Business Breakdowns

This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down the cable giant Charter Communications. Tony Coniaris and John Sitarz of Harris Associates join us for this deep dive on the cable market and Charter's business. We've spent a big portion of the first half of the conversation outlining the history of cable, the asset itself, what it does differently versus some of the alternatives, and then we flash forward to how the industry is operating today. The idea of cord cutting has become very consensus, but it's not very obvious in terms of how that actually impacts a business like Charter and its flagship product Spectrum. We go into some of the case studies that have recently occurred and then tie it all back in terms of the business model. There's so many different lessons that you can take out here thanks to Tony and John. Please enjoy this Business Breakdown on Charter Listen to Invest Like the Best: A Conversation with Charlie Munger & John Collison For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag| @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:04:07) - (First question) - The role of Charter Communications in daily life (00:07:28) - Charter Communications as an infrastructure entity (00:08:15) - Mapping the cable market landscape (00:12:51) - Evolution of competition within the cable industry (00:14:01) - Tracing the origins of Charter Communications (00:19:18) - Initiating business restructuring (00:20:20) - Exploring the capabilities of cable assets (00:23:40) - Emerging challengers in the cable arena (00:29:58) - Examining mobile data trends (00:30:54) - Exploring the potential of fixed wireless access (00:33:48) - Conducting business analysis (00:36:10) - Assessing the impact of consumers 'cutting the cord' (00:42:16) - Comparing internet-only customers to full cable bundle subscribers (00:47:53) - The value of comprehensive service packages (00:49:08) - Identifying major cost factors in the industry (00:52:35) - Outlining the market structure for cable businesses (00:57:16) - Anticipating potential industry risks (00:58:03) - Understanding compute capacity and its implications (01:01:21) - Reflecting on insights gained from Charter Communications Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Zack Fuss. Today we are breaking down Vistra Corp. Vistra is an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company, through its subsidiaries, is involved in electricity generation and wholesale and retail energy sales to commercial, municipal and residential customers across the U.S. The company serves 4 million Americans across 20 states producing 37,000 megawatts of capacity, enough to power 20 million homes. To break down Vistra, I'm joined by John DeGulis, Partner and Portfolio Manager at Sound Shore Management. We go through the dramatic evolution of the industry, the acquisition track record of Vistra, and zoom out on the broader electricity production & distribution business and history in the United States. Please enjoy this conversation on Vistra Corp. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:52) - (First question) - A brief history of Vistra (00:10:57) - An overview of Vistra’s business model  (00:14:11) - Navigating the value chain of merchant power from generation to retail and how Vistra positions itself within the industry (00:27:28) - The contrast between financial analysis and consumer perspectives and Vistra’s strategic cash flow allocation toward renewables and shareholder returns (00:32:49) - The limitations when charging for electricity utilities  (00:35:23) - A breakdown of Vistra Vision, the allocation of profits from traditional energy generation for growth in renewable energy (00:39:29) - Vistra’s management team and the key players  (00:42:58) - Vistra’s potential expansion plans into solar, wind and nuclear  (00:46:30) - How Vistra could be an integral part of the nation's energy transition to low or no-carbon electricity (00:49:28) - The lessons learned from studying Vistra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down Entegris, a supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for semiconductors. Small interferences with the different materials that exist within the semiconductor will slow it down and make it inoperable, and that's where Entegris comes into play.  We get into that discussion with our guest, Daniel Pilling from Sands Capital. He joins us to talk through the history of semiconductors in his own terms, what makes it such a fascinating industry to cover, and what makes Entegris unique operating as a small player in an overall huge universe, dominated by major players. Please enjoy this breakdown of Entegris. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:03:00) - (First question) - Why semiconductors is an interesting industry for Daniel (00:05:45) - An introduction to Entegris and its business (00:07:19) - A look at the chemicals produced for computer chip manufacturing (00:09:39) - A historical look at the importance of chemicals in chipmaking (00:11:45) - The cost of chemicals within a chip (00:13:55) - The backstory as to how Entegris started operating and their competitors  (00:17:03) - How the business has been able to remain so independent (00:21:57) - The stickiness of the business and how they aim to be the partner of choice (00:23:22) - A look at previous execution and any issues that have occurred in the past (00:23:56) - The cyclicality of the semiconductor industry historically (00:25:45) - An overview Entegris’ pricing power and maintaining margin profile (00:28:32) - Operating leverage within the business and how the margin profiles differ between the different segments (00:30:03) - A look at the business’ research and development spend (00:32:01) - How the business has approached mergers and acquisitions over