Side Notes by Zerodha Varsity

American Express - Why Buffett likes it more than Visa and Mastercard?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

American Express is one of Warren Buffett's longest-standing bets. For over three decades, Berkshire Hathaway has held onto AmEx, through recessions, market crashes, and massive shifts in the payments industry. This is interesting given that AmEx operates a far smaller network than Visa and Mastercard.

So what makes AmEx different? Why has Buffett never sold? And how does a company with fewer cards and lower acceptance still generate outsized returns?

Listen to American Express' interesting story in this season finale.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Is Louis Philippe Indian or French?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Louise Philippe, Monte Carlo, Blackberrys, Bella Vita, and Da Milano are all foreign names of Indian brands. Is there a reason why Indian brands adopt English or European-sounding names? Does it have to do with perceptions of quality and trust? Or is it because we have not yet gotten out of our colonial mindset?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

What went wrong with Intel? What is it up to now?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Intel's quintessential Intel Inside sticker on laptops and in the marketing materials of other PC brands helped it achieve global dominance in processing chips.

However, another brand, TSMC, without any marketing and visibility on any computing products, somehow managed to take over Intel and become a far bigger semiconductor company. TSMC now commands more than half of the world's chip market today.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Poka Yoke - Toyota's design thinking

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 02:30:00 +0000

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a manufacturing system to ensure minimum wastage while constantly striving to improve quality. TPS is efficient, flexible, and extremely quality-conscious.

Poka Yoke is one of the many ideas developed under the TPS. This revolutionary system has inspired everything from a washing machine to aircraft.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

How Lenovo took over IBM to become the world's largest PC maker?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 02:30:00 +0000

In 2004, Lenovo bought IBM’s iconic PC division. But this wasn’t an overnight leap — it was the result of years spent learning inside the value chain.

Starting as a distributor of laptops for global brands like HP, Toshiba, and IBM in China, Lenovo moved up the value chain to become a manufacturer and is now a global leader with over one-quarter of the market share for laptops worldwide.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Why Apple Moved To The Type-C Charging Port?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Apple is known to be restrictive in letting its devices connect or share data with non-Apple devices. It has a lot to do with delivering a clean user experience and utmost digital security. In a way, it also compels an Apple user to buy other Apple products. So, it was a surprise when Apple introduced the universal Type-C charging ports in its iPhones. While Type-C solved for user experience, Apple did it after it was forced by European regulators to either introduce Type-C chargers for its iPhones or risk losing Europe as a market.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Revlon's fall from glory to bankruptcy, and revival

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 02:30:00 +0000

This episode explores the journey of Revlon — from a brand that sold glamour and aspiration to one that filed for bankruptcy nearly a century later. It traces Revlon’s early success, its marketing genius, the landmark hostile takeover that reshaped corporate law, and the debt-fuelled decisions that weakened the company over decades. The episode also examines how Revlon used Chapter 11 to survive and what its turnaround tells us about branding, leverage, and resilience in modern business.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

The curious case of Narayana Health's profits

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 3 Feb 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Narayana Health's 40% profit comes from just a small business in the Cayman Islands. Is it the pricing power or a different brand identity that Narayana enjoys in Cayman? Cayman might be a star of a business, but there is also some risk.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Trent and Asian Paints - A tale of two popular stocks

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Trent's ROE growth perhaps explains the rally in its stock, and Asian Paints' ROE slowdown perhaps explains the dull performance of its stock. Maybe it is the time frame you look at. Trent has outperformed Asian Paints over the last five years but underperformed over the last year.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Nestle's brilliant razor and blade pricing model - and its pitfalls

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Nestlé's Nespresso was a failed product when it was launched in the 1980s. A switch in product and pricing model helped make it a success. It was Nestlé's moat for a very long time, but then competitors broke it. Nestle came out strong nonetheless.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Dmart's pseudo debt - a common accounting peculiarity

