Planet MicroCap Vegas 2026 – What a Show, Pitch Highlights
Here is the latest from Canadian Value Investors! Planet MicroCap Las Vegas:
Show overview, and a few favourites
Pitch Highlights
Today’s update is on Planet MicroCap Las Vegas, which was held June 16-18. What a show! We were there fishing for the next opportunity among the 137 companies there, with many one-on-ones scheduled along with a number of presentations. For conferences like these we try to balance our meetings among: 1) Companies we know of, but not really well and want to learn more, 2) Competitors of companies we own, and 3) A few stretch ideas (adjacent to industries we know, recommended by another investor, etc). Let’s stretch that circle. For companies we know very well, we do not feel it is a fair use of management’s time, and we typically stick to a hello (and most hellos this time included our congratulations on fantastic results).
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So, who was there anyway?
What a group this year. With 137 companies presenting (we believe that was the final count), it is simply not possible to meet with everyone. It was a very diverse group, with a mix of (but not limited to) consumer focused businesses, tech, oil and gas services, healthcare, general manufacturing and diversified. A few growth stories and turnarounds piqued our interest (stay tuned).
Two of our top holdings attended – ALUULA Composites (TSXV:AUUA) and KITS Eyecare (TSX:KITS), and some of our cannabis corner (Rubicon, High Tide, Decibel, Canarra). For those that did not attend, below are examples of the tear sheets from the show binder. Each company had one.
A quick note on ALUULA and KITS
Just after the conference, ALUULA’s Q2 came out. They are operating at full tilt at their existing facility until their new facility is up and operating, hopefully by the end of the year. The raise that closed in February appears to have been enough capital to keep things moving along. In the meantime, we expect margins and results in general to be pressured by start up, and frankly current results are not really representative of the business given they are effectively operating out of what we would call a pilot project facility. It is quite amazing what current management has gotten out of it.
KITS is also performing well. Unfortunately for them though, ALUULA recruited their CFO earlier this year. Small world. We remain confused by the short-lived bitcoin misadventure, though our understanding is that this is now resolved and unwound. Mistakes happen.
Growth continues and our thesis remains the company is under-earning, maintaining low prices and adjusting marketing spend to maximize growth while requiring no additional capital. Sounds good to us.
Planet Microcap Vegas Pitches
We fish in a lot of different investing ponds to find ideas, and one of those ponds is pitches. The first day of Planet MicroCap was a curated group of pitches by various investors and funds and were generally high quality and entertaining. We put together notes on each one.