the years (00:34:04) - Whether the business has ever been a target acquisition for a larger player  (00:34:48) - The outlook for Entegris’ revenue growth, expected margin expansion due to operating leverage (00:37:05) - Possible threats to the business from new technology (00:39:04) - A look at other potential risks to Entegris (00:41:18) - Should the industry’s growth slow or even decline how it could affect Entegris  (00:42:46) - How Daniel values the business comparing it to its peer group (00:45:04) - Other risks to the business not mentioned (00:46:00) - The lessons learned from Entegris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Zack Fuss. Today we are breaking down The Coca-Cola Company. On May 8th, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton brought this perfected syrup to Jacobs Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, where the first glass of Coca-Cola was poured for five cents a glass. Today, more than 1. 9 billion servings per day of Coke are served worldwide.  To break down Coca-Cola, I'm joined by Freddie Lait, Founder and Managing Partner at Latitude Investment Management. We cover the business of Coca-Cola and how its bottling network is imperative to its capital light business model. We discuss recent acquisitions like Costa Coffee & Body Armor and the Coca-Cola Company's expansion beyond its flagship brands and products with legacy Coke representing just 50% of their offering. Please enjoy this breakdown of the Coca-Cola Company.  Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:03:33) - (First question) - Exploring Coca-Cola's unique business model (00:05:57) - Comparing Coca-Cola's size to its competitors (00:07:30) - Delving into the history of the company (00:12:28) - Contrasting a bottling business with brand building and distribution (00:18:53) - Examining how Coca-Cola has maintained consistent growth and driven revenue (00:23:49) - Discussing Coca-Cola's 20% ownership of Monster Energy  (00:27:11) - Assessing Coca-Cola's approach to capital allocation for value creation (00:30:33) - Highlighting the most dynamic growth segment in Coca-Cola's portfolio (00:33:43) - Breaking down Coca-Cola's business by region (00:37:39) - Adjusting to emerging risks in the marketplace (00:41:11) - Lessons learned from studying Coca Cola Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are breaking down FedEx. FedEx has a more direct impact on the U.S. economy than 99.9% of U.S. businesses - an actual statistic from Dun & Bradstreet. It was a business started in 1973 by the famous Fred Smith, as his planes delivered 186 packages to 25 cities. Today, FedEx moves about 15 million packages a day, all over the world. To break down the business, I'm joined by Staley Cates, Vice Chairman of Southeastern Asset Management. We cover the business of FedEx, how this network operates, the integration of Express and Ground services, and its history and valuation relative to UPS. Please enjoy this breakdown of FedEx. Founders Podcast: #151 Frederick Smith (FedEx) For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes: (00:04:27) - First question - An overview of Staley’s relationship with FedEx (00:05:06) - How FedEx is doing as a business in general (00:06:46) - A look at the different segments of FedEx’s business (00:08:08) - The differences between FedEx’s express and ground services (00:09:51) - A brief history of Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx and the opportunity he saw in the market (00:14:03) - How eCommerce and other trends have affected FedEx over the years (00:18:36) - FedEx’s position on whether to battle UPS for Amazon’s shipping alternative option (00:20:25) - A look at the United States Postal Service and its role in the overall eCommerce system (00:21:39) - The reasons behind the upside in FedEx Ground margins  (00:26:07) - A look at LTL margins when it comes to FedEx Express services (00:28:20) - Potential opportunities for FedEx moving forward (00:31:24) - The re-fleeting of FedEx planes and other potential areas in FedEx’s business that may require capital expenditures (00:33:19) - The challenges FedEx faced when integrating the acquisition of TNT (00:36:04) - Bringing together FedEx’s different businesses to get an overview of the entire organization (00:38:34) - Wage inflation and how that will affect FedEx’s margin profile overall (00:42:56) - The potential for FedEx to compete with Amazon more directly (00:45:42) - FedEx’s current stock price and its potential  (00:50:29) - FedEx’s use of railroads and its expansion over the past two decades (00:52:54) - An overview of the risks FedEx could face in the future (00:54:19) - The lessons learned from studying FedEx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Zack Fuss. Today I am joined by Yanev Suissa, Managing Partner at SineWave Ventures, to break down the private company Databricks. Born out of a UC Berkeley research lab in 2013, Databricks has grown rapidly, and after 50% growth this summer, it was rumored to have last raised at a $43 billion valuation. In the most simple terms, Databricks provides tools for ingesting, transforming, and analyzing large sets of data from multiple sources in multiple formats in order to inform business and engineering decisions. Databricks is on a crash course with Snowflake to amass market share. In this conversation, we explore the nuances of structured and unstructured data, discuss data lakes, and what it entails to get "Hadooped." Please enjoy this breakdown of Databricks.  Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes: (00:02:32) - (First Question) - What Databricks is and why it is so successful  (00:04:38) - Real world examples of how customers use Databricks  (00:07:23) - How issues were handled historically before Databricks was available  (00:08:39) - Key examples of what helped accelerate Databricks’ success  (00:10:52) - Databricks revenue model and how it converts into bottomline   (00:12:13) - How Databricks competes with competitors like Snowflake  (00:14:11) - Competition versus symbiosis when compared to large organizations  (00:14:11) - The overall size of Databricks as a business (00:18:09) - Costs incurred when using a database service like Databricks (00:19:47) - The founding story of Databricks  (00:22:53) - When SineWave recognized the database's potential  (00:24:29) - The importance of partnerships and how they help grow the business  (00:27:07) - Legacy solutions that they are disintermediating or replacing in their growth   (00:27:57) - What being Hadoop’d means  (00:21:50) - A breakdown of the complexity behind switching to different database providers  (00:32:07) - The success of these businesses breaking into legacy regulated industries  (00:34:47) - Why AI is so impactful to the database  (00:37:40) - How AI is helping these businesses go to market with their software  (00:39:50) - Democratization of data access and businesses taking the opposite approach  (00:43:00) - Key reasons for investing in Databricks and potential risks to be considered   (00:46:12) - Lessons learned from studying Databricks  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the giant of online dating. Even if you found love the old-fashioned way, you're likely familiar with the Match brands like Tinder and Hinge, amongst many others. To break down Match, I'm joined by George Hadjia, founder of Bristlemoon Capital. George goes through a background on this industry, what made Match who it is today, and all of the key debates that are driving this stock and all the commentary around it. Please enjoy this breakdown of Match Group. Read the Bristlemoon Capital MTCH Report. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus Converge — the first virtual event centered on the world of investor research. When twin brothers Tom and Mike Elnick realized that the research process for investors was broken, they founded Tegus to fix it. Now the people behind the most trusted research platform are bringing institutional investors together to investigate the state — and the future — of fundamental research. On November 8th, join industry luminaries like IGSB Founder Reece Duca and Daniel Gross, AI Expert, Entrepreneur and Investor, to dig into the latest research trends and breakthrough technologies shaping the investment landscape. Register today at tegus.com/register. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:03:10) - (First question) - George’s response since releasing his recent report on Match (00:04:55) - A general overview of the online dating market (00:10:55) - Comparing the different brands within the dating app industry   (00:14:10) - The reason for the existence of so many niche brands in the market (00:18:55) - The different avenues for these brands when it comes to monetization  (00:21:25) - The breakdown of revenue per customer and the different tiers dating apps offer  (00:24:10) - Customer turnover due to the nature of dating and how the retention rate differs between the different apps (00:28:40) - A snapshot of how the industry has been growing over recent years (00:29:50) - Determining normalized earning profiles and margins when taking into account the lack of marketing spend historically (00:32:40) - The historical percentage of revenue that goes into marketing expenses (00:35:10) - How Bumble’s advertising expenditure differs from Match Group brands (00:36:40) - Price competition between different brands and a look at Tinder’s introduction of premium monetization tiers (00:39:20) - Dissecting top-line growth and the percentage due to recent price increases  (00:40:10) - An overview of the business’ capital allocation and how they intend to invest in the growth of the business (00:42:50) - The new management team’s strategy and how it differs from the previous regimes (00:46:25) - Potential changes to Apple app store fees and how it could affect the business  (00:51:10) - A forward outlook at where George expects the business to go in the coming years (00:54:40) - The key risks to the business moving forward (00:57:20) - The threat that Facebook poses in terms of its entry into the market  (01:02:20) - The lessons learned from researching Match Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down Olin Corporation. Olin is a key player in industrial chemicals but many of those chemicals are used in products that we encounter on a day-to-day basis. To break down Olin, I'm joined by Yinan Zhao from Pzena Investment Management. Together we cover the chlor-alkali market, what it means to be the lowest-cost producer of a given commodity, and how Olin has shifted its business model and its operational model to help sustain earnings through cycles. Please enjoy this breakdown of Olin Corp. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. Subscribe to Colossus's New Show: Art of Investing For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:01:33) - (First question) - An elevator pitch for Olin (00:02:56) - Investors looking at DuPont also look at Olin from a subsector perspective  (00:03:55) - A brief history of Olin’s business (00:07:40) - The process of creating Chloralkali and its uses (00:11:25) - The similarities and differences when comparing the crude oil refining process and the creation of Chloralkali (00:12:21) - The use of Olin’s chlorine in residential public pools  (00:12:48) - The breakdown of manufacturing operations of Olin, control versus outsourcing (00:18:14) - A snapshot of the revenue percentages of Olin’s businesses (00:19:13) - The percentage range of Olin’s cyclical commodities  (00:20:06) - The end markets that Olin integrates itself in (00:22:47) - A background on