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 02:30:00 +0000

Most of Dmart's stores are owned, while a few are leased. Those leased stores are recorded as lease liabilities on Dmart's balance sheet. Lease liabilities are considered as good as debt or borrowing. It is an accounting peculiarity.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Diet Coke Vs Coke Zero - What's the difference? Why the difference?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 6 Jan 2026 02:30:00 +0000

How can one drink be for women and the other for men? It is a day-to-day consumable, not even medicine. So, why target a drink to a specific gender? The lessons are in marketing and consumer psychology. Not just Coca-Cola, but also Pepsi had drinks targeted at different genders.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Wipro's multiple hats - from groceries to IT

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Wipro started as a vegetable oil maker. Samsung started as a trader of dried fish, groceries, and noodles. Today, neither Wipro nor Samsung is known for what it started out to do.

Wipro's IT services are far removed from its initial oil business. Samsung is a tech giant with a global reputation for smartphones and semiconductors.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Microsoft's bold pricing shift and the business rationale behind it

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Microsoft Office used to be a one-time purchase. Now you probably pay for it every year. Why did Microsoft change its pricing so drastically? It was a risky move, but there was solid motivation behind it.

Not just Microsoft, many software companies have transitioned from a one-time pricing model to an annual or monthly subscription model.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Nike, Adidas, Puma, and their D2C pivot

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 02:30:00 +0000

For the longest time, Nike, Adidas, and Puma sold their sportswear through channel partners. However, in the early 2010s, they began shifting their strategy by selling directly to the end consumer through company-owned stores, websites, and apps. Did the business gain from such a shift, or did it blow up?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Why Amazon did not care for profits in its initial years?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 9 Dec 2025 02:30:00 +0000

In its early years, Amazon focused more on cash flows and not so much on profits. It inspired a generation of startups to chase scale and not worry about losses. Those imitating startups revealed the pitfalls of taking only half the lessons from someone else's playbook.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Temasek - A sovereign wealth fund that other nations want to emulate

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 2 Dec 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Many nations have tried to model their sovereign wealth funds after Singapore's Temasek. While Temasek is an SWF, it behaves like a quasi Venture Capital firm with only one shareholder, that is, the Singapore Government. Here is Temasek's story.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

TikTok ban - How Instagram and YouTube swiftly took over the market?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 02:30:00 +0000

A business might be a market leader. Network effects might have helped it become a moat. However, government regulations, through bans or restrictions, can make or break companies. TikTok had over 200 million users in India, and overnight, it was banned. Suddenly, TikTok lost a large business. And it became an opportunity for some others.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Stanley Cups - from rugged uses to a stylish collectible

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Launched in 1913, the Stanley Cup was marketed for its rugged uses by cops, defense personnel, and those engaged in outdoor activities. It remained a reliable but niche brand for its niche uses for over a hundred years. And then, by a stroke of luck, Stanley pivoted its marketing to appeal to a wider audience. What did they really do? What was this stroke of luck?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Zomato to Eternal - Taking a leaf from Google and Facebook's playbook

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Google became Alphabet, Facebook became Meta, and Zomato became Eternal - is there a commonality among the three? Each new name has a more widespread and overarching tone than the preceding one. But what drives an organization to rename itself at the peak of its popularity?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

When Reliance and Amazon went shopping at Big Bazaar

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 4 Nov 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Big Bazaar was India's largest retail chain, sitting on a mountain of debt. Covid dealt a major blow to its operations. Reliance Industries stepped in to help, but Amazon obstructed the transaction due to an old deal it had struck with the Future Group.

