The Official Pitch The PM Newsletter No. 5

Calendar:

This Weekend:
- Sunday May 18th, at 3pm ET — Join us for a webinar with Saket Kumar’s new stealth mode venture, hScore Advisors, on “NVDA: Understanding the Bear Case - What’s Priced-in?” Register here to Attend the Webinar

Next Week:
- Pitch The PM’s Job Board now direct to your inbox via our Newsletter. Sign-up now to never miss a new opportunity

Later This Month:
- Apprentice Program - Lesson 3: Wednesday, May 28th 11 AM ET. Join here (it’s free)

Webinar Recap: Is Zoom the Next Stealth AI Winner?

On Thursday, we hosted a Webinar with AlphaSense, the best AI Market Intelligence and Search Platform, to discuss our bullish view on Zoom!

If you couldn’t tune into the Webinar live, here’s a summary of the Variant View Checklist we covered:

1) What ACTION do I want the Portfolio Manager to take? 
- I own shares in the Westport Alpha Portfolio and am thus bias (Not Investment Advice)
2) Do I UNDERSTAND this business? 
- Best of breed video comm adding AI products to create a UCaaS ecosystem
3) Is the stock available at a REASONABLE price today?
- 8% uFCF Yield, 15x NTM P/E, 9x NTM EV/EBITDA
4) Why is this stock MIS-PRICED?
- 1) Low growth, 2) High Online Segment churn & 3) Competition
5) What is my VARIANT VIEW vs the street?
- Growth accelerates due to: 1) Enterprise growth with Zoom Phone, Contact Center & AI companion, 2) Online stable to potentially growing with new division Head focused on converting unpaid to paid.
6) What is my EVIDENCE?
- Numerous expert interviews from the AlphaSense library shows new product traction & focused, innovative culture
7) What are the CATALYSTS for the street to realize my view? 
- Higher revenue growth…..at some point. Another strategic sees the value in ZM?
8) What is it WORTH if my bet is right?
- Potential to increase +90% if growth increases to 7%/year
9) What is the OTHER SIDE of the bet?
- (-25%) if growth decelerates to 0%
10) Is management ALIGNED with ownership?
- Mixed: (+) high ownership and (-) high dilution

If you’d like a copy of the presentation materials from Thursday’s webinar, you can download the slides below!

Inside the Buy-Side - Blog No. 11

Is Ken Griffin Running for Something?

Q: Why is Ken doing so many public talks recently - saw him at MILKEN in MAY and the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM in APRIL. Seems like a lot of PR events…is he running for something?
A: I have not seen any announcements to run for political office. Have heard him publicly saying he would serve in some capacity if asked somewhat recently. Have also heard him say he is focused on spending time with his children in other media appearances last year.
COLOR: That is a lot of time for PR events and I have seen a lot more philanthropy come across, Chicago, Florida, Washington D.C. New York, giving back in a lot of places where he spends time. He is a very effective leader, he has built the most successful hedge fund in the world by surrounding himself with great people, implementing processes for every function, holding people accountable, and making the tough calls. It feels like he has conquered the finance and business world. Politics might be next once his children are in college would be my guess. Could be something for Florida or maybe try for the Oval..his brand is moving towards philanthropy these days. He even made a big talk about the value of the AMERICAN BRAND at one of the recent conferences. He gets it - what Buffet was saying about the value of a Brand and the importance of a reputation: “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.”

Q: Did you see the latest “Griffin Catalyst”? He owns a copy of the U.S. Constitution, WOW, but, why?
A: Yea, I saw a couple days ago, apparently he made a gift of $15 MM for 2 new galleries in 2026 and he loaned a printing of the 1787 U.S. Constitution and a first printing of the Bill of Rights.
Link: Griffin Catalyst - $15 MM for 2 new galleries that have a copy of the US Constitution 
COLOR: It looks like he is donating a lot of money to create a BIG PR event, a BIG patriotic event. That’s a nice way to celebrate and give back. And also a great way to build the Ken Griffin brand ahead of something…I have seen the philanthropy ramp up recently over the last couple years.

*Disclaimer: For the avoidance of doubt, I am not currently affiliated with Citadel. 

