About
Derek Hammock
CPA, CISA, and lifelong news junkie. Hammockistan is where I think out loud — about markets, macro, operators, and whatever thread I've been pulling on this week that somehow connects to everything else.
I write to learn. Not investment advice.
What this is
Hammockistan is my corner of the internet for thinking about markets and macro in the context of real life — what's happening now, what it means for the future, and how it connects to the world outside my door. I'm drawn to the stuff that doesn't fit neatly in a single box: a rate decision rippling through supply chains, a semiconductor shortage reshaping industrial policy, an earnings call that reveals more about management character than the numbers do.
I cover deep dives on individual companies, peer analysis across sectors, and broader macro observations. Sometimes it's tightly focused. Sometimes I'm following a thread wherever it leads. That's by design.
How I think
I'm a bottoms-up investor who can't ignore macro. I start with the business — the unit economics, the competitive position, how management allocates capital. But I price all of it against the environment: where rates are heading, what part of the cycle we're in, which structural tailwinds or headwinds are real versus narrative.
My background is in finance functions inside operating companies — accounting, systems, controls — which means I tend to read financial statements with more skepticism than reverence. I've seen how numbers get made. That shapes how I interpret them.
What to expect — and what not to
Expect: genuine thinking, honest uncertainty, and the occasional thesis that turns out wrong. I try to show my reasoning rather than just my conclusions. I think about markets partly because I'm a news junkie who can't help it, and partly because I'm thinking about the future I'm building for my kids — which makes the long view feel personal.
Don't expect: investment advice, trading signals, or hot takes optimized for engagement. I'm not a registered investment advisor. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything. I'm still developing the discipline side of my own investing, and I think saying that honestly is more useful than pretending otherwise.
Background
I'm a CPA and CISA with a career built in industry finance — not Wall Street. My professional work spans financial reporting, controls, and systems-level thinking in operating environments. That background gives me an operator's instinct for where accounting can obscure as much as it reveals, and a natural interest in how businesses actually function versus how they describe themselves.
Markets have been a parallel education — self-directed, ongoing, and increasingly serious.
Disclosure
I may hold positions in securities I write about, or I may not — circumstances change between when I research something and when I publish it, and they change after. I will always disclose any position or relationship that could create a bias in my analysis. If I'm writing about something I own, you'll know. If I have any other relevant conflict, I'll say so.
The goal is honest analysis, not a clean record. Skin in the game is compatible with objectivity if you're transparent about it.
Get in touch
Questions, pushback, or something I got wrong — I want to hear it. Disagreement sharpens thinking.