The Acquirer’s Multiple, Santa Monica, CA (2026)

09/03/2026

🎙️ **Why Your Put Strike Price Matters More Than the Premium**

Tim Travis and Tobias Carlisle recently discussed why discipline matters when selling cash-secured puts.

📌 Don’t chase a bigger premium at a higher strike price
📌 Start by determining the price you’d genuinely be comfortable owning the stock
📌 Accepting less premium can be worthwhile if it gives you a better entry price
📌 Remember: **stocks can fall much further than expected**

As Tim explains, if you believe a stock is attractive at **$170**, don’t sell the **$200 put** simply because the premium looks better.

The key: **Prioritize your entry price over the premium. The goal isn’t just to collect income — it’s to own the underlying business at an attractive valuation if assigned.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

09/03/2026

📊 **Teekay Tankers (TNK): An Undervalued Shipping Stock?**

This week’s Acquirer’s Multiple spotlight is **Teekay Tankers (TNK)** — a global operator of crude oil and refined-product tankers.

📌 **Acquirer’s Multiple:** 3.80x
📌 **IV/P:** 1.20
📌 **Revenue:** ~$1.15B
📌 **Free Cash Flow:** ~$267.9M
📌 **Operating Cash Flow:** ~$540.1M

One of the biggest improvements has been the balance sheet. Total debt has fallen from approximately **$576M in 2022 to just $46M in 2025**.

⚠️ Risks remain, including volatile tanker rates, oil demand, vessel oversupply and the highly cyclical nature of shipping.

The takeaway: **With strong cash generation, dramatically lower debt and a 3.80x Acquirer’s Multiple, TNK could be an interesting value opportunity worthy of further research.**

Free U.S Large-Cap Screener here:

https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/large-cap/

09/03/2026

🎙️ **The Four Things Chris Mayer Looks for in a Stock**

Chris Mayer recently explained the four key characteristics he focuses on when evaluating a potential long-term investment.

📌 **Great People** — Honest management teams with strong capital-allocation skills and respect for minority shareholders.

📌 **High Returns on Capital** — Ideally already strong, or with a clear path toward improving as the business scales.

📌 **Strong Balance Sheet** — Mayer avoids excessive leverage and prefers companies capable of surviving — and potentially exploiting — periods of market distress.

📌 **Valuation** — He typically models expected returns over **5–10 years** to determine whether the potential IRR makes sense.

There’s another factor Mayer considers particularly important for long-term investors: **culture**.

Employee tenure, internal promotions, employee ownership and long-lasting supplier relationships can all provide clues about the quality of a business.

The takeaway: **Great people + high returns on capital + financial strength + a sensible price.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

09/02/2026

🎙️ **How Selling Puts Can Create a Margin of Safety**

Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis recently discussed how they combine **value investing with cash-secured puts**.

📌 Start with a business you’re comfortable owning
📌 Choose a strike price below the current market price
📌 The premium received reduces your effective purchase price even further
📌 Make sure the premium provides an attractive return on the cash being secured

There are two potential outcomes:

**If assigned:** You buy a business you want to own at the **strike price minus the premium received**.

**If not assigned:** The option expires worthless and **you keep the premium**.

The key: **Don’t sell puts just for the premium. Sell them on businesses you want to own, at prices you’d be happy to pay.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

09/02/2026

📊 **This Week’s Deep-Value Stocks: Acquirer’s Multiple Large-Cap Screen**

This week’s screen continues to uncover attractive valuations across multiple sectors, with **energy stocks particularly prominent**.

📌 **Financials:** Synchrony (S*F), FIS, SS&C — with Synchrony the cheapest stock overall at just **2.6x AM**

📌 **Energy:** Equinor (EQNR), Petrobras (PBR), APA (APA) — trading at **3.3x, 5.0x and 5.4x**

📌 **Healthcare:** Sanofi (SNY), Cigna (CI), Novo Nordisk (NVO) — all below **10x AM**

📌 **Consumer:** Lululemon (LULU) leads at just **7.3x AM**

📌 **Technology:** HP (HPQ), Cognizant (CTSH), CGI (GIB) — at **8.2x, 8.6x and 9.1x**

Opportunities also remain across communications, industrials, transportation and materials.