It was one of the most sensational corporate battles, but did anyone win?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Starbucks Vs CCD | Whatsapp Vs WeChat | First movers vs Challengers

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 02:30:00 +0000

How could Starbucks improve over CCD's offering? How could Ola and Uber improve over Hertz and Wings Radio cabs? Newcomers or challenger brands bettered the offerings of pioneers in their fields and made them bigger than the pioneers. But there have been instances of pioneers nearly monopolising their categories. For example, WhatsApp has only grown its market share with a moat difficult to break.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Muhurat Trading and New Beginnings

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Know the history and customs behind Muhurat trading, and why the Muhurat trading of 2025 is different.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

The world's best restaurants may not have a Michelin Star, do you know why?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 02:30:00 +0000

It is interesting how a tyre company became an authority on rating restaurants worldwide. The connection feels unusual, but once you know the story, it seems almost obvious.

Did you know that many restaurants may not get a Michelin Star, but a consolation prize of sorts? It is a cute tag, to say the least.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Hyrox - Can cultural trends spark investment ideas?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 7 Oct 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Two companies, Concept2 and Centr, have long-standing agreements to supply equipment for Hyrox training and events worldwide. As Hyrox slowly becomes a cultural phenomenon, its suppliers stand to gain from the growing demand. There have been many similar parallels where cultural and subcultural trends have spurred demands for unlikely businesses.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Brand Collabs, Drop Culture, Limited Editions - the business of hype

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 02:30:00 +0000

KFC x Crocs, Nike x Ben&Jerry's, Supreme x Oreo, and Comet x Naru are all weird brand collaborations. There are so many more. But are such collabs just marketing stunts or actual business drivers?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Bhushan Steel's Fall From Fortune to Fraud

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Bhushan Steel was among India's largest secondary steelmakers. It rode high on India's infrastructure boom, expanding operations fueled by massive debt. Its growth came to a screeching halt when the promoters and senior officials were accused of multi-thousand-crore accounting fraud involving shell companies, fake invoices, fund diversion, and round-tripping.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

When Reliance Jio behaved like a startup

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Within just 6-7 months in 2020, Reliance had raised over 20 billion dollars from 13 prominent investors and sold about 33% of its equity Jio Platforms. This was the largest private capital raise by any company in India’s history. Why did such a cash-rich company like Reliance need external capital?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Flipkart is loss-making but valuable for Walmart

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 9 Sep 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Aswath Damodaran called Walmart's acquisition of Flipkart the most expensive facelift in history. He felt Walmart wanted to feel young again by acquiring a modern-age e-commerce company in a developing market. But Walmart is seeing a value that others may seem to ignore.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

L&T's hostile takeover of Mindtree

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 2 Sep 2025 02:30:00 +0000

L&T wanted to diversify out of infrastructure-related businesses. It was looking for targets. Mindtree was not looking for buyers, but it came on L&T's radar because of VG Sidhartha's struggles at Cafe Coffee Day. Then came a hostile takeover.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Lacoste - A solid business of solid shades

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 03:35:00 +0000

Rene Lacoste, a French Tennis prodigy, first wore a crocodile logo on his blazer. After his tennis career, he launched the Lacoste brand of tennis shirts, which, of course, had the signature crocodile logo.

Lacoste is known for various shades of solid polos today. Surprisingly, it introduced those shades way back in the 1950s.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

How does WhatsApp make money?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 02:00:00 +0000

WhatsApp is perhaps the only messaging app in the world that is free and does not display ads when you use it. When Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion, everybody thought WhatsApp would now start having ads. But it remained independent and had no ads. Even today, WhatsApp does not have any intrusive ads. It has a brilliant way of making money.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Tata Steel's adventurous (mis)step - Corus

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Tata Steel punched above its weight when it acquired Corus, a UK-based steelmaker, in 2007. It was touted as the coming-of-age for corporate India. However, it soon became a tale of caution. Was it operational challenges or adverse externalities?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Vaseline - a soft product with rugged origins

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 5 Aug 2025 02:30:00 +0000

When you think of Vaseline, the first thing that comes to mind is petroleum jelly. And there is a reason for it. As one of the most recognized personal care products, Vaseline has a very interesting story to tell.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Tata Nano - Visionary Product or Failed Experiment

