Don't Get Too Excited About Best Buy

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It amazes me that anybody with a time horizon of more than a few days or weeks pays attention to (A) politics or (B) Best Buy (BBY) quarterly earnings.

And I mean a time horizon on anything -- investing, attention span, life.

If you "trade" -- and you probably shouldn't be doing that unless you have a true statistical edge -- I guess what happens in Washington or in a quarter or two matters. (Then again, if you have an "edge" it has nothing to do with real-life events. It's all about the chart.)

A view beyond the previous and next three months -- one that takes the long-term prospects, strategic-competitive position and vision of a company into account -- renders some stocks virtually untouchable until the dust settles.

You can certainly make money trading pops in names such as BBY, Research in Motion (BBRY) and RadioShack (RSH), but, if you get tempted by high risk/big reward too often, there's a good chance you'll blow up your account.

Of course, most people do, and probably should, reserve a portion of their portfolio to speculate on turnarounds and perceived value plays. Just not a good core strategy for most investors.

That's why I chide Wall Street analysts who beat the drum for broken companies on a good quarter or two. That's what we saw last week with Best Buy.

As I articulated ahead of earnings, even if they fail on different timelines, the culture of obviousness will lead Best Buy and JCPenney (JCP) to horrible deaths.

1 2 Next › Last »