This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the Swedish industrial giant, Atlas Copco. With a market cap hovering around $50 billion US dollars, Atlas Copco is a dominant player in the air compressor and vacuum pump markets. It has returned 40x over the past 20 years for its shareholders and to break down the business I’m joined by Stephen Paice, Head of European equities at Baillie Gifford. Baillie Gifford has owned this business for 4 decades and Stephen still has the handwritten resea...
Aug 24, 2022•44 min•Ep. 71
This is Jesse Pujji and today we’re breaking down ChargePoint. ChargePoint is the clear market leader in the United States for electric vehicle chargers. Founded in 2007 by five technical founders, the business has ridden the wave of EV growth and has manufactured some 40% of charging points in the US. To break down ChargePoint, I’m joined by Mark Tomasovic, a principal at Energize Ventures and a previous guest on our show. We discuss the challenges of a commoditized business, how ChargePoint is...
Aug 19, 2022•40 min•Ep. 70
This is Dom Cooke and today we are breaking down the freight railroad business, Union Pacific. Union Pacific is interesting for a number of reasons. Its first tracks were laid in a time of horsepower, over 150 years ago. It operates a duopoly in the West of the US with Burlington Northern Santa Fe, a rail owned by Berkshire Hathaway. And despite being capital intensive, it earns higher operating margins than Microsoft. But above all, it is a crucial link in the global supply chain, moving much o...
Aug 10, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 69
This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital Management. Today we’re breaking down the world’s largest luxury business, LVMH. The LVMH story is deeply reflective of the vision of its 73 year-old founder and architect, Bernard Arnault. Today, the business generates €75 billion in sales across its 75 brands and 3 sector focuses. With a market cap of €350 billion, LVMH is not only the largest luxury business in the world but one of the largest businesses in the entire world. To break down LVMH,...
Aug 03, 2022•54 min•Ep. 68
This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down DuPont. We admire leaders that are in the trenches with their team members; never above any task and willing to share in risks. But, wow, did the Dupont family set a standard in that category. Whether it was Pierre Samuel Du Pont's 1818 death fighting a fire at their powder mill, Alexis Du Pont’s 1857 death in an explosion at a powder yard, or Lammot Du Pont’s famous 1884 death in an explosion while experimenting with nitroglycerines. The Du Po...
Jul 27, 2022•49 min•Ep. 67
This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the financial institution known as Charles Schwab. Schwab is a financial behemoth. They report over $8 trillion in assets under custody and a market cap scratching $120 billion but I think the most fascinating part about this breakdown is the strategic pivot taken by Schwab. While the online brokerage market has been decimated in recent years from fee compression, Schwab has been pivoting their business model to that of a traditional bank. Now ...
Jul 20, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 66
Today, we’re breaking down one of the strongest brands in the world - Rolex. Founded in the UK in 1905 under the name Wilsdorf & Davis, Rolex has become the leading name in luxury watches. But, while the company’s products are iconic, the business itself is highly secretive. Owned by a Foundation and run as a non-profit entity, little is known about Rolex. To unlock the secrets, we are delighted to be joined by Ben Clymer, founder of HODINKEE, and an expert on all things luxury watches. Ben has ...
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 65
This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down Polish grocer, Dino Polska. This wasn't a name on our radar at Colossus but the more we dug into the story, the more intrigued we became. It starts at the macro level in Poland, a country that transitioned away from communism in 1990 so the oldest private businesses are just north of 30 years old. And on a micro level, Dino operates a rigid playbook where they target small towns and replicate the same format store, which drives better efficienc...
Jul 06, 2022•48 min•Ep. 64
Today’s business needs little introduction. Berkshire Hathaway is one of the largest businesses in the world and run by arguably the most famous investors of our time, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. To break down the business, I’m joined by Chris Bloomstran. Chris is the President and CIO of Semper Augustus and has gone as deep on Berkshire as anyone I’ve ever encountered, making him the perfect person to do this with. Given the reams of excellent content already out there about Buffett and ...
Jun 29, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 63
Today we are running a special episode in our Business Breakdowns feed. My guest is Alex Danco from Shopify - who you may remember from our Business Breakdown on Shopify in 2021. Our conversation focuses on a new concept, tokengated commerce, and how Shopify is building around this theme. Given the market turmoil in crypto assets, we talk about true use cases of tokengated commerce and why blockchain technology is unlocking something that was not possible otherwise. This episode originally ran i...
