If it’s one thing that the last 30 years have shown me, it’s that there’s always a counterculture brewing somewhere, and that it manifests itself in many forms. Political, societal, music, and fashion norms are written in history until they are challenged and rewritten. At times, they even become the norm again as if to succumb to some kind of reincarnation helped along by generations exploring a side of life that they’ve read or heard about but never experienced. In most cases, an entirely unique chapter emerges for an undetermined period of time, leaving those set in their ways scratching their heads in wonderment as to “how this could have happened”.

It was due time for a conversation between The Acquirer’s Multiple founder Tobias Carlisle and our own Maj Soueidan as they navigated the various current affairs and subjects of the small and microcap world and outlook for value investing strategies.  The first time they met was on Tobias’ own show, and we only thought it appropriate to reciprocate by hosting him this time. Several of the subjects were very familiar to us, especially those that included how the last decade of investing in microcaps has been a bit tricky. So, naturally, the conversation parlayed into the various strategies and mindsets needed to be a successful investor.

On June 24, 2022, when we spoke with Sean McEwen, the CEO of Konatel Inc (OOTC:KTEL), we went into the conversation hoping that he would go into sufficient detail on the progression of the company’s business, especially in light of the $3 million dollar loan they just closed to fund the purchase of phones it distributes to low income households who sign up for the company’s government subsidized telecom services. Sean talks about how the company analyzed the cost benefit of taking out a loan at 15% interest versus issuing dilutive capital and the speed at which the loan could be repaid as it drives a significant expansion of its recurring revenue customer base.

We know it’s been a tough market environment, and we’d like to thank you for sticking around while we wipe the grime of the first half of 2022 off our chins. Out of 2021 came 8 multibaggers, some eclipsing 200% in gains. However, as you know, holding onto those games in 2022 has been challenging. The current environment underscores a few themes: *Nothing lasts forever, *When times change, it’s necessary to potentially change or massage strategies to accommodate the new environment, *Money can be made in any market condition, *Portfolio management is needed to lock in gains and add shared to quality stocks around volatility. So, as bad as it’s been for some of the legacy stocks that have been in GeoInvesting’s coverage universe since 2007, we have quietly tweaked our strategy for the new 2022 value investing theme to identify qualifying stocks in our universe, as well as new stocks to highlight. 

Searching for companies that will either solve or alleviate pressure points are great places to hunt for winning stocks in this type of environment. You can explore another interesting angle by seeking out companies that can help other companies save money. By receiving help, they can compete more efficiently by reducing costs to deliver their products and services.  And after taking a deep dive into GeoInvesting’s stock coverage universe spanning 15 years,  We have found 5 stocks operating in diverse industries that fit the bill. But what’s even better about these five stocks is that they should do well whether we enter a recession or not. They’re great companies with sound business plans designed to create an immense amount of shareholder value for their investors.

While we won’t go into the various reasons why these casinos failed, we can say that we believe we’ve found a small anomaly of a company that is at least ripe for analysis. It’s in a profitable microcap company which engages in horse racing, card casino, food and beverage, and real estate development. It is domiciled in Shakopee, Minnesota and was founded in 1994. Our goal here is to figure out if we can justify looking at a casino stock, especially if we are going into hard economic times. On the surface, we like the way a potential bullish thesis could play out based on the company’s clean balance sheet and untapped revenue potential of its casino.