When McDonald’s stock was trading in the $90s during 2014 and 2015, I was incredibly struck by the obviousness of the high risk-adjusted returns that would await investors from that price point. While I did not specifically know that each $90 share would go on to produce $106 in capital gains and $18 in dividends over the coming 4-5 years, I could identify the vast real-estate holdings on the company’s books, the immense cost-advantage inherent in controlling one-fifth of the United States chicken market, and an absurdly high marketing budget and entrenched cultural advantage as the cheap go-to fast food source that functioned as an additional competitive advantage. With a P/E ratio that got as low as 15x earnings, it was only a matter of time before the superior returns would come.

Nowadays, when an investment opportunity is spotted, someone will say something like: “If it’s so obvious, why isn’t … Read the rest of this article!