Early in 2006, I came across a stock with some unbelievable numbers. Revenue was up nearly 37% per year for the past three years. Income had grown 62% over the same time. Return on equity was a robust 24%, and net margins were close to 11%. And it was a hot retail name to boot. Its name? Urban Outfitters
Based on what I knew -- which wasn't much -- I gave Urban Outfitters a lot of consideration, but did I pull the trigger? First, let me say that even thinking about making an investment without weeks of research is alien to me. I come from a value-focused hedge fund. We had all day to analyze stocks, and we used it. We often burned the midnight oil. Hedge funds have a reputation as the gunslingers of the market, but I assure you, mine was anything but. We held just a handful of stocks, and we knew them cold. But keeping track of them -- and finding new ones -- took a lot of time.
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Hidden risks
No, I didn't buy Urban Outfitters. And I'm glad I didn't, considering the company spent most of 2006 in the doldrums as the result of some downbeat sales and economic data -- and it still hasn't recovered to its 2006 highs. But I'm not really here to criticize Urban Outfitters; it's already rebounding and may still make for a fine long-term investment.
Regardless, risk exists, and with any investment, it's important to know what you're betting on. No screen or quick peekaboo would tell you that the folks at Activision Blizzard
Having the time to do some diligent digging is crucial in avoiding potential blowups.
The "Are you kidding me?" formula
There's more. Years ago, I read a book about theories underlying accounting and financial statements. It spent a lot of pages on a common solvency formula: earnings available to pay fixed charges divided by those fixed charges. With several chapters of buildup, it replaced the simple version with a "corrected" formula that made several tweaks to the numerator and denominator. Was it right? Yes -- it eliminated a lot of flaws in the raw accounting numbers. But that accuracy came at the expense of a formula so complex that individual investors would need days to calculate it.
Lack of time tends to pull investors in one of two ways. The first: making futile grasps in a blizzard of information overload. The second: tunnel vision toward stocks you've already researched. Let's face it -- either one can burn you.
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Even if you don't sign up for the newsletter, take a few moments to think about how time has affected your investing. If the answer is "negatively," consider taking some sort of action to get a better handle on your future. Investing is a critically important task -- one that shouldn't get neglected as often as it does.
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This article was originally published Feb. 23, 2005. It has been updated.
James Early owns none of the stocks discussed in this article. Activision Blizzard is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