The takeaway: **Value remains available well beyond the market’s AI-driven leaders, with energy standing out as one of the cheapest areas this week.**

🔎Free U.S Large-Cap Screener here:

https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/large-cap/

09/02/2026

🎙️ **What Makes a Potential 100-Bagger?**

Chris Mayer says the core ingredients behind the market’s biggest long-term winners haven’t changed much.

📌 Businesses capable of generating **high returns on capital for decades**
📌 Exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams who allocate capital effectively
📌 The ability to reinvest and compound for very long periods
📌 Companies where one key individual can make an enormous difference

Think **Sam Walton at Walmart, Steve Jobs at Apple, or Charles Schwab at Schwab**.

One area where Mayer’s thinking has evolved is acquisitions. Companies such as **Constellation Software and the Swedish serial acquirers** have demonstrated how disciplined M&A can become a powerful compounding engine.

The takeaway: **100-baggers are built through exceptional businesses, exceptional people and decades of compounding.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

09/01/2026

🎙️ **Selling Puts on AI’s Biggest Losers**

Tim Travis and Tobias Carlisle recently discussed how the AI selloff created opportunities in beaten-down software and technology stocks.

📌 **ServiceNow** fell from a 52-week high of $194 to around $81
📌 They sold puts at strike prices well below the market while volatility made premiums attractive
📌 One ServiceNow trade was closed early after capturing roughly **92–93% of the target profit**
📌 **Workday, Adobe, HubSpot and Meta** also created potential opportunities as uncertainty pushed volatility higher

The strategy: **identify quality businesses hit by fear, sell puts at prices you’d be comfortable owning them, and get paid while you wait.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

09/01/2026

💰 **Smart Money is Buying American International Group (AIG)**

Several prominent investors increased their positions in **AIG** during the latest reported quarter.

📌 **Cliff Asness** — Added 1.35M shares → 4.15M total (~$310M)

📌 **Steve Cohen** — Added 526K shares → 1.97M total (~$150M)

📌 **Ray Dalio** — Added 119K shares → 295K total

📌 **Jeremy Grantham** — Added 23K shares → 90K total

📌 **Joel Greenblatt** — Added 13.9K shares → 21.8K total

📌 **Rich Pzena** — Added 6.9K shares → 456.6K total

Ken Fisher and Mario Gabelli also added to their AIG positions.

The takeaway: **AIG attracted buying from a diverse group of quantitative, hedge fund and value investors during the quarter.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

09/01/2026

🎙️ **The Real Secret to Long-Term Investing**

Chris Mayer says one of the biggest challenges in long-term investing isn’t finding great businesses — it’s **ignoring the noise long enough to hold them**.

📌 Financial media constantly encourages investors to take action
📌 Focus on the handful of fundamentals that actually matter to the business
📌 Avoid checking stock prices multiple times a day
📌 Ignore short-term volatility that doesn’t change the long-term thesis
📌 Consider cutting back your financial media “diet”

The key takeaway: **Successful long-term investing often means knowing what NOT to pay attention to.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

08/31/2026

🎙️ *NEW EPISODE* Value Options: Selling Puts on AI’s Biggest Losers ($NOW, $WDAY, $META)

During their recent episode of the Value Options Letter and Acquirers Podcast, Tim Travis and Tobias Carlisle discussed how they’re using options alongside a value-investing framework.

📌 Selling puts on beaten-down AI-related stocks
📌 How put premiums can create an additional **margin of safety**
📌 Why the **strike price matters more than the premium**
📌 When it makes sense to close a profitable options trade early
📌 What they’ve learned from **195 options trades so far**

The key idea: **Use options to target businesses you already want to own, at prices you’d be comfortable paying — and get paid while you wait.**

📈 Want to see the actual cash-secured put and covered call trades Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis are sending subscribers this week?

See exactly how the strategy works before risking any capital.

Get the same Buffett-style option trade alerts Tobias Carlisle and Tim Travis send subscribers each week.

👉 Link in my channel profile or use the link below.

👉 https://valueoptionsletter.com/a/acquirers-multiple

Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you subscribe, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.

The Acquirer’s Multiple

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