Welcome to another edition of TSOH Weekly Roundup.
Each update features a Chart of the Week, along with a brief discussion on three news items relevant to companies in the TSOH investable universe.
Chart Of The Week (from “Build-A-Bear: A Narrower Path”)
Three Notable Items
“Ally Financial Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results”
It was another relatively uneventful quarter for Ally, which is a welcome outcome after years of pressure from the 2022 vintage. The combination of improved credit quality, higher NIMs, and growing capital returns is an interesting setup – particular for a business trading at ~8x trailing earnings.
“Ally paid a $0.30 per share quarterly common dividend, which was unchanged YoY. Ally’s Board approved a $0.35 per share dividend for Q4 2026 [+17%]. Ally repurchased $178 million in shares during Q3.” (YTD repurchases of ~$475 million, compared to a market cap of ~$11.7 billion.)
“It’s Too Late for Small Fixes at Pepsi”
While I’m less interested in Pepsi as an investment idea than some other names in the industry – see Celsius, Fever-Tree, and Monster – it has been interesting to watch the company’s strategic evolution, particularly in U.S. beverages as they navigate sustained volume pressure in sodas / CSDs.
“Protein shakes are one of the hottest corners of the grocery store. But while Coca-Cola’s Fairlife experienced a 78% increase in sales from a year earlier, Pepsi’s Muscle Milk fell 16%, according to Evercore’s analysis of Circana data. Coke now has nearly a quarter of the category, while Pepsi’s share is 3%. And Poppi, the prebiotic soda Pepsi bought for nearly $2 billion, is underwhelming: Pepsi now expects to pay almost none of the $300 million bonus that it promised the sellers if the brand hit its performance targets. “
“Match Group CEO: What Makes a Match on Tinder?”
Following up on last week’s news that Bumble had agreed to sell for ~$1.3 billion, I thought that this interview with Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff provided useful context on how the online dating industry has evolved, along with his strategic vision for improving Match Group’s business trajectory.
28th minute: “The company had sort of lost its way. It had not been innovative, and it had been run too much ‘by Wall Street, for Wall Street’. We became very short-term focused [as I highlighted at the time], and we were squeezing every nickel out of our users. We lost sight of what we were here to do.”
TSOH Updates
Here’s the updated TSOH research list for the past six months:
Monday’s research report will be an update on Netflix (NFLX).
Have a great weekend!
NOTE - This is not investment advice. Do your own due diligence.
I make no representation, warranty, or undertaking, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or reasonableness of the information presented in this report. Assumptions, opinions, and estimates expressed in this report constitute my judgment as of the date thereof and are subject to change without notice. Projections are based on a number of assumptions, and there is no guarantee that they will be achieved. TSOH Investment Research is not acting as your advisor or in any fiduciary capacity.