CEO Scott Sutton and the shift in operating philosophy (00:29:09) - Olin’s confidence in its new optimization strategies (00:33:49) - The downside risk to Olin’s new business model (00:35:53) - A breakdown of Olin’s CapEx spending  (00:37:17) - The margin profile and EBITDA growth, historically and how it looks now (00:38:20) - The difficulties in forecasting and similarities with oil refinery volatility (00:40:02) - Market futures activity and hedging (00:41:49) - The Winchester business and its position within the overall Olin pie (00:43:49) - The announcement to the departure of Scott Sutton and the risks posed (00:48:11) - Other potential risks to Olin’s business moving forward (00:49:11) - A look at Olin’s ESG ranking  (00:51:35) - Valuing the business and what investors might think about Olin (00:53:12) - Lessons learned from researching Olin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down WEX, a big fish in a less known pond. WEX is a leader in the fleet card market - they offer trucking businesses special credit cards which help secure advantaged rates on fuel among many other things. This is a business with a long history as WEX is headquartered in Maine, and really came to life in the 1980s.  To break down WEX, I'm joined by Mark Tomasovic from Energize Capital, a multiple-time guest on Business Breakdowns. We get into the history of this industry and how WEX found a very creative way to accelerate adoption within this market. Please enjoy this breakdown of WEX. Subscribe to Colossus's New Show: Art of Investing Buy a ticket to Patrick and David Senra's live show. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus Converge — the first virtual event centered on the world of investor research. When twin brothers Tom and Mike Elnick realized that the research process for investors was broken, they founded Tegus to fix it. Now the people behind the most trusted research platform are bringing institutional investors together to investigate the state — and the future — of fundamental research. On November 8th, join industry luminaries like IGSB Founder Reece Duca and Daniel Gross, AI Expert, Entrepreneur and Investor, to dig into the latest research trends and breakthrough technologies shaping the investment landscape. Register today at tegus.com/register. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:57) - (First question) - An overview of what WEX is and what they do (00:03:50) - A summary of the market that WEX operates in (00:05:59) - The history of the company’s creation (00:08:53) - The importance of signing up large gas companies rather than retail locations (00:11:33) - Value propositions behind providing fleet cards  (00:12:53) - How the economic model works for the cards   (00:13:48) - The percentage of spend equivalent to Visa or Mastercard (00:14:31) - The difficulty behind switching from one fleet card provider to another  (00:17:05) - The role fuel prices play in the total revenue of the business (00:20:09) - Threats to consider on the supply end of the business   (00:21:57) - Recharging at home and the process of receiving a credit (00:23:06) - Other businesses WEX is involved in (00:24:27) - A comparison between all of WEX’s businesses and where they direct focus (00:25:13) - A look into their health and employee benefits line  (00:26:39) - The overall financial profile from a revenue and margins standpoint (00:28:43) - How big players like Amazon or Walmart play a part in potential business (00:30:02) - The threat of Visa or Mastercard entering the same space (00:31:17) - Total amount of revenue generated from electric vehicle fleets   (00:33:27) - Electric charging locations and the process of building these facilities (00:35:13) - Technology invested into creating faster charging stations (00:35:50) - An overall look at risks for the business (00:37:54) - Other parts of WEX that stand out (00:40:10) - Lessons learned from studying WEX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the data services giant, Equifax. Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax have built this fascinating oligopoly worth studying, but the business has extended well beyond the credit checks on mortgages. Their employee verification tool, The Work Number, may be their most valuable asset today. To break down Equifax, I'm joined by Mo Spolan, analyst at Weitz Investments. We dive into both sides of the business, the unique industry structures that they sit in, the history around competition, and Equifax's future outlook. The newest podcast from Colossus, Art of Investing is dropping next week! This is going to be a series of discussions with the world's best investors, company builders, academics, athletes, artists, and any human beings devoted to exploring the joys of compounding in all its forms. The first two episodes will be released on Monday, October 9. Art of Investing: Trailer Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:00:58) - (First question) - How Equifax extends beyond credit checks (00:05:02) - Evolution from the Wild West of credit to a tech-driven, regulated oligopoly (00:10:21) - Give-to-get model builds network; compiles detailed credit history (00:12:16) - How credit bureaus grow with GDP and loan volumes (00:15:19) - The shift from three to two credit checks for mortgages (00:23:16) - Facing cyclical shifts, credit bureaus' margins decline with IT investments (00:25:29) - How The Work Number, acquired by Equifax, has evolved into a critical income verification service (00:28:50) - Ingesting exclusive data, Equifax dominates income verification via a large network (00:32:51) - How Work Number stays atop the verification market despite competition (00:43:36) - Increasing Work Number margins lift Equifax; HR paperwork still strategically important (00:44:57) - Work Number poised for solid double-digit