Please note that this week we held our July Open Forum, where we discussed developments across our coverage universe during the month of June. Part of the discussion focused on a new and potentially very exciting idea discovery.

During the Planet MicroCap Conference in Las Vegas, I pitched $SIF. This is very much a classic “boring but interesting” turnaround idea in the aerospace forging space. SIFCO is a 113-year-old aerospace supplier with established certifications, long-standing customer relationships, and a solid competitive position in both commercial and defense aerospace markets, but one that spent more than a decade in operational decline before recently starting to inflect. In this week’s Skull Session with Hugo Navarro, we discussed how he will balance his new career advising a hedge fund while continuing to write deep-dive research reports on his Substack, as well as four of his favorite investment pitches.

Every year, microcap conferences introduce investors to dozens of promising companies. Yet, once the conference ends, there is rarely a structured way to measure which investment ideas actually performed the best.

The 2026 Microcap Stock Picking Contest will help track which investment ideas actually outperform and discover some great investors.

The contest gives investors an opportunity to test their stock-picking skills over a defined period while adding a little friendly competition to the microcap investing community. Top performers earn recognition for consistently identifying winning ideas.

The 2026 contest series features more than $15,000 in total cash prizes and bonuses across three separate competitions. Contest 1, focused on Planet MicroCap Las Vegas 2026, is now accepting submissions and offers a $5,000 prize pool + bonus prizes.

Lots of people think successful investing is about certainty but this Skull Session with Deiya Pernas of Pernas Research sits in uncertainty where information quality, narrative gaps, market inefficiencies, and disciplined analysis can drive better decisions than prediction. The discussion also covers how AI is reshaping software narratives, why less-followed and sometimes illiquid names can still create opportunity, and how the brothers think about businesses in terms of whether the underlying “motor” of a business is getting stronger or weaker. During my chat with Dean, we talked about motor investing. So it was nice to get Deiya’s point of view on this subject. 

Last week was a strong week of Skull Sessions. We welcomed back recurring guests, hedge fund manager Sean Westropp of Deepsail Capital and attorney John Sutter, to discuss the state of the short selling market and the conviction of Andrew Left, who was recently convicted of securities fraud in connection with a roughly $21 million stock market manipulation scheme and now faces up to 25 years in prison, with sentencing still pending. Whether you’re a professional or a casual investor, this case could have implications for how you interact on social media and how you approach writing and commentary when discussing stocks you like or dislike.

Last week, we held our June Open Forum. To start things off, we hosted Syra Health Corp. (OTCQB:SYRA) where we discussed its first profitable quarter and its positioning within value-based healthcare, including the behavioral health platform driving its recurring revenue angle. SYRA provides technology healthcare solutions to help improve patient care.

The feature highlight last week was a Fireside Chat Skull Session we hosted with Rhone Resch, Chief Strategy Officer of Toyo Co., Ltd (NASDAQ:TOYO), co-moderated and led by GeoInvesting Research contributor “Jev” (@MicrocapDr), covering surprisingly positive Q1 earnings results, the competitive advantage it has vs comps like First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), the company’s plans to expand capacity to scale production, and the unique risks involved with investing in the solar industry. Can we see a re-rate in the company’s low P/E ratio?

This week, I also had my usual small-cap earnings review where Sebastian Krog (@treasurehunting on Substack; @SebKrog on X), Diego La Torre (@Diego_La_Torre_) and I went through 10 of our favorite small-cap and microcap names from the Q1 earnings season. We also made sure to cover the main risks in each case.