No. of Recommendations: 2
Thanks for all the responses. I fully agree with the sentiment about Mr. Biglari. However, the market recognizes that too. As noted in my thread above, this is one reason for the stock selling for less than liquidation value of the business. In fact, this may be the primary reason.
However, Mr. McDonough's analysis suggests that BH is very cheap even after accounting for all the payments to Mr. Biglari. In fact, selling, general, and administrative expenses are lower now than before Mr. Biglari took over, even though the company has purchased more businesses since then.
From the article:
"BH is run in an extremely efficient manner. This is a low cost operation, even after factoring in the pay for the CEO. Just compare the company before Sardar Biglari took over until now. Selling, general, and administrative costs amounted to $77 million in 2023. This includes marketing expenses. In 2008, SG&A costs totaled $79.1 million. Back in 2008, the company was just Steak n Shake. Today, BH still owns Steak n Shake and has all of the SG&A costs of that business, combined with multiple insurance companies, oil companies, Maxim magazine, and another restaurant chain. BH also manages a large investment portfolio. Despite the growth in the scale of operations, as well as the inflation that has occurred since 2008, BH has lower SG&A costs today than it had in 2008 even after factoring in all of the CEO’s pay. This is an efficient, low cost operation."
As Jim says, at a price, everything is a buy.:-)
I haven't purchased the stock yet, but I'm considering starting a very small position.
