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AIA Newsletter July 2026 — Why I Admire Cannibals

The Henry Singleton / Teledyne "cannibal" playbook — companies that compound by eating their own shares — applied to this month's Portfolio addition Aimia; a personal covered-call/cash-secured-put income sleeve in bombed-out consumer staples; the Seabridge exit; and the monthly run through every holding.
2026-JUL-02 · Actionable Intelligence Alert (paid Substack) · John Polomny · monthly issue · ↗ Read on Substack · transcript · actionable insights
In one line: Q2 done (AIA Portfolio +7.73% vs S&P +14.05%, Dividend Portfolio -5.83%, both still ahead YTD); he adds Aimia (AIM.TO) as a Singleton-style "cannibal"/permanent-capital vehicle run by Rhys Simmerton (Milkwood) + Mithaq (~42.6% insider-controlled), trading $2.88 vs $3.66 book with ~C$150M cash and ~$1B tax losses; he's selling Seabridge (SA) and won't follow the Valor spin-out ("too hard"); and — outside the AIA Portfolio — he's buying bombed-out staples (CPB, GIS, CAG, CLX) to write covered calls and cash-secured puts for income.

1. Stocks & names mentioned

TickerNameResearchViewWhat he saidAt
AIM.TOAimia (TSX)SA · STK · FAPositiveNew AIA Portfolio addition and a Singleton-style "cannibal": the Air Canada loyalty cash-out (~C$450M) turned permanent-capital vehicle, now run by Exec Chairman Rhys Simmerton (Milkwood) with Mithaq — insiders/board control ~42.6% (12% Milkwood, 30% Mithaq). It sold Bozzetto (closed 5/29/26), repurchased $131M of its 9.75% notes (saving ~$45M interest), holds ~C$150M cash, a remaining rope business (Cortland) and ~$1B of tax-loss carryforwards; shares $2.88 vs $3.66 book. "The bet is on the jockey, Rhys Simmerton. He has done this before." A multi-year buyback / NAV-gap-closing hold.read ↗
CPBCampbell's Company (Campbell Soup)QT · SA · STK · FAPositiveBombed-out, out-of-favor consumer staple and a decent dividend payer bought to generate cash — he writes covered calls and cash-secured puts on it in a tax-deferred account (short expirations, low volatility), "rinse and repeat" as the cash pile grows. Deliberately NOT in the AIA Portfolio (outside its asymmetric-upside mandate).read ↗
GISGeneral MillsQT · SA · STK · FAPositiveSame bombed-out-staples income play as CPB — owned for the dividend and, mainly, to write covered calls and cash-secured puts against a low-volatility name inside a tax-deferred account. An income sleeve, not an AIA Portfolio position.read ↗
CAGConagra BrandsQT · SA · STK · FAPositiveAnother bombed-out staple in the covered-call / cash-secured-put income basket — held for the dividend and repeated short-dated option premium on a name that barely moves. Personal income strategy, kept out of the AIA Portfolio.read ↗
CLXCloroxQT · SA · STK · FAPositiveOut-of-favor staple rounding out the income basket — cheap, low-volatility shares bought for the dividend and to sell covered calls and cash-secured puts for premium in a tax-deferred account. Held for income, outside the AIA Portfolio.read ↗
ABXAbacus Global ManagementQT · SA · STK · FAPositiveHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
CGEOGeorgia Capital PLC (LSE)STKPositiveGCAP will fully redeem its US$50M sustainability-linked local bonds early and extend its US$50M buyback-and-cancellation programme by a further US$10M — together completing the GEL 700M capital-return programme ahead of schedule. "The company continues to cannibalize its own shares, putting upside pressure on the stock price."read ↗
DBAInvesco DB Agriculture FundQT · SA · STKPositiveHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
GMSGulf Marine Services (LSE)STKPositiveThe final idle vessel is back to work in the Persian Gulf. "Hoping we can begin share buybacks sometime this year."read ↗
HGLDPatagonia Gold (OTC)SA · STKPositiveInsiders own ~65% and aren't motivated to report every zig and zag; the heap leach is operating and at some point they will report production, cost and cash flow. A weak gold price and light news flow have tourists selling and moving on.read ↗
IVNIvanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN / IVPAF)SA · STK · FAPositiveKipushi produced a record 25,677 tonnes of zinc in May (concentrators milled a record 72,003 t of ore at 93% recovery, 36.2% zinc feed grade); YTD ~110,000 t, roughly mid-point of 2026 guidance (240,000–290,000 t). "A top-ten zinc mine in the world that gets ignored when discussing Ivanhoe."read ↗
LITPSprott Lithium Miners ETFSA · STK · FAPositiveHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
LQDALiquidiaQT · SA · STK · FAPositiveThe stock keeps grinding higher even as he awaits the "327" decision; he continues to hold, believes the decision will be positive, and after the legal issues clear expects a takeover offer and a stock price over $100/share.read ↗
ODFJFOdfjell Drilling (OTC)SA · STKPositiveHolding; no major news this month (Dividend Portfolio).read ↗
PTALPetroTal (AIM: PTAL / PTALF)SA · STKPositiveHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
SRUUFSprott Physical Uranium Trust (U.UN)SA · STKPositive"Yes, we are still in a bull market." Uranium bull market intact.read ↗
TDWTidewaterQT · SA · STK · FAPositiveHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
UZNFNational Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (London)PositiveHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
FTWPresidio Production CompanyQT · SA · STK · FAPositiveHolding; no major news this month (Dividend Portfolio).read ↗
BBDBanco BradescoQT · SA · STK · FANeutralHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
ECHiShares MSCI Chile ETFQT · SA · STKNeutralNo major news, but Latin American politics is swinging from left to right; pro-market reforms "will not hurt things."read ↗
GLOGlobal Atomic (TSX)SA · STK · FANeutralHolding; no major news this month (still "highly speculative"; AIA Portfolio).read ↗
HKXCYHong Kong Exchanges & ClearingSA · STKNeutralThe Hang Seng is down 13% YTD, weighing on the exchange's price. "Nothing wrong with the business — a great franchise, and at some point I will look to add to my position."read ↗
MDIMajor Drilling (TSX)SA · STK · FANeutralReported fiscal Q4 2026. Metal prices have pulled back and miners under-spent on exploration until recently; forward guidance is ramping sharply, which should translate into additional revenue.read ↗
PDNPaladin Energy (TSX/ASX)SA · STK · FANeutralHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
SPMSaipem (Milan)SANeutralSigned a binding SPA with ADES Saudi to divest its Saudi Arabia shallow-water drilling unit (three owned jack-ups plus two leased; FY2025 revenue ~US$170M) for US$285M in cash on a debt-free/cash-free basis at closing.read ↗
FTITechnipFMCQT · SA · STK · FANeutralHolding; no major news this month (AIA Portfolio).read ↗
ARGAmerigo Resources (TSX)SA · STK · FANeutralHolding; no major news this month (Dividend Portfolio).read ↗
HEHawaiian ElectricQT · SA · STK · FANeutralHolding; no major news this month (Dividend Portfolio).read ↗
DVYEiShares EM Dividend ETFSA · STKNeutralHolding; no major news this month (Dividend Portfolio).read ↗
SWPFFSwire Properties (OTC)SA · STKNeutralHolding; no major news this month (Dividend Portfolio).read ↗
TNGRFThungela Resources (OTC)SA · STKNeutralHolding; no major news this month (Dividend Portfolio).read ↗
SASeabridge Gold (NYSE: SA / TSX: SEA)QT · SA · STK · FANegativeSELLING — after closing the Valor Gold Corp. spin-out (Courageous Lake), he is selling this out of both the AIA Portfolio and his personal portfolio and will not follow it. "I am not interested in exploration plays in the Northwest Territories; the company's own timeline shows production in Q4 2032. Seems too hard for me. Pass."read ↗

Stances are this issue's framing only. "read ↗" opens the July issue on Substack (paid). New this month: Aimia (AIM.TO) added to the AIA Portfolio; Seabridge (SA) sold; CPB/GIS/CAG/CLX bought as a personal covered-call/put income sleeve outside the AIA Portfolio.