growth; boosts overall business outlook (00:51:15) - The 2017 Equifax breach led to executive shakeup and strategic focus shift (00:55:57) - Increasing competitive intensity, aggressive pricing, and potential regulation are key risks for Equifax (00:59:46) - Lessons learned from studying Equifax Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital, and today we’re breaking down Boeing. Founded in Seattle in 1916 by William Boeing, the company has produced thousands of commercial and military aircraft over the past century. It is an important national and global asset and one-half of arguably the most famous duopoly in business, alongside Airbus. To break down Boeing, I’m joined by Jon Ostrower, founder and editor-in-chief of The Air Current. You can split Boeing’s business into three segments: commercial, defense, and services. For this discussion, we focus mostly on Boeing’s commercial business, which accounted for nearly 40% of its revenues last year. We talk about the cost and complexity of building new airplanes, how the 737 MAX disaster changed the business, and why the future of commercial planes may look radically different. Please enjoy this business breakdown of Boeing. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:38) - (First question) - An introduction to the aerospace industry and Boeing's role in it (00:05:41) - Boeing's business model today (00:09:52) - How the aerospace industry settled into a duopoly (00:12:30) - Costs associated with airplane manufacturing (00:14:02) - The life expectancy of an aircraft (00:14:46) - Dealing with the supply coordination problem (00:17:39) - The Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merger (00:20:51) - Problems Boeing has faced over the past five years (00:25:44) - How leadership turnover has permeated through Boeing (00:28:03) - Competitive headwinds Boeing can face (00:33:10) - How Boeing will grow in the aerospace industry (00:37:39) - Boeing's eVTOL strategy (00:41:42) - What is impacting the profitability of the business (00:43:38) - The biggest challenge facing the aerospace industry (00:44:57) - Lessons learned from studying Boeing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Dom Cooke and today we’re breaking down an Irish business that has become the global leader in insulation products for buildings. Founded in 1965, the business is called Kingspan and today it has a market cap of nearly 13 billion euros. The bulk of their business comes from insulating big, commercial new builds – Tesla Factories, Apple’s Headquarters, the Emirates Stadium in London – all places where you’ll find Kingspan’s products. To break down this business, I’m joined by Nick Griffin, the Founding Partner and CIO of Munro Partners. We talk about the ESG tailwinds behind this business, how they’ve grown through acquisitions, and their interesting go-to-market motion. Please enjoy this Business Breakdown of Kingspan. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:35) - (First question) - He gives us a detailed description of Kingspan (00:03:28) - Investing in a company based on the other side of the world (00:05:14) - Whether Kingspan is more commercial or residential driven  (00:05:55) - Kingspan’s origins (00:08:35) - Description of an insulated panel and how it is used (00:12:38) - What makes their panels the best in the world (00:15:25) - The benefits of doing both commercial and residential panels (00:16:08) - Industry characteristics and its overall market share (00:17:54) - The pricing mechanism and pricing power behind the product (00:21:26) - Kingspan’s expansion into the world market  (00:22:53) - The secret sauce behind the success of Kingspan  (00:25:01) - Kingspan’s economy to scale (00:27:42) - What he finds interesting about Kingspan’s financial profile  (00:29:15) - Splitting revenue growth between organic and inorganic growth (00:32:35) - The visibility of Kingspan’s products and their measurable efficiency       (00:34:50) - His expectations for Kingspan’s growth over the next 10 to 15 years (00:34:05) - The margin structure of the acquired businesses (00:37:12) - The life expectancy of the insulation product (00:38:35) - Risks behind insulated panels and the industry (00:42:22) - His evaluation of business modeling for acquisitions  (00:43:23) - Which competitors does he watch most closely    (00:44:49) - The lessons learned from studying Kingspan for 10 years  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Dom Cooke and today’s breakdown is a little different. Last week we looked at the most popular sport in the world in Football. Today, we break down the business behind a sport in its relative infancy - Padel. This racket sport started in the late 60s in Mexico and became big in many Spanish speaking countries. It then got a significant COVID bump and momentum has remained strong since. To break down this burgeoning sport, I’m joined by Alan Flatt, CEO and President of EEP Capital. We look at the dynamics of the sport that are making it popular, the investment characteristics of Padel Clubs, and how sustainable its recent growth is. We also cover the differences to a sport that has become big in the US, Pickleball. Please enjoy this business breakdown of Padel. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:41) - (First question) - A background on the sport of Padel (00:03:38) - The size and scope of Padel today (00:05:35) - The origins of the sport and its growth around the world up until now (00:06:31) - Covid and Pickleball’s impact on the growth of Padel over the last 5 years (00:07:08) - The main differences between Padel and Pickleball (00:09:12) - Padel’s universal attraction being its ease of entry for beginners (00:10:41) - Alan’s story of how he became involved with Padel as an investment (00:12:16) - Investing in Padel clubs and looking at Padel’s previous growth in other territories  (00:15:53) - What makes an attractive location for a Padel club (00:18:14) - The costs involved with starting a Padel club (00:21:53) - A look at the Padel Brooklyn location’s business model (00:25:12) - The margin profile of a Padel club (00:26:51) - Other sports and businesses with comparative models (00:28:55) - How the current supply issue can be resolved (00:33:06) - The current state of the US Pro League and how it might change (00:37:50) - A breakdown of the teams and schedule of the US Pro League (00:39:32) - The makeup of a Padel Pro League team (00:40:49) - The strategic priority list for the Pro League in order to meet its growth goals (00:44:28) - As a whole, how the sport of Padel can grow and the target markets for adoption (00:46:07) - How close the sport is to becoming an Olympic sport (00:48:20) - The risks that Padel faces (00:51:46) - The lessons Alan has learned and can share with operators and investors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Dom Cooke and today we’re breaking down the business behind the most popular sport in the world, Football or Soccer. It’s a vast market. 3 billion people around the world watch the sport and more than €30 billion euros are spent within the football ecosystem in Europe alone each year. But aside from a huge addressable market and reasonable revenue, is it actually a good business? Why do investors keep buying Football clubs? Is there any economic rationale behind that? Is there a link between sporting and financial success? Has middle-eastern money distorted the transfer market for good? These are some of the questions I asked our guest, Dr Rob Wilson, who is a football finance expert and Head of the finance, accounting, and business systems department at Sheffield Hallam University. I hope you enjoy us breakdown the business of football. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:03:16) - (First question) - Defining the European football market (00:05:12) - How the Premier League defined itself as the world’s best league (00:08:16) - The delegation of funds based on a team’s final position in the league (00:11:19) - A brief introduction to the breakaway European Super League (00:12:53) - The sale of Manchester United and how it affects the scope of the footballing world (00:18:34) - The role emotion plays when it comes to buying and selling of football clubs (00:20:47) - The makeup of a well run football club (00:23:54) - The four-pillar model and exploring new revenue streams in football (00:25:59) - The utilization of ‘access all areas’ type documentaries as a source of revenue (00:28:40) - Breaking down the return on investment for football clubs building new stadiums  (00:33:51) - Financial regulations in football and a brief history of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (00:40:41) - The correlation between sporting and financial performance (00:42:23) - The different types of football club ownership profiles    (00:44:51) - Reasons why investors choose to enter the football market (00:48:12) - Changes to the football landscape since sovereign wealth funds have entered the market (00:51:36) - The importance of the transfer market to football clubs (00:53:03) - How the fans fit into the sport moving forward (00:55:52) - Potential opportunities for TV revenue streams by entering new market places  (00:56:55) - The relationship between the clubs and the leagues (00:58:20) - The lessons learned from researching the football industry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are going into the land of convenience stores to break down Casey's General Stores. Casey's currently operates in 16 states in the Midwest and Southern US. As of this recording, they have close to a $10 billion market cap and are the number three player in their market. To break down Casey's, Matt Reustle is joined by Markus Hansen, portfolio manager and senior analyst at Vontobel Asset Management. We cover the industry of convenience stores, including the competition that exists in this market and the unique geographical considerations. We also discuss the financial model, drivers of gasoline performance versus in-store purchases, and margin profiles across the different segments of this business. This is another fascinating story hidden in plain sight. Please enjoy this breakdown of Casey's. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:42) - (First question) - The concept of Casey’s General Stores  (00:06:04) - Casey’s competitors and the market share in different regions (00:10:52) - The main differences between Casey’s and a regular gas station   (00:14:09) - A brief history on Casey’s beginnings and its founder (00:17:25) - A breakdown of the business’ revenue (00:19:14) - Casey's growth despite the changing environment standards raising operational costs (00:23:52) - The business’ margin profile (00:26:53) - How Casey’s General competes with its peers and fuel pricing (00:29:33) - The focus for Casey’s with regards to expansion opportunities  (00:33:06) - The hurdles involved with building new gas stations versus acquiring existing stores (00:35:08) - Casey’s stance on franchising (00:38:02) - The company’s attractiveness to buyers (00:40:52) - Casey’s General’s average stock performance (00:44:26) - Key risks of Casey’s (00:47:30) - The main lessons learned from Casey’s General Stores Important Information: Information provided represents the views of a company of the Vontobel Group (“Vontobel”) and should not be considered investment advice and/or legal, tax, financial or other advice. Further, not a recommendation to purchase, hold or sell any investment and no representation is given that the securities discussed are suitable for any particular investor. Although Vontobel believes that the information provided in this document is based on reliable sources, it cannot assume responsibility for the quality, correctness, timeliness or completeness of the information contained in this document. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down Take-Two Interactive Software. If you listened to our Business Breakdown on Electronic Arts, Take Two is another giant in the video game publishing space. They are best known for their Grand Theft Auto and 2K franchise. To break down Take-Two I'm joined by Eric Kress, principal at Gossamer Consulting Group. Eric spent multiple decades inside the video game market, both as an investor and as an operator, and we tap into his perspective from both sides of the table. We drill into historic IP, the strategy behind new releases and what mobile means for the market, and specifically for Take Two. Please enjoy this breakdown of Take-Two. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:35) - (First question) - Brief overview of Take-Two (00:03:32) - Take-Two's acquisition of Zynga represents a significant push into mobile gaming (00:05:05) - Mobile gaming faces challenges from Apple's IDFA removal and Google's changes (00:06:37) - Apple's privacy changes benefit them but hurt mobile publishers (00:07:50) - How Take-Two evolved from PC and console to mobile (00:10:48) - Console and PC target AAA games; mobile reaches a broader, less premium market (00:12:53) - Creating new iconic AAA gaming IP is nearly impossible due to high costs (00:15:08) - Big IP success in gaming historically depended on retail relationships and distribution (00:17:39) - Sports games have almost 100% revenue visibility; others like GTA fluctuate (00:19:31) - GTA's next release is anticipated and guaranteed to sell millions, but post-launch is uncertain (00:25:24) - Risk of new console alignment affects expectations for next GTA game release (00:27:57) - Updating titles for different consoles has become less complicated with PC architecture (00:29:44) - Pricing at $60-$70; new tech may boost in-game spending (00:31:30) - GTA's mature nature makes in-game advertising tough (00:32:59) - NBA license with 2K is a partnership, not exclusive (00:35:28) - Take-Two lacks profitable titles beyond GTA and 2K (00:37:57) - EA smartly bought Respawn and built studios; Take-Two lacks similar capability (00:39:29) - Gaming industry consolidated to fewer franchises; similar to film industry's trend (00:44:07) - Zynga's acquisition was ill-timed; it's a declining asset with no value (00:47:32) - Microsoft's deal may lead to Amazon or Comcast buying Take-Two (00:50:11) - Valuing these businesses often relies on traditional PE methods (00:52:06) - Key risks for Take-Two are overhyped GTA expectations and service burnout (00:53:37) - Lessons learned from studying Take-Two Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital, and today we’re breaking down Nubank. The Brazilian-based neobank has gone from nothing to extraordinary scale in a short period of time. 10 years after its founding, the company counts 46% of Brazil’s adult population as customers, is the largest Fintech in Latin America, and has a market capitalization of $37 billion. The fact that it’s achieved this in an environment that heavily favored the large incumbent banks makes its story all the more impressive. To break down the business, I am joined by Daniel Bakalarz, Managing Partner at Unison Asset Management. Dan has a long history with this business and it shows in our discussion. We discuss the confluence of factors that made this business possible, the economics of a typical Nubank customer, and the competitive dynamics of banking in South America. Please enjoy this business breakdown of Nubank. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 drivable global models hand-built by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:44) - (First question) - A background on neobanks and how Nubank is unique (00:04:17) - The company’s origin story and how it moved up the value chain over time (00:09:43) - Nubank’s rise to a becoming a market leader in just a decade since its formation in 2013 (00:17:04) - The backdrop in Brazil that led to the opportunity for Nubank to enter the market (00:23:34) - A breakdown of Nubank’s revenue (00:29:06) - The makeup of a mature Nubank customer and the company’s average revenue from that customer (00:33:33) - Reasons for the business pricing its annual percentage rates so aggressively  (00:34:18) - The comparison between the business and traditional bank holding companies in the US and South America (00:43:40) - Potential opportunities for Nubank in the future (00:52:12) - The biggest risks to the company moving forward (00:57:30) - Brazilian regulator's opinion on Nubank’s rise in the market in context of its large established peers (00:59:54) - Lessons learned from studying the business (01:05:06) - Dan’s parting wisdom on Nubank and what he wants people to take away from this breakdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital. Today, we're breaking down Argenx, an immunology company founded in 2008 by its three founding partners. Today, it's a $30 billion company set to produce over a billion dollars in sales. They're known for their skill in developing antibodies for complex disease targets and owe a large part of their medical breakthroughs to llamas, which have similar antibodies in their immune system to those found in humans.  To break down Argenx, I'm joined by Julia Angeles, an investment manager at Baillie Gifford. Throughout this conversation, we'll discuss how Argenx navigates the complex world of drug development, clinical trials, regulatory approvals, and the ultimate commercialization of autoimmune therapies. We'll also learn more about their transition from a venture capital backed business to its 2017 IPO, and today, a meaningful revenue generating business. We hope you enjoy this business breakdown. Note: This conversation was recorded on 19 July 2023. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Shownotes (00:03:49) - (First question) - Ways the immune system protects us and fails us (00:06:00) - Current patient treatments and evolving solutions to existing problems  (00:07:52) - The key difference between how the biotech community is addressing big diseases versus autoimmune disorders (00:09:55) - What sparked Julia’s interest in Argenx (00:14:01) - Explanation how we use animal antibodies to help research progression (00:15:25) - The foundations of the business (00:17:57) - The evolution of the business and its commercial success thus far (00:20:22) - Transitioning from lab antibodies to a commercial product ready for consumers (00:23:42) - The infrastructure needed to maintain and grow Argenx (00:26:43) - Indicators of commercial success (00:29:27) - The basic revenue model for this business type (00:30:49) - Go to market strategies for developed drugs  (00:34:39) - Pricing and patient protection of these newly developed drugs  (00:37:46) - Cures versus creating treatments with recurring revenue streams (00:39:38) - The importance of the current team composition  (00:41:44) - Julia’s perspective on what they are willing to invest to grow the company (00:43:49) - Normalized profitability for biotech companies such as this (00:45:59) - Potential risks to the current business model (00:49:22) - Lessons learned from studying Argenx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the vehicle auction giant, Copart. You may be unfamiliar with Copart but, at the time of this recording, the company has a $40 billion market cap. They operate in over 200 locations across the globe and they sell north of 3 million cars per year on behalf of their unique customer base. Copart is a unique story in a very concentrated industry where they likely have 50% market share. It's a story defined by evolution. Its founder, Willis Johnson, didn't merely adopt a junkyard mentality. He was born into it, molded by it. To break down Copart, I'm joined by Adam Mead, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Mead Capital Management. We cover all the angles of this unique industry giant. Please enjoy this breakdown of Copart. Access Adam's Copart writeup for free here. Choose the October 2022 Copart issue and use the code "Breakdowns" for 100% off.  For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:32) - (First question) - An overview of Copart (00:04:16) - The size and scope of the market  (00:04:52) - The process of a vehicle entering into Copart’s system  (00:06:36) - The other side of the marketplace, who buys from Copart (00:08:16) - Selling cars whole or dismantling and how this has changed from the early days of the business (00:09:55) - An overview of Willis Johnson’s career, forming Copart and his involvement today  (00:13:26) - The financial structure of the business in the early days (00:14:59) - Copart’s differences from the competition  (00:18:42) - Biggest drivers of supply. Accidents, natural disasters, wear and tear   (00:22:12) - Cashflow flow through, the economics for Copart (00:24:08) - Associated costs with regards to the sale and movement of vehicles  (00:26:12) - Average inventory numbers throughout the year (00:27:32) - The margin profile of the business on a normalized basis (00:29:29) - A breakdown of the CapEx budget on a yearly basis (00:33:42) - The major drivers of growth for Copart  (00:37:16) - The buyback history, stated goal and philosophy on dividends (00:38:38) - Historical and potential future risks to the business   (00:42:00) - The insurance companies’ opinion of the business, net positive or net negative (00:43:37) - The framework investors use when valuing this business (00:47:17) - Lessons learned from the research and analysis of Copart  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital, and today we’re breaking down Lululemon Athletica. The Canadian company, founded by Chip Wilson in 1998, has grown from a pop-up store in a yoga class to a $45 billion apparel business. Along the way, it pioneered the trend of athleisure and forever changed what women and men wear to work out in. To break down the business, I am joined by John Zolidis, president and founder of Quo Vadis Capital. We explore the origins of Lululemon’s direct to consumer growth strategy, how it has remained relevant in an industry known for fleeting success, and how its business model compares to apparel giants like Nike. Please enjoy this business breakdown of Lululemon.  For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:02:30) - (First question) - An overview of Lululemon (00:03:27) - Lululemon's success lies in branding, innovation, and community involvement (00:05:53) - Evaluating their growth story and investment potential (00:09:57) - Chip Wilson’s history and influence (00:16:53) - Management transitions, operational issues, and turnaround under new leadership (00:20:01) - Lululemon's success lies in its functional product and strong brand message (00:23:13) - Fending off competition through unique branding and customer engagement (00:26:31) - Lulu aims to grow men's business to complement women's dominance and reach (00:28:46) - China offers significant growth potential for Lululemon (00:32:35) - Focusing on vertical integration and limited wholesale channels (00:34:21) - Lulu's higher gross margins stem from product mix and DTC focus (00:37:08) - Increased capital expenditure is primarily allocated to store openings (00:40:18) - Mirror acquisition didn't meet expectations, unlikely to repeat such deals (00:42:30) - Significant risks for Lululemon's future (00:44:48) - Lessons learned from studying Lululemon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices