Aaron Task interviewed James Altucher regarding the General Motors initial public offering (IPO), and Altucher went to say that this is a political event, and to stay far away.
During the interview, Altucher said, "But it's zero interest to me. In terms of just mental energy I wouldn't spend it on GM at this point."
I have heard many comments like this, calling for investors to stay away from this IPO, that the company is no good, that it's not worth the risk, blah, blah. I haven't heard a single bullish argument and that's why I'm going to take the bullish stance on this.
Yes, I saw the S-1 filing yesterday that shows the many question marks that are being posed. That Daniel Akerson and Chris Liddell don't have experience running a car company. That the Chevy Volt hasn't been proven to be commercially viable. That Ford F is more profitable. No dividend. The list goes on and on.
Ed Whitacre didn't know how to run a car company either, and he seemed to do fairly well this past year, having GM turn a profit of $2.2 billion in the first half of this year on revenues of $64.7 billion.
I understand all these factors, but I believe that some of these factors will be seen as positives, not as negatives. Eventually, GM will pay a dividend. GM is continuing to improve its performance and profit margins should rise as the economy comes back from the brink.
GM is incredibly strong in China, has virtually zero short-term debt obligations and has $31.5 billion of cash on the balance sheet. Granted, in the auto industry cash burn does happen fairly quickly, but given that GM's product lineup is much more competitive than it has been in the past, I don't expect this to be an issue.
It remains to be seen whether the highly anticipated IPO goes well for investors or not. I have a feeling there is too much bearish sentiment baked into a stock that isn't even trading yet.
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Posted In: Long IdeasNewsOfferingsMarketsTrading IdeasAaron TaskAutomobile ManufacturersConsumer DiscretionaryJames Altucher
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