Diary of a UK Stock Investor

Hosted by Chris Chillingworth

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Episodes

207

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

Can you turn £4k into £1,024,867 over 23 years by investing in UK stocks? This is precisely what stock analyst Chris Chillingworth is attempting to achieve. Join him for the highs and the lows of UK stock investing as he documents his process each month.

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October 29, 2026Episode 21235 min

212 - Would You Invest In McDonalds Corp?

In Episode 212 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (00:45) My Investing Diary (06:42) Investment Analysis on McDonalds Corp (30:47) Warren Buffett on Buying Wonderful Businesses (31:31) Lessons from the Greats What if one of the world's most successful and recognisable businesses turned out to be an investment you should avoid? This week, I'm putting McDonald's under the microscope, taking you through my five-stage investment research process. We'll investigate its future prospects, the strength of its competitive advantages, what its financial statements reveal, and how much growth we can realistically expect. Then comes the big question: what price would I actually be willing to pay for its shares? It's a practical look at why even a fantastic business can make a disappointing investment, and why thorough research matters before putting your money to work. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com ENROL NOW! on the FREE INVESTING BEGINNERS COURSE at https://valueseekeranalytics.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

October 22, 2026Episode 21144 min

211 - When Great Financials Hide A Bad Investment

In Episode 211 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (00:23) My Investing Diary (15:57) One Years Financial Performance (25:11) Greggs plc & Rolls Royce plc (34:00) Terry Smith on Free Cash Flow (36:16) Lessons from the Greats What if the best financial results a company has ever reported were actually a warning sign for investors? And what if its worst results presented an opportunity? This week, I explore why a single year's financial performance can be dangerously misleading. Using Greggs and Rolls-Royce as examples, we'll uncover why record profits don't always mean a great business, why falling earnings aren't necessarily bad news, and why understanding a company's financial history is so important before investing. Plus, I introduce the new FREE ValueSeeker Beginners Course, now open for enrolment! GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com ENROL NOW! on the FREE INVESTING BEGINNERS COURSE at https://valueseekeranalytics.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

October 15, 2026Episode 21053 min

210 - How Good Companies Get Into Serious Trouble

In Episode 210 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (00:43) My Investing Diary (23:04) Letters From Our Listeners (28:34) Warren Buffett on his Circle of Competance (29:20) How Good Companies Get Into Serious Trouble (38:02) Joel Greenblatt on Home Depot & Walmart (39:01) Greggs & Cineworld (46:29) Lessons from the Greats Imagine investing in a successful business, only to lose everything while the company itself continues trading. That's exactly what happened to Cineworld shareholders. This week, I compare Cineworld with Greggs to explore how debt can bring even established businesses to their knees, why strong profits don't always mean financial security, and why understanding a company's financial strength is so important before investing. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

October 8, 2026Episode 20945 min

209 - Can You Predict a Company's Future Earnings?

In Episode 209 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (01:00) My Investing Diary (12:00) Letters From Our Listeners (22:02) The Financials Can't Tell You What's Coming (28:40) Danny DeVito on Value Investing (31:45) UnitedHealth Group versus Games Workshop (38:45) Buffett, Munger and Phil Town on Looking Beyond the Numbers This week, I explore whether we can really predict a company's future earnings and why relying on historical financials alone can be dangerous. Using UnitedHealth Group and Games Workshop, I look at why understanding a company's competitive advantage may give us a better chance of judging whether its past success can contine into the future. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

October 1, 2026Episode 20847 min

208 - What Stops Someone Stealing Your Company's Profits?