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Mr. Ratan Tata's vision gave birth to the Tata Nano, which the engineers at Tata Motors made a reality. Perhaps some marketing missteps impeded the Nano from attracting customer interest as great as its popularity as the world's cheapest car. But was it just marketing or there were some other issues, too?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Labubu Mania - The Business of Fad

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 02:30:00 +0000

Labubu dolls have single-handedly transformed Pop Mart from a domestic toy retailer in China to a global toy retailer with stores in the most upmarket streets of London, Paris, and Los Angeles, and several countries. Labubu dolls are a fashion accessory, with arguably no utility, but crazy demand. This episode tries to dissect the business of a fad collectible.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

The Day Silver Broke Wall Street

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 02:30:00 +0000

In 1980, two Texas oil billionaires, the Hunt Brothers, tried to corner the global silver market. From secret Swiss accounts and offshore trusts to futures contracts and a full-blown silver mania, their plan sent prices soaring, until it all came crashing down on Silver Thursday.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Dettol's Liquid Soap Over Bar - Blue Ocean Strategy

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 8 Jul 2025 02:00:00 +0000

How did replacing soap bars with liquid handwash renew the soap market's business potential? How did Colgate use a simple ad message to renew the toothpaste market's business potential?

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How Cadbury's hostile takeover turned into a friendly takeover?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 1 Jul 2025 03:00:00 +0000

The 100+ year-old Cadbury brand has had multiple owners. Kraft, Mondelez, and Heinz were side actors in this story, and Warren Buffett also made a cameo.

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Hersheys Hazelnut Chocolate Spread travels six countries to reach you!

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 03:00:00 +0000

A Hershey's hazelnut chocolate spread is used to make breakfast toasts, for baking cakes and cookies, and as a topping on fruits and desserts. But before reaching your table, the spread traverses through six out of twenty-six countries that participate in Hershey's supply chain.

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Gulf Rupee - the time when India printed currencies for other countries

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 03:00:00 +0000

Five Gulf countries - Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the UAE - used the Indian rupee as a legal tender until the late 1950s and early 1960s. But it became a problem for India. So the RBI introduced the Gulf Rupee, a special edition of the rupee that could be used only in those five countries and not India. But why is it not in circulation today?

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Semiconductor Chips - Moore's Law, TSMC, ASML, India's push for chips

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 03:00:00 +0000

A semiconductor is a small card or chip inside your phone, laptop, smartwatch, or other digital device. That small chip has a value chain that spans thousands of players across many countries. Semiconductors are also seen as a tool of geopolitical influence, therefore, many countries have been rushing to become part of the semiconductor value chain.

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How shale oil made the US the world's largest oil producer? What is shale oil?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 3 Jun 2025 03:00:00 +0000

The US extracts oil trapped in hardened shale rocks. The technology used in drilling through shale rocks and extracting oil is difficult and expensive. America's peak capitalism helped make it cheaper and made the US the world's largest oil producer.

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From earth to your cars - how crude oil is extracted and refined into petrol

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 27 May 2025 03:00:00 +0000

Petrol, diesel, natural gas, fertilizers, plastics, rubber, detergents, and fragrances all have origins in crude oil (hydrocarbon) extraction. Crude oil runs deep in our daily lives, so it is understandable that crude oil prices are a major influence on the inflation rate. This episode traverses the entire crude oil value chain and more.

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How Zara's control over its supply chain makes it the most fashionable

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 20 May 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Unlike most companies that aim for maximum capacity utilization, Zara deliberately operates below full capacity and is even willing to ship half-empty trucks or containers. The less-than-optimal capacity utilization means that Zara cannot always offer the lowest prices, but they are competitive enough. Rivals can only scramble to match Zara's agility.