Inside the Buy-Side - Blog No. 10

The Importance of the Process

- The fundamental building blocks of "modern" equity research.
- Its a key building block I always asked potential Analysts. (Buffett didn't use it, nor did any of my mentor's)

It is in the details and the little things done in the process, learned over time - by shadowing, or barging phone calls - where the real learning occurs.
- Pick your mentors not your firms

In modeling, I initially spent 10-14 hours a day doing for a handful of years, the process begins.
- Good process starts with doing the work and building your own models, which I did at each sell-side and buy-side job I had.
- I built out my own Universe of names and knew them inside and out, so could navigate fast with updates.

When I met with managements teams I knew the levers:
- margin?
- revenue?
- backlog?
- capex?
- working capital?
- a covenant?
- dividend coverage?

Having this all baked-in is key, because the key issue in a name always changes over time. If it's built in, you won't miss it when updating.

When I was starting Katahdin Capital at Millennium, I knew I wouldn't have time to build all the infrastructure I needed, but I still wanted it built-out in a very particular way...wouldn't any mad artist?

I found InSync Analytics Corp. - a little kept hedge fund secret that built my custom models for me. (Now they have a full library on-demand — no more 24–48 hour waits — even better.)

Time saved = more reading/research.

What should next week’s poll be?
Click the image below 👇 to let me know what your process is!🎨🗣️

Nvidia: One of the Most Important Stocks in the World + My Research

I spent the last year researching NVIDIA, which remains one of the most important stocks in the world.

With all the noise that inevitably comes from a stock like this, I want to share my findings to help break through some of this clamor.  To date, here are some research highlights.

Join me this Sunday at 3 ET/2 CT for a free Live Webinar on NVDA with Saket Kumar from hScore Advisors LLC 

👉Register here: Link to Webinar

These are the insights you need to understand NVDA today 👇

4/26 - NVDA’s stock chart is drawing eerie parallels to Cisco’s dot-com bubble crash
➡️https://lnkd.in/eNksvjib

4/18 - TAM is a BS argument for NVDA. Use cases are even worse
➡️  https://lnkd.in/e-Vuwhxu

4/8 - China’s DeepSeek incident is slowing down GPU deployments
➡️ https://lnkd.in/e-Hd3xkq

3/30 - Inference chips might have a different winner than Nvidia – Cerberus interview
➡️ https://lnkd.in/egXR7SZc

3/23 - GPU useful life debate? 2 years or 5–6 years in GAAP?
➡️ https://shorturl.at/NqhL0

3/22 - DA Davidson’s Gil Luria is 27% below consensus for FY'27
➡️ https://shorturl.at/9ZEH1

3/21 - Who is the next buyer of NVDA? HFs reduced, retail is overweight
➡️ https://shorturl.at/Jtpgz

3/20 - Big Tech is starting to compete in GPUs
➡️ https://shorturl.at/f2W6b

3/19 - NVDA’s current position reflects an “As Good As It Gets” moment – Episode with Gil Luria
➡️ https://lnkd.in/enwJzCwt

3/19 - NVDA’s rally mirrors SLB’s surge during the 1970s energy boom ➡️https://lnkd.in/ej5ir96D

3/17 - Hyperscaler capex growth stalling, neocloud returns not apparent, China risk?
➡️ https://lnkd.in/eEG-q9H5

3/14 - NVDA Bull vs Bear thesis. High Risk-High Reward
➡️ https://lnkd.in/exVjVuQ8

3/13 - Google is quietly targeting 50% in-house silicon production within a decade
➡️ https://lnkd.in/e6MTfaqe

3/11 - A $1.5 Trillion debate.  Nvidia customer buying levels are unsustainable. 
➡️ https://lnkd.in/eWZs-WqV

3/8 - Quarterly sequential capex analysis of Big Tech paints a different picture than the annual capex growth. Can Alger explain?
➡️ https://lnkd.in/ewXKctaR

2/27 - NVDA’s Q4 beat & raise with no stock follow-through is a peak cyclical sign
➡️ https://lnkd.in/eqjtKZr9

2/14 - NVDA: Who is the next Buyer?
➡️ https://lnkd.in/eDJgkG45

1/30 - Entering NVDA’s next stage: Capital Discipline from customers from Arms Race mentality
➡️ https://lnkd.in/evPyXfit

It all moves fast, the research will grow, and so will this list.