In Episode 208 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (02:21) My Investing Diary (15:48) What Stops Someone Stealing Your Company's Profits? (24:14) Games Workshops Competitive Advantage (32:08) Warren Buffett on Coca Cola's Moat (35:35) Why the Best Investors Obsess Over Staying Power (39:35) Letters From Our Listeners If a business is highly profitable, what stops competitors coming along and taking those profits for themselves? This week, I explore the idea of an economic moat and why understanding what protects a company's customers, margins and returns is so important for long-term investors. Using Games Workshop as a real-world example, we look beyond the numbers and ask why might this business still be successful ten or twenty years from now? GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

September 24, 2026Episode 20736 min

207 - Growth Can Destroy Shareholder Value

In Episode 207 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (01:19) My Investing Diary (12:26) Letters from Listeners (18:16) When Does Growth Make Shareholders Richer? (24:03) Sir John Templeton on Buying Cheap Stocks (26:11) RELX Growth vs Easyjet Growth (33:00) Learning From The Legends This week, I'm looking at why growth doesn't always create value for shareholders . Using RELX and easyJet to demonstrate two very different types of growth, I explore why getting bigger isn't necessarily getting better, why the amount of capital required matters, and the questions we should be asking when a company tells us it's growing. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

September 17, 2026Episode 20642 min

206 - Why I Care About ROIC

In Episode 206 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (00:43) My Investing Diary (18:26) Why I Care About ROIC (26:43) Buffett on ROIC (29:11) Looking at ROIC via the Lens of RELX (36:36) Learning From The Legends Why do some businesses produce far more profit from the capital they use than others? This week, I use RELX to explain why return on invested capital matters so much, what improving returns can tell us about a business, and why it's one of the first things I look at when assessing quality.. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

September 10, 2026Episode 20544 min

205 - Your Company Made a Profit. So Where Did the Money Go?

In Episode 205 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start (01:00) My Investment Diary (14:17) Your Company Made a Profit. So Where Did the Money Go? (22:38) Where Did Greggs Profit Go? (35:27) Buffett on Buying Businesses (36:25) Learning From The Legends (43:15) Letters from Listeners A company reports £122 million in profit, but does that mean £122 million actually ended up in the bank? Using Greggs as a real-world example, I explore why profit doesn't always tell the whole story, why cash flow matters, and why understanding where a company's money goes can tell us far more about the business we actually own. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

September 3, 2026Episode 20445 min

204 - Do You Actually Know What You Own?

In Episode 204 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start Do you really understand the businesses sitting inside your portfolio? This week, I use Games Workshop to explore why knowing how a company makes money, what makes it successful and what could go wrong matters far more than simply watching its share price. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

August 27, 2026Episode 20339 min

203 - 200 Episodes Later, I Was Wrong About Investing

In Episode 203 of the Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast this week:- (00:00) Show Start After more than 200 episodes analysing stocks and investing my own money, some of my biggest beliefs about investing have changed. This week, I'm sharing six lessons I wish I'd understood sooner, and why becoming a better investor might have less to do with finding the next great stock than you think. GET INVOLVED! Email the show on chris@chrischillingworth.com The Diary of a UK Stock Investor Podcast is a diary-style, educational podcast documenting Chris's long-term journey as a UK retail investor, with the personal goal of one day becoming a Stocks & Shares ISA millionaire. Each episode reflects on the realities of long-term investing, including lessons learned, mindset, decision-making, and progress along the journey. The show also features listener correspondence, discussion of general market news from UK and US stocks, and educational explanations of investing concepts drawn from real-world experience. From time to time, episodes may explore publicly available company financial statements to help listeners better understand how to read financial data and what different figures mean in practice. These discussions are for educational purposes only and are not intended to influence investment decisions. The podcast does not provide investment advice, personal recommendations, or guidance on what to buy or sell. Chris does not disclose specific investment transactions or encourage listeners to follow any particular strategy. Any views shared are personal reflections only and may change over time. All content is provided for general information and educational purposes and does not take into account individual financial circumstances. Investing involves risk, and listeners should always do their own research or seek advice from a Financial Conduct Authority authorised financial adviser before making investment decisions. New episodes are released EVERY Thursday! Contact the show at chris@chrischillingworth.com

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