David Hay — Friday POW!: Good As Gold (.com) — the former A-Mark, now GOLD
Revisiting Sy Jacobs' "Super Investor" pick after a price correction: A-Mark, rebranded Gold.com (GOLD), the vertically-integrated precious-metals ecosystem — "just buy the stock!"
One-line take: This week's POW! revisits GOLD — the former A-Mark Precious Metals (AMRK), renamed Gold.com on 12/2/25 — a "Super Investor" Sy Jacobs idea first flagged Dec-2023, up ~94% since Apr-2025 vs the S&P's 33.5%, now revisited after a price correction. It's a vertically-integrated precious-metals ecosystem: retail bullion (JM Bullion, GovMint, Stack's Bowers, Monex — 20+ brands under GOLD.com), minting (Sunshine Minting), wholesale trading, logistics (A-M Global Logistics) and metals-backed lending (Collateral Finance Corp — the services units = ~40% of gross profit, stable cash flow). At ~$1.3B market cap, ~13× earnings; Barron's a buyer with a $66 PT (~40% upside); latest quarter sales +136%, profit +77%. Bullish setup: a $150M Tether stake (10%; a future logistics/storage customer for a planned US gold-backed stablecoin), the silver curve un-inverting (a tailwind after backwardation hurt 2025 earnings), low-multiple acquisitions (~5× EBITDA), 12.5% short interest + limited float (insiders 18%) → squeeze potential, and a fresh all-time-high breakout ("no overhead resistance"). "Just buy the stock!"
1. Stocks & names mentioned
| Ticker | Name | Research | View | What he said | At |
|---|
| GOLD | Gold.com (formerly A-Mark Precious Metals) | QT · SA · STK · FA | Positive | Pick of the Week — Sy Jacobs' "Super Investor" idea (first flagged 12/15/23 as A-Mark/AMRK; renamed Gold.com/GOLD on 12/2/25), revisited after a correction. A vertically-integrated precious-metals ecosystem: retail (JM Bullion, GovMint, Stack's Bowers, Monex — 20+ brands), minting (Sunshine), wholesale trading, logistics (A-M Global Logistics) and metals-backed lending (CFC; services = ~40% gross profit). ~$1.3B cap, ~13× EPS; Barron's PT $66 (~40% upside); latest qtr sales +136% / profit +77%. Catalysts: $150M Tether stake (future customer for a US gold-backed stablecoin), silver curve un-inverting, ~5×-EBITDA acquisitions, 12.5% short interest + tight float (insiders 18%, Tether 10%) → squeeze potential, a new all-time-high breakout. Earned $6.35/sh in 2023, seen exceeding that. "Just buy the stock!" | read |
| ALL | Allstate | QT · SA · STK · FA | Positive | Reference — another Sy Jacobs win: a "qualified plug" that had run 40% but was breaking out and "has continued to surge." "Chalk up another 'W' for Sy" — Team Haymaker "should have been all, or ALL, over it" given its love of upside range expansions, "but that one got away." A breakout endorsement in passing, not the week's pick. | read |
| SII | Sprott, Inc. | QT · SA · STK · FA | Neutral | Reference — Sy's other 12/15/23 name, "a phenomenally rewarding performer," cited as the foil to AMRK/GOLD (the divergence that prompted the Apr-2025 rotation toward GOLD). Backstory for the GOLD case, not a fresh call here. (Three weeks later, in the 2026-MAY-15 POW!, Haymaker called a full exit on SII.) | read |
| Tether | Tether (private) | — | Neutral | Reference / catalyst — "the old nemesis of this newsletter" (still no audit), but its $150M GOLD share purchase (~10% stake) is "perhaps the most bullish recent development": Tether is seeking hard-asset backing and plans a US gold-backed stablecoin (it already runs the world's largest gold stablecoin), making it a future big customer of GOLD's storage/logistics. The world's largest non-central-bank holder of gold bullion. Gold's volatility still strikes Haymaker as "improper collateral for a stablecoin… but that's Tether's problem, not GOLD's." | read |
Note: GOLD here is Gold.com (the former A-Mark, ticker GOLD since the 12/2/25 rename) — not Barrick. References only (not separate tickers): GOLD's owned brands/units — JM Bullion, GovMint, Stack's Bowers, Pinehurst Coins, Monex, Sunshine Minting, A-M Global Logistics, Collateral Finance Corp; Barron's (Dan Victor's "This Company Wants to Own Gold Trading," a buy at $66); American Eagle / Canadian Maple Leaf coins. The image-only Buy List is not text-readable, so portfolio.json is unchanged. (A PALL footnote appears in adjacent POW! editions, not here.)
2. Talking points
The "Super Investor" backstory — Sy Jacobs' two December-2023 names
- On 12/15/23, Sy gave Haymaker two ideas: Sprott (SII) and A-Mark (AMRK). SII was "phenomenally rewarding"; A-Mark initially disappointed — it ran $30 → $44 (Sept-2024, where Haymaker took profits) then was "essentially cut in half over the ensuing year."
