John Zolidis

Quo Vadis Capital President Zolidis was among the few equity analysts, who sounded the alarm on Luckin Coffee’s accounting problems early on, and he remained bearish while the company was under bankruptcy.

But he turned bullish after the company emerged from bankruptcy in April of 2022 and continues to be. Most notably, Zolidis thinks that the new company that emerged from bankruptcy early this year is a different company in many respects. First, it is almost free of debt, after redeeming $110M of 9% debt securities. “It’s a rare situation for a company that emerged for bankruptcy recently,” he told International Business Times in an email. “In addition, it’s a good indication that management feels confident about the company’s financials in the future.”

“Ms. Dillon is a leader with a strong voice and will represent a meaningful change in tone for Foot Locker. We think the ripples within the organization could be very positive,” John Zolidis, president and founder of Quo Vadis Capital, said in emailed comments. “We also believe communication to investors will be upgraded based on the significant credibility she will bring to crafting a strategy and establishing an outlook. In short, this is very good news.”

Yet, retailers such as Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO) have painted a brighter picture. Even Walmart hasn’t warned that inventory will further hurt results. “Target’s problems definitely look to be company-specific,” says John Zolidis, president of Quo Vadis Capital.

“We’ve only really had one quarter of negative surprises,” said John Zolidis, founder of Quo Vadis Capital. “Normally in a recessionary cycle there will be several rounds of cuts before the outlook and stocks bottom. Unless we see a reversal of inflation data and a less hawkish approach from the Federal Reserve, our guess would be that we’re closer to the beginning of the pain than the end of it.”