Blue Chips and Hot Tips: Identifying Emerging Growth Companies Most Likely to Succeed

by W. Keith Schilit

Introduces a framework for evaluating whether a company is likely to succeed. The authors identify the signs of success and failure, explain what to look for in an IPO, and point out the kind of questions investors should ask before committing themselves.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0130894427
• ISBN13: 9780130894427
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An education in IPO investing

Over the past decade, Howard Schilit has built a reputation as a financial statement bloodhound through his organization, Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA). His focus is on rooting out elements of public company financial reports that lessen the quality of reported earnings. However, Blue Chips & Hot Tips, his first of two books, has a different focus, though it relies on many of the same principles. In it, Schilit and his brother methodically walk you through the evaluation of young companies (upcoming or recent IPOs), with the objective of identifying big winners early and avoiding companies that will not pan out. What was great for me when I read this book back in 1994 is that I learned how to break down a prospectus, which can appear overwhelming at first glance. Everything is covered, including analyzing product superiority and competition, analyzing management, directors and the auditors, and digging into the financial statements in order to assess the true health of the company. Schilit is a CPA and a detail freak so the most helpful chapters focused on the financials and the deal terms. I should acknowledge that some of his suggestions have grown to be too idealistic in an age where many companies are simply brought public too early. However, as we've seen over the past two years, applying the principles of this book would have kept you away from practically all of the blowups and bankruptcies that occurred in the aftermath of the dotcom frenzy. I should also note that the later chapters analyze several stocks, weeding out the promising ones from the less promising. Cisco Systems (CSCO) was one of four stocks that made the cut (quite prescient back in 1992). Clearly, these will be outdated recommendations, though they are still instructive examples of his approach. Bottom line - I highly recommend this book for any investor who wants to move beyond the Peter Lynch "buy what you know and hang on to it" approach. Eight years later, I am still utilizing tools introduced to me by this book.