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The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management (LTCM)

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 13 May 2025 06:45:00 +0000

LTCM had four co-founders - Myron Scholes and Robert Merton, who were famous for developing the Black-Scholes-Merton model of deriving option prices, and later also went on to win a Nobel Prize; David Mullins Jr., who served as the Vice Chairman of the US Fed from 1991 to 1994; and John Meriwether, who headed Salomon Brother's bond trading desk when it was caught in a bond auction scandal. After a few years of strong returns, LTCM quickly lost those returns and much more.

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Who broke the Swiss Banking Secrecy Code?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 6 May 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Bradley Birkenfeld was an American banker working for UBS in Switzerland. He blew the whistle on how UBS enabled American clients to skirt the tax laws. The investigation that followed forced Switzerland to break its decades-old banking secrecy code to let UBS share client data with the US authorities.

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Sumitomo Copper Scandal - How one trader cornered the world's copper market?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Around the 1990s, Yasuo Hamanaka of Sumitomo Corporation came to control 5% of the world's copper. He used various unscrupulous means, such as fake trades, forged documents, and hoarding, to manipulate global copper prices. Then, a twist came with the resurgence of copper mining in China. Sumitomo lost USD 2.6 billion when the scam was uncovered in 1996.

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Salomon Brothers Scandal and how Warren Buffett handled it

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 07:15:00 +0000

Salomon Brothers was one of the largest investment banks in the US in the 1970s and 1980s. It was the first bank to sell mortgage-backed securities. The head of the government bond trading desk at Salomon had figured out a way to scam the Fed's treasury auctions. When the scam surfaced, the Fed and the SEC were both determined to bring down Salomon, but Warren Buffett stepped in to help find the culprit and keep the bank running.

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Bernie Madoff's big fat Ponzi scheme - How was it discovered?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Bernie Madoff ran an investment management firm that was not open to all - it was an invite-only club. That is what made it aspirational. Many investors saw it as a sign of status if they got to invest with Madoff. But no one knew that Madoff was not investing their money; he was just running a Ponzi scheme that lost investors a massive $65 billion.

How did he pull it off?

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Lijjat Papad - How a group of 45,000 women swiftly run a pan-India organization?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 8 Apr 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Seven women from a housing society in South Mumbai started Lijjat Papad in 1959. It started as a co-operative and has since onboarded more than 45,000 member sisters. Interestingly, Lijjat also runs the Sasa brand of detergents and soaps.

Lijjat Papad is a masterclass in sustainably managing a large-scale organization that has remained true to its core values, even decades after its establishment.

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How a Rogue Trader caused the collapse of UK-based Barings Bank?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 1 Apr 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Nick Leeson was a young trader at Barings Bank who was tasked with setting up a trading desk in Singapore. He was an aggressive risk-taker who told small, harmless lies that soon became big enough to bankrupt the bank. He exhibited several behavioral biases that also led him to run a full-fledged scam. When in prison, he wrote a book called Rogue Trader, detailing how he orchestrated the whole scam at Barings.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Reliance has equity reserves of ₹8 lakh crore! How does it use them?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 06:45:00 +0000

A company usually creates reserves from share premiums and retained earnings. However, not all reserves are liquid. Companies use reserves for various purposes. If not used well, excessive reserves held in cash could be a drag on the company's ROE.

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Ryanair offers cheapest airfares and is still the most profitable

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Ryanair offers extremely cheap flight tickets in Europe. They sell most tickets for £15 or less, which is roughly ₹1600. You hardly ever find those fares, even in India. Indigo is said to have emulated Ryanair's business model in its early days, but not anymore. So, how does Ryanair make money? What is its business model?

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Crazy Eddie - Scams and More Scams

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 07:10:00 +0000

Crazy Eddie was an electronics retailer in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. It was very famous for its catchy TV commercials but soon became infamous for the scams by its founders. This is a crazy tale of how two cousins defrauded their customers, shareholders, insurers, and the government.

