KEP: Korea’s Cash-Gushing Nuclear Giant – QAV America #29

by | Nov 29, 2025 | America, Investing Podcast, Podcast Episodes, QAVUS, US Episode

This week we dive into Korea Electric Power (KEP), a deep-value, government-linked Korean utility that has quietly swung from crisis-level losses to massive operating cash flow. We explore the company’s unusual history stretching back to a royal electrification project in the 1890s, its modern political entanglement with tariff controls, its nuclear-heavy energy mix, and why the market may be mispricing a regulated monopoly with a price-to-operating-cash-flow ratio of 1.5. We also cover the recent sell of VSAT on a 3PTL rule, the psychology of Reddit outrage at PCG, and the broader role utilities play in an AI-powered future where electricity becomes the new picks and shovels.

PCG – PG&E: Leading With Love – QAV America #28

by | Nov 23, 2025 | America, Investing Podcast, Podcast Episodes, QAVUS, US Episode

This episode dives into Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PCG) and its strange mix of monopoly power, criminal convictions, billions in liabilities, climate exposure, and a CEO who says she’s “leading with love.” Cameron takes us through PG&E’s century-old origins, deadly infrastructure failures like the Camp Fire manslaughter convictions, the bizarre history of repeat explosions and corruption, and the unusual financial structure that keeps the company alive despite $58B in debt. Tony questions whether a guaranteed utility should even be privately owned, compares it to safer options like Berkshire Hathaway’s utilities, and wonders why we’d touch a business known for burning down half a state. Despite the horrors, PG&E lands on the QAV buy list due to cheap cashflow valuation, a protected regulated monopoly, and a massive turnaround driven by mandated wildfire-prevention spending and government-backed debt.

MODG (Topgolf Callaway Brands) – QAV America #27

by | Nov 12, 2025 | America, Investing Podcast, Podcast Episodes, QAVUS, US Episode

In this episode of QAV America, Cameron and Tony dig into the state of the U.S. market, exploring how AI investment is distorting capital flows, weakening job markets, and reshaping traditional sectors. They discuss how “the Great Freeze” in hiring and the surge in data-centre spending are reshaping the economy. Then Cameron serves up a Pulled Pork deep dive on MODG (Topgolf Callaway Brands)—a company blending golf, entertainment, and retail that’s now splitting itself apart to “unlock value.” Tony reflects on golf’s pandemic-era revival, the engineering of the Big Bertha, and why Callaway’s merger with Topgolf sent its share price into the rough. They unpack tariffs, impairments, and the business logic behind spinning off Topgolf, ending with a lively riff on humanoid robots, golf robots, and even robot jockeys.

Flying on Points: American Airlines (AAL) – QAV America #26

by | Oct 30, 2025 | America, Investing Podcast, Podcast Episodes, QAVUS, US Episode

In this episode of QAV America, Cameron and Tony dive into a deep analysis of American Airlines (AAL) — exploring its towering debt, its loyalty program goldmine, and its future prospects. They unpack how AAL’s Advantage points system, underpinned by a major new 10-year co-branded card deal with Citi, might serve as both ballast and buoy for a company flying through turbulence. Along the way, they riff on the airline industry’s cyclic nature, the debt-leverage paradox, and the Piotroski F-Score quirks that make AAL intriguing. Climate change, loyalty economics, Pratt & Whitney’s cursed engines, and the Buffett-era lessons on airline KPIs all make an appearance. After the financial deep-dive, the conversation drifts into lighter territory—Scorsese films, Gravity’s Rainbow, and Cameron’s bruising Kung Fu grading.