Are Cheap Stocks All SCAMS?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Earn Your Leisure

Episode: Are Cheap Stocks All SCAMS?

Date: February 24, 2026
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings
Platform: iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

This episode of Earn Your Leisure dives into a common investing question: Are cheap stocks (particularly those under $20) a good buy, or are they mostly traps and scams? The conversation centers around whether low-priced stocks are inherently greater opportunities for outsized returns, or if investors should instead focus elsewhere. The discussion also briefly touches on alternative holdings, like cryptocurrency (specifically XRP), and the best strategies for portfolio construction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Myth of “Best Stocks Under $20”

[02:33–03:54]

• The perennial question surfaces: "What are the best stocks under $20?"
• Matt Rogers humorously shuts down the myth:
  • “You got 10 that would give you a great return? … None.” (Matt Rogers, 02:52)
  • He explains: after careful analysis, he couldn’t in good faith recommend any sub-$20 public equities. The idea that cheap stocks offer great, quick turnarounds is “the exception to the rule.”
• The rare outlier – Palantir’s run from $20–$150 – is acknowledged, but the hosts are adamant that this shouldn’t be seen as typical or repeatable.

2. Acquisition Targets vs. Value Investments

[04:00–05:54]

• While most cheap stocks may not have direct value for retail investors, Guest 2 suggests some low-priced stocks could be compelling acquisition targets:
  • Warner Brothers Discovery: “That’s under $20… it’s the acquisition target.” (Podcast Guest 2, 04:19)
  • Lyft: Discussed as a potential buyout, though restrictive because “they’re not going to sell to Uber.”
  • Snap: Its social media assets could appeal to a larger acquirer even if the company is underperforming stock-wise.
  • Ford: Mentioned as a legacy company with remaining value, especially given partnerships (like with Nvidia on autonomous luxury).
• Still, the conclusion is that even among these, strong cases are rare.

3. Concentration Over Diversification

[05:54–07:11]

• The hosts advocate for portfolio concentration:
  • “You only need four good ones… At some point you can replace the indexes and then just have concentration of four companies that you believe in.” (Matt Rogers, 06:05)
  • Over-diversifying with 14–16 stocks is discouraged: it’s hard to manage and no longer provides real index coverage or focus.
• Advice: Pick four to six companies you truly believe in, pour more capital into those positions, especially during downturns.

4. XRP & Crypto: Long-Term or Trap?

[07:11–08:39]

• The XRP (Ripple) coin conversation highlights the different perspectives on altcoins:
  • While Matt acknowledges he has a position in XRP, he's cautious:
    • Would he put $10,000 in it? "Yeah." (Matt Rogers, 07:26)
    • $100,000? “At what price?” – highlighting the need for careful entry and skepticism about market price buys.
• There’s playful debate about the value and history of XRP and Bitcoin, with a touch of conspiracy-flavored commentary:
  • “If you do have an asset like XRP or, you’re a micro sailor, you have to know who your enemies are – you have some big enemies that will thwart you for decades until they can take the asset class over.” (Matt Rogers, 08:40)
  • Matt hints at rumors and skepticism around Bitcoin’s origins: “The first iteration of it was from Langley… I say that every two weeks and I haven’t had a cease and desist yet.” (08:50)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On cheap stocks:
  “None that I will put my money into. And I wish it was because I’m like, man, if this can go from 20 to 200, I look like an icon again."
  — Matt Rogers (03:06)

• On portfolio construction:
  “There’s usually four to six that drive 80% of the revenue… You only need four good ones. At some point you can replace the indexes and then just have concentration of four companies that you believe in.”
  — Matt Rogers (06:05–06:15)

• On crypto investing:
  “If you do have an asset like XRP… you have some big enemies that will thwart you for decades until they can take the asset class over.”
  — Matt Rogers (08:40)

• On Bitcoin origins:
  “The first iteration of it was from Langley… I say that every two weeks and I haven’t had a cease and desist yet.”
  — Matt Rogers (08:50)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–02:33: Ads and sponsor messages (skipped)
• 02:33: Main segment begins: Cheap stocks under $20, panel discussion
• 03:54: “Palantir” and why it’s the exception
• 04:19–05:52: Acquisition target discussion: Warner Bros Discovery, Lyft, Snap, Ford
• 05:54–07:11: Portfolio construction: minimal concentration beats over-diversification
• 07:11–08:39: XRP/crypto debate: risk, long-term prospects, institutional control
• 08:39–09:16: Bitcoin & Satoshi skepticism, playful conspiracy notes

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Conclusion

The overall tone of the episode is skeptical and realistic. The hosts challenge the get-rich-quick mindset often associated with buying “cheap” stocks and urge listeners to skip hype in favor of concentrated, well-researched investments. They warn that while there are rare outliers, most low-priced stocks are not sources of easy wealth—regardless of acquisition rumors or crypto hype.

If you're looking for the next Apple at $5, this episode makes it clear: “You only need four good ones." Quality and conviction matter far more than bargain hunting.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Bowen Yang]

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[Matt Rogers]

Right?

[Podcast Host]

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[Bowen Yang]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Bowen Yang]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Public Investing Representative]

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[Matt Rogers]

that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

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[Bowen Yang]

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[Podcast Guest 1]

What's the best stocks under $20?

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, I love this question. And then after I left Xander's birthday party, I compiled an amazing list of 10 that I thought you got. 10 that would give you a great return. Oh, all of them. Okay, write this down.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Let's do it.

[Matt Rogers]

None.

[Podcast Guest 2]

That's great. Yeah, you're that guy.

[Podcast Guest 1]

It's not. It's not a stock. But XRP, that's under $10. That's on the. Yeah, that's on the. Definitely.

[Matt Rogers]

It's a great long term investment. But as far as publicly traded equities, I went through the list. I went through GPT. I analyzed myself. There's even. Just from a warrant standpoint and pre IPO standpoint, like most people who are getting in may be getting in that 15 bucks or 20 bucks. So if you want something great at 20 or below, there's no volume in it and no one wants to buy it. I wish there was. I know we want to recreate the palantir from 20 to 150. Moment. There's not. They're an exception to the rule. There are none that I will put my money into. And I wish it was because I'm like, man, if this can go from 20 to 200, I look like an icon again. Right? There are none. There are none.

[Podcast Guest 2]

I'm glad you said that because I was searching. I'm like, I got.

[Matt Rogers]

You couldn't find one if you wanted to.

[Podcast Guest 2]

I'm not even saying that I would invest in these per se, but I'm looking at it from the standpoint of who might come by them. What if we did that?

[Matt Rogers]

Okay, acquisition.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Maybe this might be something that's worth an acquisition. So I got a list of like five.

[Matt Rogers]

It's open on the list.

[Podcast Guest 2]

So the first one. Warner Brothers Discovery.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Which is a. I mean, we already

[Matt Rogers]

know it's the acquisition target.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Acquisition target. So that's under $20. Lyft.

[Matt Rogers]

The 27. Yeah. Yeah. I like to be well over lift.

[Podcast Guest 2]

I talked about this a few months ago.

[Matt Rogers]

Who would acquire or. Or Tesla,

[Podcast Guest 1]

because they're not.

[Matt Rogers]

That's.

[Podcast Guest 2]

That's the tricky part. They're not going to sell the Uber. But a competitor that needs the technology of a ride sharing, maybe. You mentioned a company that makes a lot of sense that. Yeah. So that, that would be an interesting one.

[Matt Rogers]

Snap.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Like I said that, that social media that, that they have is still something that is worth somebody might find value in acquiring, adding to the portfolio.

[Public Investing Representative]

Ford

[Podcast Guest 2]

legacy company. Not that just throwing it out there.

[Matt Rogers]

I don't say that.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Yeah, I'm not saying I'm investing. I'm just saying these are under Mercedes. Now we talked about okay what, what they've done in terms of partnership and we actually firsthand saw their partnership that they announced with Nvidia. Could they, could they change the way autonomous luxury looks in the future? We don't know. I don't know. Interesting. But it's one that's under. After that I couldn't find anything.