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Why Jio Financial Services became part of the Nifty 50 index for just 13 days?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 4 Mar 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Jio Financial Services was spun off from Reliance Industries. Reliance is a part of the Nifty 50 index. Does that make JFS a de facto member of the index? JFS became part of the index for 13 days. What was the reason? Was 13 days too much or too little?

You could use the same framework to understand ITC Hotels' inclusion and exclusion in the indices.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Why Airlines are a tough business to crack? Indigo, Jet Airways, Kingfisher and others

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Warren Buffett called airlines a cursed sector. Kingfisher, Jet Airways, and Go Air in India, and many other airlines worldwide, have gone out of business. Even Indigo, India's most successful airline so far, suffered losses in four out of the last eight years. Why are airlines such a complicated business?

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Friends of Reliance Vs the Bear Cartel of Kolkata

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

A Kolkata-based group of brokers, often called the bear cartel, was shorting Reliance stock. As the stock was getting hammered, Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani apparently sought help from a group of NRIs to steady the stock price. The tale is dramatic and typical of the time when it happened.

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Why Hong Kong lets private banks print its currency?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Hong Kong's central bank does not print its currency. Instead, three private banks are entrusted to print Hong Kong Dollars. This arrangement is as good as handing over the monetary policy to private players. It seems strange, but there is a British-era reason behind it. And guess what? Currency pegging has also worked well in this arrangement!

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How Harshad Mehta Scam led to many reforms in the Indian markets?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

The Harshad Mehta scam of 1992 exposed massive loopholes in India’s banking and stock market systems, leading to a series of crucial financial reforms. Faster adoption of digital banking and dematerialized shares, stricter regulatory oversight, and modernized stock exchanges were all outcomes of the reforms meant to prevent such frauds in the future.

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Why mutual funds were suddenly underperforming in 2019?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

A SEBI rule in 2019 mandated mutual funds to change how they benchmarked their performance to an index. An understanding of price return (PR) and total return (TR) indices explains how the reported outperformance of mutual funds vanished.

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Leverage, ROE, and ROI - Margin Trading and Businesses

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Borrowings can amplify your profits as well as losses. The profits earned on borrowed money add to earnings, but losses eat into the equity capital. Interest payments can further hurt equity. It seems like a risk-return dilemma! Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Crude Oil once traded at negative prices - Do you know why?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 7 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

There came a time around COVID-19 when crude oil prices had fallen below zero. Meaning that you would be paid to take crude oil. It sounds strange, but it did happen. Tune in to know how and why was crude oil trading at negative prices. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel - Why does HUL sell detergents under different brand names?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 4 Feb 2025 06:45:00 +0000

HUL has Dove, Lux, Pears, Axe, and Lifebuoy soaps. It has Sunsilk, Clinic Plus, Dove, and other brands of shampoo. HUL is a house of brands with multiple brands in every product category. And did Maruti Suzuki take a leaf out of HUL's brand management book? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Singapore is the most expensive place to own a car!

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

You need a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) to own a car in Singapore. COE is very expensive, and you must bid for it in an open auction, thereby adding to the cost of buying a car. Has Singapore made cars expensive on purpose? If yes, why? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Diseconomies of Scale in Steel Recycling

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

We know economies of scale - as production increases, the per-unit cost goes down. Diseconomies of scale are the opposite - as production increases, the per-unit cost also rises. But why would that happen? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Parle-G and Cadbury Dairymilk - Shrinkflation

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Do you think today's Cadbury Dairymilk and Parle-G's five-rupee packets are much smaller than those 10-15 years ago? If inflation is the reason, couldn't they increase the packet price instead of reducing their size? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Why is RBI selling Dollars? The USD-INR Struggle

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

The RBI sold more than 50 billion dollars between September and December of 2024. Was it a planned course of action? Why would the bank reduce its forex reserves? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

IL&FS, Essel, and Others - Why NBFCs were failing in 2018-19

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

NBFCs borrow money from banks and the public to give out loans. They make money by keeping the difference between the interest rate they receive from their customers and the interest rate they pay to their lenders. But something went awry in this arrangement in 2018-19.

