Charles Lemonides of ValueWorks LLC on $RIVN, $JOBY, $BA, $AMZN and his $TPL short | S08 E12

In this episode of The Acquirers Podcast, host Tobias Carlisle welcomes Charles Lemonides, CIO and founder of ValueWorks LLC, to discuss his deep value investment philosophy and current portfolio holdings. Lemonides emphasizes a disciplined approach to value investing—buying assets for less than their intrinsic worth, regardless of traditional valuation metrics. He defends unconventional positions in Rivian and Joby Aviation, arguing that their competitive advantages, technological leadership, and strong balance sheets justify their valuations despite being far from the 'bottom half' of the valuation spectrum. He also discusses Boeing’s turnaround under new management, Amazon’s undervalued business portfolio, and a short position in Texas Pacific Land (TPL), which he views as a classic case of overvaluation driven by irrational confidence. The episode also features a compelling analogy comparing investment strategies to the human immune system, with 'innate' rules (diversification, cash reserves) protecting against immediate threats and 'adaptive' memory (studying past market cycles) enabling long-term success. Lemonides reflects on his experiences through major market events like 1987 and the dot-com bubble, underscoring the importance of building investment 'memory' through historical study to navigate future crises. Key takeaways include: 1) True value investing is about buying assets for less than their real worth, not just cheap price-to-earnings ratios; 2) Rivian and Joby represent high-conviction bets on future mobility trends with strong moats and scalable models; 3) Boeing’s operational improvements and supply-demand imbalance make it a compelling recovery story; 4) Amazon remains undervalued despite its size, with its businesses collectively worth significantly more than its market cap; 5) TPL is a prime example of a 'value trap' where past performance has bred overconfidence; 6) Building a resilient investment strategy requires both mechanical guardrails and deep historical learning; 7) The most successful investors are those who study market history not to predict the future, but to build the pattern recognition needed to act when opportunity arises; 8) Avoiding emotional reactions to market manias requires discipline and a long-term perspective grounded in experience.