[Matt Rogers]

I really could.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Yeah, that was it.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, it's tough. And to the person who asked the question is too tech, too index to build confidence to then build into seven to eight stocks. No, you only need four good ones if you rotate to six. Great. If you study any business though, even if you go to Google. Google has acquired hundreds of companies. Microsoft hundreds of companies. There's usually four to six that drive 80% of the revenue. Just a behemoth is YouTube that we're on right now. It takes you a while to invest in a bunch to understand that you only need four. At some point you can replace the indexes and then just have concentration of four companies that you believe in. And then you want to push Savior 5 to 10,000 shares of each of that company. But no, you don't want to have eight, ideally like four to six as a sweet spot because then you can manage all of them properly, not have too much risk on the table, not have them conflict with each other. Some of you like will message me and be like hey, I got 16 stocks, what should I do? My first answer is always pick the four that you believe in. That would do well for the long term because it's really tough to manage. You have your own index at that point. There's no need to have 14 to 15 stocks. Then you can pour more capital into them on the drops like we had on Thursday and Friday.

[Podcast Guest 1]

So you don't. So you don't believe in xrp. Let's get.

[Matt Rogers]

I just said it's a good investment long term.

[Podcast Guest 1]

Would you invest, would you invest in XRP?

[Matt Rogers]

How much money? I have positions at XRP.

[Podcast Guest 1]

Would you invest $10,000 in XRP?

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah,

[Podcast Guest 2]

click down.

[Podcast Guest 1]

Would you invest $100,000 in XRP?

[Matt Rogers]

At what price? See now we got to get current price. I'm never doing market order for nothing. Sorry, but it's not market price.

[Podcast Guest 1]

Yeah, it's down. It's down tremendously from its all time high.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Where you at on xrp, are you?

[Podcast Guest 1]

I never believed the xr.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Okay. Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

All right. We're shot every time, my brother.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Sediment could have changed.

[Podcast Guest 1]

XRP is a coin.

[Bowen Yang]

Whoa.

[Matt Rogers]

They're up 33, 000 all time.

[Podcast Guest 1]

Yeah, they are if you got it at 000.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Wait, wait, hold on, hold on. When did it turn?

[Podcast Guest 1]

The coin? Every XRP has been a coin, Rashad.

[Matt Rogers]

You trolling, my boy, you trolling?

[Podcast Guest 2]

That's the first I've heard. That's the first time I've heard that.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay, my boy, try to go viral. Okay, Come on. I'm with you. Oh, it's like sweep. Sweet. So you and Troy get into it then. Me and you. Okay, I got you. Got you. The. You mean XRP or going Flip that up. The army with me.

[Podcast Guest 2]

The army with me.

[Podcast Guest 1]

All right.

[Matt Rogers]

I said this in stock club, though. If you do have an asset like XRP or you're a micro sailor, you have to know who your enemies are. Though you have some big enemies that will thwart you for decades until they can take the asset class over. I know a lot of the bitcoin maxis. No blackrock and the government didn't take it over. The first iteration of it was from Langley. I say that every two weeks and I haven't had a cease and desist yet.

[Podcast Guest 1]

The first iteration of bitcoin. Of bitcoin you talking about? Yes, sir.

[Matt Rogers]

Once again, is Satoshi a person or a title? Like Pope.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Like Pope.

[Podcast Guest 1]

That's.

[Xfinity Advertiser]

Who knows.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, I know, I know the Dan Pina clip it, but it's certain. It's eras. Eras of the Ming dynasty. They had a run. Russia had a run. The island boy had a run. It's different runs, but what do I know?

[Podcast Guest 2]

No, not

[Matt Rogers]

Dame Kareem.

[Podcast Guest 2]

Stop your run. One of the reasons that they called

[Podcast Guest 1]

the gang green Clip it up.

[Podcast Host]

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