2. Talking points

Q2 2026 scorecard

An options-income sleeve in bombed-out staples

Investing in "cannibals" — the Teledyne / Henry Singleton case study

Portfolio addition — Aimia (AIM.TO)

The Seabridge (SA) exit

Company updates — standouts

3. In plain English

AIM.TO — Aimia Positive

Aimia used to run Air Canada's frequent-flyer program; it sold that back to Air Canada in 2019 for about C$450 million and became a cash-rich shell. Early management wasted the windfall on a string of bad deals. Then a Saudi family office (Mithaq) and a UK value investor, Rhys Simmerton of Milkwood Capital, took control — together they own about 42.6% of the company — and turned it into a disciplined "permanent-capital vehicle": a holding company whose only job is to compound the value of each remaining share.

The playbook is Henry Singleton's "cannibal" one: sell the weak businesses (it just sold its Bozzetto chemicals arm), pay down expensive debt (it bought back $131M of its 9.75% notes, saving ~$45M of interest), then buy back the company's own cheap stock. The shares trade at $2.88 against a book value of $3.66, so every buyback below book instantly makes the remaining owners richer; there's also ~C$150M of cash and ~$1B of tax losses to shelter future profits. Polomny is "betting on the jockey" — Simmerton has done exactly this before (his Argent International retired ~43% of its shares and compounded earnings ~30% a year) — and expects it to play out over several years. A patient hold, not a quick trade.

CPB — Campbell's Company Positive

Campbell's (soup, snacks, sauces) is a boring, out-of-favor staple whose stock has been beaten down but which still pays a solid dividend. Polomny isn't buying it for big upside — he's using it as a cash machine. He buys the shares and then sells options against them: "covered calls" (collecting a fee for agreeing to sell his shares at a higher price) and "cash-secured puts" (collecting a fee, backed by set-aside cash, for agreeing to buy more shares at a lower price). Because staples barely move, that premium is relatively safe income; he keeps expirations short and repeats the cycle, compounding the cash inside a tax-deferred account. He deliberately keeps this out of the AIA Portfolio, whose job is asymmetric upside, not income.

GIS — General Mills Positive

General Mills (Cheerios, Betty Crocker, pet food) is the same idea as Campbell's — a bombed-out, decent-dividend staple bought mainly so he can sell options against it. Low volatility makes the covered-call and cash-secured-put income steadier; short expirations, rinse and repeat, all inside a tax-deferred account. An income sleeve, not an AIA Portfolio position.

CAG — Conagra Brands Positive

Conagra (Birds Eye, Slim Jim, Marie Callender's) rounds out the same bombed-out-staples income basket. He owns the shares for the dividend and, more importantly, to sell covered calls and cash-secured puts against a name that doesn't swing much — turning a dull, cheap stock into a steady stream of option premium. A personal income strategy, not an AIA pick.

CLX — Clorox Positive

Clorox (bleach, cleaning products, Brita, Burt's Bees) is another out-of-favor staple in the options-income basket. Same mechanics: buy the cheap, low-volatility shares, collect the dividend, and repeatedly sell short-dated covered calls and cash-secured puts for premium inside a tax-deferred account. Held for income, deliberately kept outside the AIA Portfolio.

LQDA — Liquidia Positive

Liquidia sells an inhaled dry-powder drug (YUTREPIA) for high blood pressure in the lungs, and the stock keeps grinding higher even before its big overhang clears — a patent-court decision Polomny calls the "327" decision. He keeps holding; he thinks the ruling will go Liquidia's way, and once the legal cloud lifts he expects a buyer to take the whole company out at more than $100 a share.

SA — Seabridge Gold Negative

Seabridge owns gold "in the ground" but doesn't mine it. This month it spun out its Courageous Lake project into a new company, Valor Gold, handing existing holders Valor shares. Polomny is using the spin-out as his exit: he's selling Seabridge and won't follow Valor. His reasoning is plain — it's an early-stage exploration play in Canada's remote Northwest Territories whose own schedule doesn't show production until Q4 2032. "Seems too hard for me. Pass." (A change from his prior positive stance.)


Built from the paid July 2026 AIA issue (reproduced in the saved text) — stances and quotes are Polomny's own wording. For personal study — not investment advice.