The Bear Cave #343
Welcome to The Bear Cave! The last premium articles for paid readers were: “ Problems at Guggenheim Strategic Opportunities Fund (GOF) ” and “ 5 Education Stocks in AI’s Blast Radius .” Our next special investigation is scheduled for Thursday, September 17. Subscribe now New Activist Reports There were no meaningful activist reports this week, but the Wall Street Journal published an essay that sure read like a short report on Bending Spoons (NASDAQ: BSP — $24.6 billion), the recently listed software roll-up of nostalgic brands like AOL and Vimeo. The lede: “Bending Spoons is a debt-funded serial acquirer that went public in July. Its name is a nod to psychic powers, but the real hocus-pocus is in the company’s numbers.” Spicy stuff from Jonathan Weil! “If ever a company illustrated the pitfalls of ignoring amortization, Bending Spoons is it. Many of its holdings fit the definition of a melting ice cube. Ignoring amortization is akin to pretending the ice cube hasn’t gotten smaller. Revenue growth mainly comes from new acquisitions or price hikes. The latter can produce a quick cash-flow boost, but may not be sustainable… “The main concern for investors at this point should be about valuation and growth prospects if funding for acquisitions gets harder to come by. The trajectory for market interest rates is higher, not lower. The higher they go, the more pressure Bending Spoons will face to hit pause on its roll-up play. That’s when the magic stops.” Fugazi Research published on a microcap called Swvl Holdings (NASDAQ: SWVL — $70.9 million), an Egypt-based bus and shuttle operator that listed via SPAC in 2022, whose stock is up 400% in the last couple weeks. “SWVL’s numbers say the business is improving; its customers say something else, and they’re not shy about it,” Fugazi writes. Viceroy Research published a follow-up on Blue Moon Metals (NASDAQ: BMM / TSX-V: MOON — 757.9 million CAD), a pre-revenue copper and zinc developer whose value rests on the Nussir project in Arctic Norway and a permit to dump mine waste at sea. Viceroy notes the Norwegian Environment Agency has said it is now examining whether the reasoning behind that permit holds, which Viceroy argues could jeopardize the project key to Blue Moon’s business. Notable Recent Resignations and Departures President of Building Envelope at Amrize (NYSE: AMRZ — $22.2 billion) stepped down and was replaced effective September 11, the third senior leadership change at the building-products company in under three weeks. Its chief financial officer stepped down effective August 24 for “personal reasons” after under five months, and the chief accounting officer was replaced as of September 1. Chief Accounting Officer of AptarGroup (NYSE: ATR — $7.9 billion) resigned after 95 days in the role. The packaging company reinstalled his predecessor as interim chief accounting officer and said he was pursuing an opportunity outside the greater Chicago area, with no disagreement over AparGroup’s operations, policies, or practices. Chief Financial Officer of TransMedics (NASDAQ: TMDX — $2.9 billion) is being replaced roughly 21 months after his December 2024 appointment. He is moving to a Latin America focused commercial advisory role at the organ-transplant technology company through April 30, 2027. TMDX was the subject of a 2025 Scorpion short-report. Chief Medical Officer of Mirum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MIRM — $6.4 billion) ceased serving September 2, roughly 31 months after the appointment was announced in February 2024. The company expects the separation to qualify as an involuntary termination under its severance plan. President of the Creativity and Productivity Business at Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE — $100.3 billion) will step down September 27 and remain temporarily as a senior adviser, after sixteen years at the company. The same filing details the chief executive’s planned December 1 retirement, and the changes follow a run of exits The Bear Cave highlighted in August , including Firefly’s general manager after eight months. Better Home & Finance (NASDAQ: BETR — $246.2 billion) disclosed on September 8 the departure of its mortgage subsidiary President and a separation agreement with its Chief Operating Officer Barry Feierstein. The disclosures follow a board director’s notice that he would resign if the former CEO returned to any executive role. Messy! Departures surfaced through Canary Data . News of the Week “Stanley Druckenmiller says US borrowing costs still ‘a little low’ despite surge in yields” ( FT ) “[Druckenmiller] said the narrative on Wall Street that has irked him recently is that high earnings are going to help the market rise higher indefinitely. ‘There’s a good chance we’re in an earnings bubble because this [AI] build-out is going to end at some point, and let’s face it, banks are also [on the] AI trade,’ he said. ‘I mean, these guys are making hundreds of millions of dollars when they bring these companies public.’ …Druckenmiller added he has been betting against the euro and the pound since the start of the year. Tweets of the Week Until Thursday, The Bear Cave New? Sign Up Here Got Feedback? Just Hit Reply The Bear Cave is Not Investment Advice. See Full Disclosures Here . Based on Hunterbrook Media’s reporting, Hunterbrook Capital is short $GOF at the time of this publication. Positions may change at any time. Twitter: @BearCaveEmail