Episode summary
These are Cheap Stocks with Catalysts | TCAF 235
Ask The Compound
· · Hosts: Michael Batnick, Josh Brown · Guests: Jonathan Boyar
Summary
Jonathan Boyar argued that the market’s recent volatility has created real value opportunities, especially in large-cap growth names that have seen dramatic multiple compression. He said he thinks in a multi-year frame, and that stocks like Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Salesforce can look much more reasonable when judged against forward earnings rather than recent sentiment. He framed the setup as uncomfortable but attractive: sellers may still control the tape in the short term, but the best businesses are now available at prices that can work over time.
He was especially bullish on companies with durable customer lock-in and identifiable catalysts. Boyar argued that Salesforce’s installed base, regulatory stickiness, and data dependence make it a survivor, while Uber could benefit from autonomous vehicles rather than be disrupted by them. He also defended Madison Square Garden Sports as an undervalued asset case tied to the Knicks and Rangers, and said MGM still has upside from buybacks, cap-lighting, and a Japan casino catalyst. Across the discussion, his main point was that investors should focus on business value and catalysts, not just near-term price action.
Key takeaways
- Boyar said the Mag 7 basket has fallen to about 21.5 times forward earnings, which he views as reasonable for dominant businesses.
- He argued that Salesforce is a survivor because it is embedded in critical workflows and regulated industries.
- He believes Uber is in pole position for autonomous because the biggest network wins and the market is too fragmented for one AV company to take everything.
- Boyar said MSG Sports could be worth materially more than its current enterprise value if the Knicks and Rangers are split into separate public companies.
- He sees MGM’s Japan casino opportunity and ongoing buybacks as major long-term catalysts despite concerns about Vegas sentiment.
Notable quotes
“valuation matters. It It depends on your time frame. I'm not looking at something over a month or two months or three months”
“I never thought I would be able to, you know, have a chance to buy Salesforce like 13 times, 14 times”
“The biggest network is going to win. If you have an autonomous vehicle company and Whimo is paying $120,000 or whatever it is for a car”
“There are tons of people who would do this. PE is getting involved in a big way. They should do that”
“The more players, the better, right? How do people not understand this”
How the episode opens
Restaurant Brands is a health food chain. It's uh — What is that? — QSR is the ticker. It's Burger King, Popeye's, Tim Hortons, and what's the fourth? — Firehouse. — Firehouse Subs. — Yeah. — What's that's not New York? That's not in New York. Firehouse Subs.
I had Firehouse Subs once. — It's like It's like uh It's like Jersey Mike's. — Yeah. — Um my favorite fast food sandwich place Yeah. — Is Jimmy John's. — Yeah. — Who owns them? — I don't think I ever had that. — Is that even Is that public? They missed the machine.
Jimmy, — Who owns Jimmy Jones? — Michael's doing research. Hang on. — No. Uh, Ror Capital Group, private equity. Okay. — Very, very intensive. — Ror also owns other restaurant chains like Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Sonic. — Oh, they have Buffalo Wild. That's good.
I love Sonic. — What is Sonic? Burgers. — The burgers. — They have like everything. Corn dogs, burgers. People go there for the drinks now, right? — The drinks. Yeah, the slushies are so good. — Well, they still have like the drive up salt.
No offense. That's so gross. — Like getting a slushie with a hamburger. Like, how fat are you? And I'm I'm fat myself. I'm a skinny fat guy. I get it. But come on. — 0% chance. 0% chance. — All right. Are we going to make a show or what? What are we thinking,
John? John, you go fast. — I No, I eat healthy, but I will make money off of it. Yeah, you look healthy. You look good. — Somewhat up. — You want to turn it up? — Uh John has the best commute into Manhattan of all of us.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- value investing
- market volatility
- mag 7 valuations
- autonomous driving
- stock picks
Companies and tickers mentioned
- UBER
- SMG
- OpenAI
- Uber
- Madison Square Garden Sports
- Scotts Miracle-Gro
Watch the episode
Watch “These are Cheap Stocks with Catalysts | TCAF 235” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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