
Aug 12, 2026 · 36 min
Strong earnings meet stubborn valuation fears
3 impressive Aussie companies, how often should you invest & don’t listen to Michael Burry
The episode separates durable investing habits from market-timing instincts as companies report strong results and prominent pessimists warn of an AI bubble.
- 1Reporting season shows earnings strength extending beyond major technology stocks, including notable Australian companies.
- 2Dollar-cost averaging works best as a consistent habit, while weekday and frequency choices matter less than brokerage costs.
- 3Michael Burry’s bearish AI positioning illustrates why market warnings can inform research without becoming investment instructions.
Don't miss
The Michael Burry segment turns a famous bearish call into a broader warning against treating market pessimism as an investment instruction.
The brief
Global and Australian reporting season has produced strong earnings growth across sectors, challenging the idea that the market rally rests only on large technology stocks.
Nick Scali, ResMed and REA Group show three different earnings stories: resilient historical performance, continued growth amid uncertainty, and stronger monetisation of a dominant platform.
On dollar-cost averaging, the hosts find little practical advantage in choosing a particular weekday or frequency; consistency matters more, while brokerage costs can materially change the calculation.
The tax discussion gets concrete: repeated purchases and reinvested dividends create separate parcels and cost bases, making broker or tax-platform records increasingly important.
Michael Burry’s bearish AI bets provide the episode’s sharpest caution: recognising risks is different from timing crashes, shorting successfully or copying a famous pessimist.
The broader takeaway is disciplined participation—stay diversified, assess valuations and earnings, and resist turning market forecasts into personal investment instructions.
What was said on this episode
23 statements · 13 positive · 6 negative · 2 mixed · 2 neutral
US and Australian markets are at record highs, supporting continued investment.
“The US is also hitting all-time highs and the Australian market is hitting all-time highs. It's just been good news so far. You want to be invested.”
Listen at 0:07
Nick Scali’s Australian and New Zealand demand is slowing.
“the Australian New Zealand business demand is really slowing.”
Listen at 6:00
Nick Scali’s UK business is recovering, with orders up 31%.
“Their UK business is turning around. Orders rose 31%. Their margin has improved.”
Listen at 6:43
More smart-device use will increase awareness and sleep-apnea diagnoses.
“the more people will know their sleep is terrible and the more diagnosis that will happen.”
Listen at 10:25
ResMed remains a long-term compounder despite weak market sentiment.
“it's a continued compounder ResMed, but the market seems out of love with it still.”
Listen at 10:32
REA Group remains Australia’s dominant property-listing platform.
“they are still the dominant listing platform in Australia.”
Listen at 11:20
Investors should maintain core exposure across major global regions.
“you want a core portfolio that covers US, Europe, Asia, and Australia”
Listen at 12:40
CSL remains substantially below its near-300 peak price.
“it's still considerably down from its sort of near 300 peak.”
Listen at 13:12
The weekday chosen for dollar-cost averaging has little long-term impact.
“It doesn't matter what day.”
Listen at 14:52
Consistency over decades matters more than the investment weekday.
“It doesn't matter what day you invest because whichever day you choose to invest, you then invested for the next 30 years.”
Listen at 18:03
Weekly and monthly dollar-cost averaging usually differ by about 0.1% annually.
“minimal impact on long-term returns. The difference between weekly and monthly dollar cost averaging typically is only around 0.1% annualized.”
Listen at 18:27
Frequent brokerage payments reduce long-term investment returns.
“if you're paying brokerage yes because that if you're doing brokerage daily or weekly that is going to have a drag on your returns over a long period of time”
Listen at 18:49
Investors should choose a platform with no brokerage fees.
“So ideally find a platform where you're not paying any brokerage.”
Listen at 19:12
Studies indicate that investing late in the month may produce better entry prices.
“the studies do seem to indicate that the back end of the month is better.”
Listen at 21:16
Investors should prioritize investable amount, sustainable frequency, and low costs.
“the key thing you want to be figuring out is how much can I invest? How frequently can I do it? And how can I do it at the lowest cost?”
Listen at 21:37
Inflation-adjusted investment losses cannot be claimed as capital losses.
“What you can't do is claim the loss on that as a loss, as a capital loss.”
Listen at 25:40
Tax complexity does not undermine the value of consistent market investing.
“it doesn't override the point of investing and it doesn't undermine the value of consistently dollar cost averaging into the market. So don't let it scare you off investing.”
Listen at 27:46
The S&P 500 gained nearly 300% with dividends reinvested during Burry’s bearish calls.
“The S&P 500 with dividends reinvested is up almost 300%, meaning if he had just bought the US stock market rather than betting against it, he would have forexed his money.”
Listen at 32:12
Investors should not follow Michael Burry’s market warnings.
“Don't listen to him.”
Listen at 32:52
Short selling is generally a poor investing strategy.
“shorting is just a fool's game really at the end of the day.”
Listen at 33:47
Consistently shorting stocks or markets is difficult, while optimism has historically produced returns.
“It's really hard to consistently short stocks. It's even harder to short the overall market. And pessimism gets headlines. Optimism gets returns, I think, in investing.”
Listen at 33:58
The market is likely to continue overcoming worries and rising over time.
“The story of the market is a story of just overcoming all of these reasons to be worried and continue to grow higher. Nothing tells me that that is going to change.”
Listen at 34:10
Staying invested in the US market with reinvested dividends could have quadrupled wealth.
“you could have forexed your money if you just stay invested and reinvested your dividends along the way in the US market.”
Listen at 34:41
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Featuring
Listen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.

ResMed
REA Group
The Big Short