The rotation — and the comeback
- An April-2025 Trading Alert flagged the SII-vs-AMRK divergence and leaned toward adding to AMRK. Since 4/23/25, "Sy's 'dog'" has returned ~94% (incl. dividends) vs the S&P's 33.5% — the recent correction is what motivated revisiting it.
- Aside: Sy also gave a "qualified plug" for Allstate (ALL) — it ran 40%, kept surging, "another 'W' for Sy"; Haymaker missed it.
The rebrand — A-Mark becomes Gold.com (GOLD)
- The company adopted the name Gold.com (ticker GOLD) on 12/2/25 — fitting given its business mix. Barron's ran "This Company Wants to Own Gold Trading," declaring the stock a buy; Sy calls the piece "a good roadmap for the bull case."
The valuation and the numbers
- Market cap just $1.3B, ~13× earnings; Barron's PT $66 (~40% upside) after the dip. 2025 total gold demand "smashed records," physical bar/coin purchases +30% YoY in Q3; GOLD's latest quarter sales +136%, profits +77%.
The full precious-metals ecosystem
- Retail bullion: 20+ brands consolidated under GOLD.com (JM Bullion, GovMint, Stack's Bowers, Pinehurst Coins, Monex); an authorized dealer in American Eagles / Canadian Maple Leafs.
- Minting: Sunshine Minting (high-margin branded bullion). Plus wholesale trading.
- Services (~40% of gross profit, stable cash flow): A-M Global Logistics (can move physical gold "in size" — lucrative when metal is scarce) and Collateral Finance Corp (loans backed by precious metals).
The Tether catalyst — "potential to be huge"
- Tether ("the old nemesis," still unaudited) bought $150M of GOLD (~10%). Sy: Tether will become "a big customer of GOLD's… in the storage business and the logistics business," especially with a planned US gold-backed stablecoin (it runs the world's largest gold stablecoin, not yet US-approved); Tether is "the world's largest non-central-bank holder of gold bullion." Plans to tokenize hard assets together "capitalize on each of their strengths."
Well-timed, cheap acquisitions
- Sy: GOLD's 1–2 years of acquisitions "in the downcycle for gold/silver physical demand and margins were well timed and at low EBITDA multiples, typically 5× and less" — he's particularly keen on the Monex purchase.
The silver-curve tailwind
- The silver futures curve returning to a "normal shape" is "a major positive": the prior inverted/backwardated market was "a big drag on earnings last year" and has now "swung significantly in GOLD's favor."
A "free call option" on political instability
- Sy's P.S.: GOLD is "a better free call option on political instability in the U.S." — volumes/margins took off in 2020/21 (protests, election disputes); its physical buyer base means political fear is "fuel for the business." A blue-wave scare "would be crazy bullish."
Squeeze setup and the breakout — "just buy the stock!"
- Earnings recovery expected (earned $6.35/sh in 2023, seen exceeding that). Short interest 12.5% (down from higher) + tight float (insiders 18%, Tether 10%) → a blow-out quarter could trigger "a serious short squeeze." Negative: insiders sold into last year's rally (but keep a large stake).
- A "resounding breakout to a new all-time high" earlier this year — and "there is no overhead resistance when an all-time high is achieved," which is why such setups are "highly profitable." "Enough wordplay… just buy the stock!"
3. In plain English
GOLD — Gold.com (formerly A-Mark) Positive
GOLD is the new name (and ticker, since December 2025) for A-Mark Precious Metals — and despite the symbol, it is not the gold miner Barrick. It's a one-stop precious-metals business that touches almost every step: it sells gold and silver coins and bars to the public (through well-known sites like JM Bullion and Monex — 20+ brands now under GOLD.com), it mints branded bullion (Sunshine Minting), it trades metal wholesale, it physically stores and ships gold (A-M Global Logistics), and it lends money secured by metal (Collateral Finance Corp). Those last two "service" businesses throw off about 40% of gross profit as steady cash flow. The whole company is worth only ~$1.3B and trades at about 13× earnings; Barron's just called it a buy with a $66 target (~40% above today), and its latest quarter saw sales jump 136% and profits 77%. It was originally pitched by an analyst Haymaker dubs a "Super Investor," Sy Jacobs, and is up ~94% since April 2025.
Several things could push it higher. The crypto giant Tether bought a $150M (~10%) stake and plans a US dollar stablecoin backed by gold — which would make Tether a big paying customer of GOLD's storage and shipping arms (Tether is already the largest non-government holder of gold bullion). The silver market's pricing structure has shifted back to normal, removing a drag on profits. Recent acquisitions were made cheaply during the metals downturn. And with a chunk of the stock sold short and relatively few shares freely trading, a strong earnings report could spark a "short squeeze" (forced buying that drives the price up fast). Sy even calls it "a free call option on political instability" — fear and turmoil tend to send people buying physical gold, which is great for GOLD's volumes. The stock recently hit a new all-time high, meaning no prior owners are stuck waiting to sell at a loss overhead. Haymaker's bottom line is unusually blunt: "just buy the stock!"
Summary derived from the paid Haymaker newsletter (text in transcript.txt) for personal study. Not investment advice. © Haymaker / David Hay for source material.