Stock Certificate of the Month
Every stock has a story, and its physical stock certificate is a unique part of it. As more and more companies are opting for electronic registration of shares only, Adam has been on a quest to collect as many companies physical stock certificates as he can. Each month we look to highlight a different certificate as these former vital pieces of paper for trading become obsolete.
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Our thoughts:
Where to start... The centerpiece is two early aviators standing beside a biplane, looking upward. The art director clearly trying to convey "optimism, ambition, the promise of safe travel from Point A to Point B." That promise would be revisited about a century later, in front of a Senate subcommittee. Several times. By different committees. The men appear to be checking whether the wings are still attached—a habit Boeing customers would eventually adopt themselves, along with checking the doors, the bolts, and the general structural commitment of the aircraft to remaining one piece.
The engraving is good. Bank-note blue, fancy spirals, an ornate tessellated "BOEING" border designed to make you trust it. Notably, this border has held together more reliably than some recent fuselages. The design conveys gravitas. The underlying asset conveys whatever the opposite of gravitas is, repeatedly, on a quarterly basis.
The best thing about this certificate has to be the signatures. The Chairman's signature appears to open with a confident, fully-formed "2"—which is an unusual choice for a name, but a refreshingly honest one for Boeing. Most executives sign their names. This one apparently decided to lead with a number, possibly the count of working doors on the aircraft, possibly his personal over/under on subcommittee appearances.
It's a strong start that immediately gives up. The "2" is crisp, legible, committed—and then the rest of the signature dissolves into what can only be described as a flatline on a hospital monitor. Like the autopilot, it engages briefly and then loses interest in maintaining altitude.
Frankly, a signature that begins with a number and ends in a seismograph reading is the most accurate thing on the entire certificate.
*The views expressed here are satirical and do not constitute investment advice. BXM Wealth LLC is an SEC-registered investment advisor. We manage portfolios with considerably more rigor than this review might suggest. But we did frame the certificate.