The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

I know about Einhorn’s allegations, but I never thought GMCR was outright cooking the books. Rather, my reason for avoiding the stock was the looming expiration (in Sep 2012) of the main US patent on the Keurig/K-cup technology, which will allow manufacturers of K-cup knockoffs to enter the market and undercut GMCR on price.

Did you notice that GMCR already has a “switch” strategy in play (similar to what drug companies do when a blockbuster drug nears its patent expiration)? The new brewing machine is called Keurig Vue, and it doesn’t work with conventional K-cups.