Great Puzzle, page-7

Sales and revenue are of course the bottom line when it comes to valuing a business. But, values can vary wildly depending on the perspective of whether people believe there is future growth. Look at the PE ratios for many tech stocks. Amazon on something like 150+

Then you have RenoaCare, the dodgy co. that AVH are suing for patent infringement and who do not really have a product. Their marketing efforts produced a market cap 2.5x larger than AVH, who is busy ticking boxes behind the curtain. Clearly marketing can have an impact on shareholder returns. (not that this one will be around forever).

There is always a balance between hype and delivery, but without a shadow of a doubt one of the functions of a listed company that has a product to sell is to make people both aware of it's products AND the prospects of the company. That's how they attract capital. That's how they help build shareholder returns (which is their ultimate fiduciary responsibility).

These people are supposed to be smart enough to walk and chew gum at the same time. They certainly get paid enough.  The notion that we, the shareholders, should be satisfied while they take X years to build up cash flow and have it valued like a utility is really apathetic.