Caffeinated Finance: Shorting Kohl’s Was a Mistake. So Was Touring the Fed with Trump.

The Millegan brothers are back and caffeinated—because nothing says “financial insight” like Celsius-fueled rants about Japanese mini trucks and tariff math that would make an IRS auditor throw their 10-key out the window. We cover everything from Powell’s hostage tour of the Fed building to why Kohl’s is apparently the new GameStop (but with real estate and fewer Reddit jokes).

We unpack why small caps are lagging, how inventories are running on borrowed time, and why tariffs are just taxes in a trench coat. Helen of Troy (HELE) makes a surprise appearance as a boring beauty brand with surprisingly sharp moves—and an undervaluation that shampoo alone can’t explain. Plus: dividends get dissected, bankruptcies are booming, and we deliver a short-selling masterclass that ends with... “please stop shorting companies that own $8 billion in property.”

We close with This Day in Economic History, featuring the First Bank of the United States, an early case of Reconstruction-era financial flexing, and a presidential radio debut that changed economic messaging forever—along with a handful of oddly specific surprises we didn’t see coming either.

Welcome to the next episode of the Capital Call: with the Millegan Brothers, managing partners of the Woodworth Contrarian Fund with a new episode released Monday mornings at 2 AM Eastern / 5 AM Pacific.

DEEP ROOTS. STUBBORN GROWTH. OREGON BASED.

Episode Breakdown:

(00:00) Intro, Car Trouble, and Classic Cars  

(02:08) Summer Markets & 'Sell in May' Seasonality  

(05:05) Index Rundown & Small Cap Rebounds  

(06:38) Trump vs Powell at the Fed Building  

(09:10) Tariffs, Japan Deal & Trade Deficit Myths  

(12:12) Importing Kei Trucks & Registration Loopholes  

(15:00) Consumer Sentiment and Political Bias in Markets  

(17:00) Dollar Weakness and Manufacturing Implications  

(19:08) Tariff Inventory Burnoff and Price Hikes  

(21:34) Record Bankruptcies and Stock Market ≠ Economy  

(24:00) Helen of Troy, Dividends, and Insider Ownership  

(27:06) Kohl’s Meme-ification and Short Squeeze Mechanics  

(33:40) Market Efficiency vs. Mispricing Opportunities  

(38:00) Kraft Heinz Breakup & Food Sector Competition  

(44:56) This Day in Economic History 

Topics include:

tariffs, trade deficits, Powell vs Trump, Fed independence, small cap stocks, Russell 2000, meme stocks, Kohl’s short squeeze, dividend investing, dollar weakness, inflation, supply chains, Helen of Troy, Japanese Kei trucks, Kraft Heinz breakup, rail mergers, antitrust law, economic indicators, market inefficiency, This Day in Economic History.

Quinn Millegan:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/quinnmillegan⁠⁠⁠⁠

Drew Millegan:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/drew-millegan⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Millegan Memo (monthly newsletter):⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.woodworth.fund/news/tag/The+Millegan+Memo⁠⁠⁠⁠

Woodworth Contrarian Fund:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.Woodworth.Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠

Capital Call:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠CapitalCall.Stream⁠⁠⁠⁠

Inquiries: [e-mail]

Capital Call #15 with Quinn Millegan & Drew Millegan, managers of the Woodworth Contrarian Fund.

Post market close 7/24/25 - Coming straight to you (almost) every Monday morning at 2 AM PT / 5 AM ET.