Pitch The PM Apprentice Program

Pitch The PM hosted our second Apprentice Program on Friday! We’re building a collaborative space for aspiring investors, current portfolio managers, and buy-side analysts who want to connect, learn, and refine their edge.

At this weeks 1 hour meeting, we reviewed the mental models on the Rate of Change in the investing process, discussed BRK’s purchase of See’s Candy, and covered one of the GOATs, Joel Greenblatt, and the teachings from his books.

Our program has grown to over 90 Apprentices already, ranging from Students to VP Research Analysts, all the way up to C-Suite— you can still join to learn more about buy-side investing!

Click the image below to join the group on LinkedIn and receive updates on future meetings!

🚨Updates to Pitch The PM Job Board🚨

📌5 New Job Opportunities:
- L/S Analyst (Financials) - Carlston Capital
- LO Associate (Healthcare/Therapeutics) - T. Rowe Price
- LO Associate PM (Generalist) - Brown Advisory
- SS Research Associate (Utilities, Power & Midstream) - JP Morgan
- Assistant Leveraged Finance Trader (Credit) - Fidelity

🔍1 New Job Seeker:
- SDSU ‘26 Undergrad seeking Internship/Full Time Employment (post grad)

📰We've launched a dedicated Job Board Newsletter!📰
Our job board is getting its own spotlight.

If you’re hiring, job hunting, or just want to stay plugged into the market, this is your go-to resource.

Register for Weekly Updates here.

Check out the most recent Job Board post with a comprehensive list of opportunities and candidates by clicking the image below!

About Us

Pitch The PM is the Professional Investor's Podcast that provides a deep-dive into a stock's investment case using the Variant View Investment Checklist. It is an open exploration of the research process in real time using high-conviction ideas from top PM’s and Analysts. Join the journey as Doug fills out his Buffett advised, 20-slot lifetime punch card. We learn and laugh together. 

The Variant View Investment Checklist is the process that combines:

• A decade of experience managing $1B at Citadel & Millennium, 

• Studying the great investors like Buffett, Munger, Lynch & Greenblatt, 

• and the latest AI tools to improve idea velocity, accuracy and conviction.

Westport Alpha Group is a family office consortium of like minded finance professionals. Individuals may engage in Special Purpose Vehicle’s (SPV’s), Separately Managed Accounts (SMA’s) or act as an Independent Sponsor for a private company or in a public company take-private. This is not a solicitation to sell/buy any security or engage in any services. This is not an attempt to form a group.

Pitch The PM is hosted by Doug Garber, a former Citadel Analyst and Millennium Senior Portfolio Manager. Doug was initially trained at Citadel by a former SAC/Point 72 Analyst who worked directly for Steve Cohen before becoming a PM at Citadel. Doug was ranked as a top five analyst while at Citadel’s Surveyor Capital and was the only one to receive that designation twice during his tenure. He managed a multi-sector, multi-strategy team at Millennium under Katahdin Capital. Prior to his buy-side career, Doug worked in sell-side equity research honing modeling and primary research skills. Doug is currently the CIO and DoR at the Westport Alpha Group.

Doug graduated from Tulane University with a BSM and Master of Finance. He was selected to participate in the Darwin Fenner Student Managed Endowment Fund that utilized quantitative factors to outperform its benchmark and be an Investment Research Manager in the Burkenroad Reports “Stocks Under Rocks” equity research program. Doug has a passion for iterating on the investment process and a quirky sense of humor. He lives in Westport, CT with his wife, Lexi, and three kids. When he is not reading a 10-K, you can find him coaching youth soccer, inverted on his yoga mat or on an eFoil looking for Zuck.

Disclaimer

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Neither Pitch The PM nor its author (s) guarantee any specific outcome or profit. You should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investment discussed in this material or on the show. Strategies or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value. Investors may get back less than invested. Investments or strategies mentioned on this website or on the show may not be suitable for you. This material does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for you. You must make an independent decision regarding investments or strategies mentioned on this letter, on the website or on the show. Before acting on information on this website, in this letter or on the show, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser.

The author (s) of this report may have positions in the securities discussed. The positions may change at a future date and neither Pitch The PM nor any authors are under any obligation to update you. The information may not be accurate and you should do your own research.

This is for educational purposes only. This is not investment advice. Please contact your financial advisor to see what is suitable for you. Please see disclosures at PitchThePM.com