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Amber Enterprises, Taj, Ultratech Cement - What's common among them?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Amber's revenues are the strongest in the March quarter and the weakest in the June quarter.

Taj Hotels sees the weakest quarter in September and the strongest in December.

Ultratech Cement witnesses a strong March quarter and the weakest September quarter.

Seasonality has got something to do with it, maybe.

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Bricks, Nuts and Bolts, Zips and Buttons - businesses without brands

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Do you know the brand of bricks in your house? Do you know the brand of zips or buttons on your denims? Do we really care for the nuts and bolts used in our cars? How can one be successful in running such a no-brands business?

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Bajaj Auto Vs TVS Motor and Return on Assets

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 7 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto are similar in terms of the size of their revenues and assets. However, TVS has a return on assets of 4%, while Bajaj’s return on assets is almost 20%. Why this difference?

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Vedanta paid dividends in excess of earnings

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 3 Jan 2025 06:45:00 +0000

Vedanta Limited has been paying dividends that are in excess of its earnings over the past two years. Why is it doing so? And how can it pay such high dividends?

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Parachute Oil, Colgate Toothpaste, & Velvette Shampoo - Packaging Innovations

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Velvette's shampoo sachets, Colgate toothpaste tubes with wider openings, and the rounded Parachute oil bottles were all revolutionary innovations in product packaging. These cases show how packaging can solve for affordability, convenience, and even business profitability.

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India and China - Electric heating vs sun drying - Population density

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

China is the second-most populous country on earth but has a significantly low population density. How is this causing the same sector to behave differently in India and China?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Samsung, Apple, TSMC, Nvidia, and their PE Ratios

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Apple, TSMC, and Nvidia have much higher PE ratios than Samsung despite Samsung competing directly with these players in the global markets. Samsung's revenues and operations are at comparable levels with the others. So, what is holding its PE Ratio back?

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Argentina's 287% inflation rate - Cheap money and freebies

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

In 2024, people in Argentina carried bags or even suitcases filled with money for simple transactions. Inflation was as high as 287%. What structural issues pushed Argentina into a spiral of hyperinflation? What is the country doing now to correct its course?

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Was Adani Power charging a country risk premium to Bangladesh?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Risk attracts a premium. A higher price is quoted if there is doubt about a customer's ability to pay up in time. The higher price is because the business wants a premium for assuming the risk. What if there is doubt about a country's ability to pay up? Perhaps that is what Adani Power was concerned about in its power supply deal with Bangladesh.

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Cuba, China, Middle East, and Concentration Risk

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 08:15:00 +0000

Cuba is called the sugar bowl of the world, but Brazil and India have overtaken it as the largest sugar producers. Why did Cuba fall back? It seems the Middle East might be taking lessons from such mistakes that Cuba and many other countries have made.

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Adani Power, Palantir - Nationalization of Businesses

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

When Bangladesh struggled to pay power bills, Adani Power cut power power supply to the country by half. Adani could do this because its power generation was being done in India. What would the Bangladesh government have done if Adani Power had a power generation unit in Bangladesh?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Palantir, TSMC, Apple, and their Concentration Risk

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 6 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Palantir makes about 55% of its revenues from government contracts. That seems to be a lot of dependency on just one customer. Apple also apparently depends heavily on TSMC for semiconductor chips. That seems to be a lot of dependency on just one vendor. Is that a risk?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Torrent Pharma's Constant Currency Growth

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 3 Dec 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Torrent Pharma's Q2FY25 revenues from Brazil were up 4%, but in constant currency terms, the same revenues were up 17%. The concept of constant currency comes up only when the business has operations in multiple countries. But what is the concept of constant currency?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Quality of earnings Vs. Quality of reporting

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Bad quality of earnings or reporting may not be unlawful, but is that enough? Why is it important to have good-quality earnings? As an investor, why is transparency in reporting important? And why does it make business sense to have the best quality of earnings?

