Ep. 613: Why Great Investors Ignore the Headlines

Welcome back to Wall Street Unplugged. My guest this week is Corby Marshall, CEO of Hilltop Cybersecurity. (Full disclosure: I’m an early investor in this company.) Corby joins me from the RSA cybersecurity conference to discuss what we should all be thinking about it when it comes to protecting our data. You’ll also be fascinated to hear what led him to into this space... Later, we’ll talk about how important it is to look beyond the headlines when it comes to evaluating a stock. Read the story no one else is telling—because news stories aren’t often digging into the fundamentals. I also take a few moments to vent about the media’s obsession with the Mark Zuckerberg Facebook hearings and the James Comey publicity book tour.      0:33 –  Why did we make such a big deal about the Mark Zuckerberg hearings on CNBC? 4:20 - Can we trust the biggest companies in a space to regulate their own industry? 6:35 - I watched James Comey’s latest PR blitz for his book trashing the President. 9:18 - Democrats need to stop lingering on this Russia collusion nonsense. 10:33 - Netflix reported good numbers, but of course, someone always goes on TV and says they’re worried about the company’s expenses… I’m not. 14:24 - So excited that we are into earnings season. 16:25 - Seeing a lot of potential in cybersecurity, so I’m also excited to be chatting with Corby Marshall, CEO of Hilltop cybersecurity. 19:20 - Corby’s background and why he got into cybersecurity. 21:42 - What are the latest trends in cybersecurity he’s seeing at the RSA conference? 24:02 - How vulnerable are normal people online? 27:04 - The formation of Hilltop and how it strives to be better than the competition. 30:35 - What scares Corby the most. 33:19 - How important is it to have a great team. 37:18 - Hilltop’s involvement in the cryptocurrency space and protecting its customers. 40:45 - Connecting with Corby at 45:24 - Cancel newsletters where their editors aren’t allowed to buy stocks. 46:55 - It’s not whether or not a stock is expensive, it’s about its growth potential. 48:45 - Find the story that no one else is talking about. 50:44 - For example, how I looked at the defense sector during sequester talks back in 2012. 52:34 - Another example, big pharma and the patent cliff that people were worried about.