I've always paid heed to the fact that a share of stock represents the residual interest in the earnings of the respective company. If you were to buy a private company that has no daily marking of value, what would you focus on to determine its value? Cash flow and free cash flow. So it follows that I am amazed that people "invest" in companies with promising products yet have never generated a profit in their entire existence that spans 10 years. Such a position could only be described as speculative.

Robert, I met you at the Legg Mason Conference in Las Vegas back in 2001 or 2002. At the time I questioned you about your position in XM Satellite as I felt it was speculative, or at least over priced. At the time it was trading in the $30+ range. After a couple rounds of questions from myself, you finally broke down and admitted that it was speculative, but there was room for a small speculative position in the portfolio. Curious what you did with that position and how you made out?