📖Joel Greenblatt

High Return on Capital

🌳 Advanced★★★★☆

High return on capital signals business quality.

💬

Companies that earn high returns on capital are usually better businesses. Quality matters.

— The Little Book That Beats the Market，2005

🏠 Everyday Analogy

Analyzing a business is like choosing a long-term partner. Temporary excitement matters less than durable character, capability, and consistency.

📖 Core Interpretation

Joel Greenblatt emphasizes durable business quality over short-term noise. A strong model, real competitive edge, and disciplined capital allocation matter more than quarterly excitement.
💎 Key Insight：Return on capital measures how efficiently a business converts invested capital into profits. High ROC means the company has competitive advantages—pricing power, brand strength, network effects. These businesses compound value over time. Low ROC businesses require constant reinvestment just to maintain position. Focus on capital-efficient winners.

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❓ Why It Matters

Without business-quality filters, investors drift toward stories rather than economics. Durable cash generation is what supports long-term valuation.

🎯 How to Practice

Use a checklist covering moat, management, unit economics, and capital allocation; track long-term cash generation instead of quarter-to-quarter noise.

🎙️ Master's Voice

The market is usually pretty good at valuing companies. It's the edges where opportunity exists.
Greenblatt finds opportunity at extremes. Most stocks are fairly valued; edge cases offer the best returns.

⚔️ Practical Guide

✅ Decision Checklist

  • Is this an edge case?
  • Is the market efficient here?
  • Where is the mispricing?

📋 Action Steps

  1. Seek edge cases
  2. Avoid efficient areas
  3. Find extreme mispricings

🚨 Warning Signs

  • Trading in efficient areas
  • No edge
  • No mispricing

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

✕Buying narratives instead of cash-generating economics
✕Overreacting to short-term operating noise
✕Ignoring management quality and capital allocation

📚 Case Studies

1
American Express Spin-Off Opportunity (2004)
Greenblatt analyzed American Express when it was temporarily out of favor, trading below its intrinsic value based on earnings and returns on capital.
✨ Outcome：Invested at depressed prices, earning strong returns as earnings normalized and the market rerated the stock.
2
McDonald's Temporary Earnings Slump (2002)
McDonald’s faced operational issues and lower earnings, leading investors to punish the stock despite strong underlying economics and durable brand strength.
✨ Outcome：Bought during the period of pessimism and profited significantly as operations improved and the valuation reverted upward.

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