This month we revisit the original oil panic, the whiskey glut nobody noticed, homebuilders’ disappearing margins, the new WORM index for Oregon companies, and the only friend AI data centers really have - natural gas. In other words: 1970s stagflation, a hangover in a bourbon warehouse, housing builders racing each other to the bottom, and an energy transition that still quietly runs on methane. If you like panic, mispricing, and real assets that don’t care about your factor model, you’re in the right place. As a final note, the recent S&P rebalancing saw thirteen companies removed from the S&P 600 small cap index - three of them are current holdings. We like being part of the cast offs. This was even a signal to review each of the others as possible investment targets.

— Managing Partners Drew Millegan & Quinn Millegan

As an Oregon-based hedge fund, we often get the opportunity to more closely investigate local companies that are otherwise too small to register on most firms’ radars.  Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVVI) is one of those companies.  As one of the largest corporate vineyards in the state and a big player in a currently-ailing industry (the kids just don’t drink how they used to), it has shown up on our equity value screen programs more than a few times.

Unfortunately, just appearing in a value search does not make a value company.  It is as much our job as managers to identify value traps as it is to pick out the potential true bargains.  The low valuation of current trading seems to be justified.  Let’s dig into why.

This month’s Millegan Memo runs from Oregon dirt to Old Europe’s bond markets. On the company side, we walk through Helen of Troy’s “take your medicine” quarter, a local vineyard flagship that looks more like a capital structure problem than a bargain, and Stellantis, a misunderstood cash generator still priced like a restructuring project. On the macro and history side, we introduce the Woodworth Oregon Index and revisit the Peace of Westphalia to explain why the plumbing of institutions matters more to investors than whatever story is trending on financial TV.

- Managing Partners Drew Millegan & Quinn Millegan