AcquiredArena Show, Part IMay 4, 2022Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle

Siege of the Idea Dinner

Four investors, one stock each, pitched live on stage. Every pick is a castle: the better it held up, the better its defences. 4 pitches, one benchmark, and the walls they still have standing today.

The rules
Everyone brings one best investment idea, live, starting today. Public markets only — nobody wanted to shill their own private book. Judge Shu graded on upside, downside, timing, novelty, and flair.
The judge
Shu Nyatta graded live. The room clapped Coinbase past Snowflake in a runoff; Shu privately had Snowflake, purely on the General Patton line.
The scoring here
Applause is gone. What is left is price. Returns run from the May 4, 2022 close to the latest quote, refreshed live.

The siege line

Height and size = total return since May 4, 2022 · quotes as of Aug 10, 2026, 1:09 AM

The pitch

#1 of 4 · Impregnable citadel
David RosenthalAcquired

Amazon AMZN

The picks and shovels of the internet

Pitch close$125.93
Today$274.48
Return+118.0%
vs S&P+37.7%

$470B of trailing revenue — second highest any company has ever done — at a $1.25T market cap. That is 2.5x revenue.

AWS grows 37% on a $75B base with over a third of cloud share. Azure and Google Cloud grow faster but are smaller combined. The bear case is utterly ridiculous.

Retail at zero misses the point. Advertising, the card, Buy with Prime are all high margin. Retail loses money because Amazon invests years ahead of the curve.

"I cannot imagine any other asset I would rather own, period, anywhere."

David Rosenthal, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
Stated horizon
What will not change
Applause meter
8 of 10, notched to 7 for the home crowd
Multiple on money
2.18x
Fortification
Moat, curtain walls, torches lit

Standings

Total return, no dividends
Total return of each Idea Dinner pick since May 4, 2022, compared with the S&P 500
PickPitchNowMoMReturn
AMZNAmazonDavid Rosenthal · Impregnable citadel$125.93$274.482.18x+118.0%
SNOWSnowflakeMario Gabriele · Fortified castle$186.00$330.491.78x+77.7%
COINCoinbaseBen Gilbert · Battered keep$130.15$153.601.18x+18.0%
OPENOpendoorPacky McCormick · Ruins$8.02$3.490.43x-56.5%
SPYS&P 500Benchmark · buy and hold$429.06$773.261.80x+80.2%

Prices are split-adjusted closes from the pitch session and the latest regular-market quote. Not investment advice — it never was.