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Dmart, L&T, and their Trade Receivables

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Dmart's trade receivables are small, but those of L&T are huge. Is it because of the difference in the nature of their business or the difference in their management?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Warren Buffett's moats and Nestle, Dmart, IRCTC

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 06:45:00 +0000

According to Warren Buffett, Coca-Cola and Apple enjoy economic moats. Coca-Cola’s brand identity is a moat, and Apple’s brand and product design are both moats. Any feature that makes it difficult for the competition to break into an existing business’s market share is called a moat.

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TSMC's business continuity plan in the face of Covid and water shortage

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 09:55:00 +0000

Cybersecurity is mission-critical for TCS and Infosys, tech infrastructure and delivery agents are mission-critical for Zomato and Swiggy, and coal mining is mission-critical for Coal India. Any impact on the mission-critical factors can seriously hamper or even suspend the business. What are the mission-critical elements for TSMC?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Loss leaders of Reliance Mart, Zepto, Blinkit

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Retailers, both online and offline, sell many products at a loss. Have you ever come across potatoes or sugar being sold for just 1 rupee per kilo? How do retailers make money if they offer such steep discounts?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

M&M and Tech Mahindra - Rules of Thumb and Exceptions

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 06:45:00 +0000

The gross margins of tech companies are inherently different from those of most manufacturing companies. It is their different nature of business. But come to think of it, what really are the input costs for a technology company? Rules of thumb are good, but there always are "Side Notes."

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Yes Bank - How its market cap has grown despite a decline in stock price?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 8 Nov 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Yes Bank's investors have lost a little over 70% since a little before the Covid pandemic began. However, its market capitalization has been up 300% since then. Tune in to check out how stock price and the number of outstanding shares influence a stock's market cap.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Zero Promoter Companies - HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, L&T, and ITC

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 5 Nov 2024 08:45:00 +0000

Several listed companies do not have promoters. How do they work? Is there an advantage to being family-run or professionally run? Isn't it difficult to imagine Reliance Industries without the Ambani family or the Adani group without the Adani family? Is there an investment case here?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Infosys weighs heavier than TCS in the Nifty 50 index

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Fri, 1 Nov 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Infosys’s market capitalization is about half of TCS’s. However, it has a larger weightage than TCS in the Nifty 50 index. The answer is in the free-float market capitalization of the two IT giants. But what makes their free-float market cap different?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Vodafone and Facebook - Why companies pay in equity?

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Vodafone Idea paid some dues for spectrum charges to the government in equity. In its early days, Facebook paid an artist to decorate its headquarters in equity. Why do companies pay in equity? And what sets the respective equity payments of Vodafone and Facebook apart?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Tata Steel's captive mines and power plants - Backward Integration

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 07:15:00 +0000

Tata Steel's coal mines are captive, but Coal India's are not. What is the difference? Backward integration is suitable for Tata Steel but not for Tata Motors. What is the difference? This episode discusses how strategies must be tailored to industries.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Toyota - Just In Time - Demerits uncovered by the semiconductor industry

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 06:55:00 +0000

Toyota is credited with popularizing the just-in-time inventory management system, which helps save costs and improve efficiencies. However, the semiconductor shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic threw open some cracks in this approach.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Colgate & Nestle - eponym brands and marketing spends

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 06:50:00 +0000

Colgate, Maggi, and Cadbury have become eponym brands or category-definers. Almost everyone knows these brands, but they still continue to spend heavily on advertisements. In fact, marketing is one of the biggest expenditures for consumer companies. This episode details the business case behind it.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Hindustan Aeronautics - High leverage but zero debt

varsity@zerodha.com (Zerodha Varsity) — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 06:45:00 +0000

With defense stocks all the rage this year, we came across Hindustan Aeronautics. It has a high leverage, but no debt. Tune in to explore how that is possible.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.