The hottest Due Diligence Substack posts right now

Short-seller reports often uncover real governance, accounting, or export-control problems and should be read carefully because they can presage legal or financial trouble.
Markets can ignore detailed warnings for a long time, but risks can suddenly materialize and cause violent repricing, as seen in past cases.
Treat evidence-based short research as basic risk management — don’t blindly follow it, but don’t dismiss it either; engage with the facts and ask tough questions.

A niche business that is hard to replicate can attract strategic buyers and deliver large returns to shareholders when it fits a buyer's needs.
In heavily regulated industries, government rules and reimbursement pressure are persistent risks that should be explicitly included in forecasts and downside scenarios.
New management rarely fixes deep, long‑standing cultural or compliance problems quickly, and frequent CEO turnover is a warning sign that requires conservatism in valuation and risk assessment.

The automotive aftermarket looks like a stable, slow-changing business where short trips, urgency, low ticket sizes, and helpful in-store service create repeat customers and limit online disruption, which can support margin improvement like competitors have shown.
Execution risk mattered: same-store sales were weaker than expected even as margins improved, but better results at peers suggested the problems were company-specific rather than structural, so early misses didn’t automatically change the value view.
The market quickly priced in expected synergies from a large acquisition, closing the gap to intrinsic value and creating a clear exit opportunity, and sensible position sizing plus discipline let the investor realize the gain.

Favor businesses that are predictable and don’t change much over the long term, because stability makes forecasting and compounding easier.
Prioritize honest, competent management and alignment with owners, since trustworthy leaders and CEOs who are engaged materially improve long-term outcomes.
Use a structured, checklist-based research process and deliberate practice: customize the checklist to your approach, be realistic about the time needed to become proficient, and accelerate learning by discussing work with peers.

Properly value a company by considering its IP and assets beyond just revenue multiples.
Explore partnership opportunities that could lead to more value than a simple acquisition.
Perform thorough due diligence before buying a company to have a clear growth plan in place.

Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

ARR can overstate the value of AI products because it counts one-off or novelty-driven payments; VRR measures sustainable revenue by applying a Utility Decay Coefficient based on workflow integration, model independence, and churn.
Investors should run cohort utility audits and calculate a VRR gap using metrics like boring-day ratio, month-5 retention, integration depth, and model independence to separate ‘vibe’ revenue from durable revenue.
VRR changes valuation logic by penalizing short-lived, novelty revenue to avoid inflated paper valuations and focus on products that create real habits and deep integrations.

Financial institutions in Nigeria must conduct thorough due diligence on customers before opening accounts and monitor transactions for suspicious activities.
These institutions are required to keep transaction records for at least five years and report any suspicious transactions to the appropriate authorities.
Clients are mandated to provide valid identification and comply with all specified regulations and guidelines when dealing with financial institutions in Nigeria.

Investment due diligence can benefit significantly from AI automation.
AI for Due Diligence can enhance efficiency and accuracy in evaluating businesses.
Challenges to implementing AI for Due Diligence include data privacy, unbiased analysis, and regulatory compliance.