Priced like the old business, running like a new one: management is redirecting the call away from the metric investors
The model's full reasoning — Q3 2018 call → NOWe need to determine if management repeatedly redirects attention away from the conventional yardstick and toward a different part of the business that is already earning, and indicates the record hasn't caught up. Let's analyze the transcript. The company is Customers Bancorp. The conventional yardstick for a bank is typically earnings per share, net interest margin, loan growth, etc. The call discusses community business banking segment and BankMobile segment. Management discusses strategic priorities. They talk about community business banking segment performing well, with operating EPS of $0.73, ROA of 1%, etc. They also discuss BankMobile segment which had a loss of $3.6 million. They talk about growing core banking while exiting non-core banking. They talk about BankMobile being a future spin-off. Key question: Does management set aside the conventional yardstick? The conventional yardstick for a bank might be overall EPS or overall ROA. But management actually highlights the community business banking segment as performing well, and BankMobile as a drag. They are not setting aside the overall yardstick; they are breaking it down. They are saying the core bank is doing well, but BankMobile is losing money. They are not saying "don't look at overall EPS, look at this other thing that is already earning." Instead, they are saying the core bank is earning well, but the overall results are dragged by BankMobile. That is a conventional breakdown. However, they also talk about strategic priorities: growing core banking, exiting non-core banking, growing BankMobile, etc. They talk about a shift in strategy. They mention that they are focusing on improving profitability, and they have a target NIM of 2.75%. They talk about selling low-yielding securities, etc. Does management identify a different part of the business that is already earning and say that the record hasn't caught up? They mention the community business banking segment is already earning well, but that is the main business. They also mention the CB digital bank, which is generating deposits. But that is part of the community business segment. They also mention BankMobile's white label partnership, but that is prospective.
| Ticker | Company | Call | Date | Call grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOAH | Noah Holdings Limited | Q1 2024 | 2024-05-30 | D |
| DUOT | Duos Technologies Group, Inc. | Q4 2023 | 2024-04-01 | F |
| OPAD | Offerpad Solutions Inc. | Q3 2023 | 2023-11-01 | C |
| SPT | Sprout Social, Inc. | Q2 2023 | 2023-08-04 | B+ |
| PRPH | ProPhase Labs, Inc. | Q1 2023 | 2023-05-11 | F |
| CALX | Calix, Inc. | Q1 2023 | 2023-04-20 | C+ |
| WD | Walker & Dunlop, Inc. | Q2 2022 | 2022-08-09 | C+ |
| LC | LendingClub Corporation | Q4 2021 | 2022-01-26 | A |
| CYBR | CyberArk Software Ltd. | Q3 2021 | 2021-11-04 | B+ |
| LPTH | LightPath Technologies, Inc. | Q4 2021 | 2021-09-09 | D |
| LOB | Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. | Q3 2018 | 2018-10-25 | C+ |
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