Jun 27, 2022•1 hr 3 min
I am @Compound248 and this is the next installment in our Business Breakdowns mini-series focused on Digital Infrastructure. In this episode, we will talk about a company that delivers that airbourne experience, Gogo. Known for its eponymous inflight WiFi service, Gogo is frequently misunderstood, having undergone a transformation to focus purely on the business, or private, aviation industry. It sells equipment that gets installed on a private aviation airplane, and then, in infrastructure like...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 62
This is Matt Reustle and today we’re breaking down Diploma. Diploma is a specialist distributor of medical equipment and industrial components listed in the UK. It’s a business you’re unlikely to be familiar with and, at first glance, may appear mundane. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find a high-quality operator generating significant free cash flow through a mix of organic and inorganic growth channels. To break down Diploma, I’m joined by Charlie Huggins, an investor in the business and H...
Jun 15, 2022•52 min•Ep. 61
This is Dom Cooke and today we are breaking down the PGA Tour. Alongside the four standalone majors, the PGA Tour is the pinnacle of professional golf. It’s where the best players in the world earn their living and tee it up for their place in golfing history. To break down the business behind the stars and action you see on the PGA Tour, I’m joined by Neil Schuster, co-founder of golf media business No Laying Up. Editor’s note: this conversation was recorded before the field for this week’s ina...
Jun 08, 2022•59 min•Ep. 60
Today, we are breaking down Anduril. Anduril builds high tech defense systems for the US Department of Defense and its allies. Crucially, it does so with speed that emanates from Silicon Valley. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, who previously built and sold Oculus to Facebook, Anduril has achieved the rare feat of challenging the established order in the defense industry. To break down Anduril, I’m joined by the company’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Schimpf. We discuss the history of the defense ...
May 25, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 59
This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the 150 year-old investment bank – Goldman Sachs. From the outside, investment banks like Goldman are black boxes of profits and the embodiment of “Wall Street”. But as with most things, the reality sits somewhere between the polarizing designations. Goldman is neither a vampire squid nor are they doing God’s work. To break down Goldman, I am joined by longtime financials analyst Marc Rubinstein. For loyal listeners, you will remember Marc from...
May 19, 2022•59 min•Ep. 58
This is Matt Reustle and today we’re breaking down Baytex Energy. With oil prices hovering over $100 a barrel, we thought it was a particularly good time to revisit this sector. Why Baytex Energy? The 80,000 barrel a day producer certainly isn’t a household name. And with a market cap just north of $3 billion, it’s far from a mega-cap. But Baytex has production in five different operating areas spanning across the US and Canada. Some of those fields are mature, some are emerging. The company has...
May 04, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 57
I am Compound248 and today we are pleased to announce and kick-off a Business Breakdowns mini-series focused on Digital Infrastructure. This inaugural episode of the Digital Infrastructure Business Breakdowns mini series will begin with one of the broadest, most important companies in the industry, DigitalBridge. A company that is part private equity firm, part asset owner, and part infrastructure operator of assets across the digital infrastructure spectrum. For the full show notes, transcript,...
Apr 29, 2022•58 min•Ep. 56
Today we’re breaking down AppLovin. It’s a business you may not recognize but have likely interacted with. Founded in 2012, AppLovin provides a platform for developers to market and monetize their mobile apps. The business also owns some of the most popular mobile games in the world, which they use to feed richer data into their software platform. To help breakdown the business, I’m joined by its CEO and co-founder, Adam Foroughi. Please enjoy this breakdown of AppLovin. For the full show notes,...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 55
This is Jesse Pujji and today’s episode is a follow up of last weeks’ Block episode, covering Afterpay the buy-now-pay-later giant. Founded in Sydney Australia in 2015, Afterpay was a rapid success in the buy-now-pay-later market before being acquired by Block for $29bn in 2021. To breakdown Afterpay, I am joined by investor Joe Magyer. We cover how buy-now-pay-later compares to traditional credit cards, what differentiates Afterpay from direct peers, and how each player of its ecosystem benefit...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 54
This is Jesse Pujji and today we’re breaking down Block – formerly known as Square. This software and financial services business was founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey in 2009. It has since expanded from its first product – a payments card reader – into a $75 billion market cap with six businesses that build on the firm’s mission of economic access and empowerment. Those are: Square, Cash App, Afterpay, Tidal, Spiral, and TBD. To break down Block, I’m joined by payments expert and investor...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 53
This is Jesse Pujji and today we’re breaking down McKinsey & Company, the world’s pre-eminent management consulting firm. Founded in the thick of the Industrial Revolution, McKinsey set about professionalizing the way businesses were managed. An accountant by trade, James McKinsey, took inspiration from a range of well-established professions like engineers, doctors, and lawyers to create a new category. Today, some 100 years later, management consultants are entrenched in every part of the glob...
Mar 30, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 52
This is Jesse Pujji, and today we are breaking down Fanatics. If you’ve recently bought sports apparel online, you interacted with Fanatics. They power the entire digital commerce experience for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and hundreds of other sports leagues around the world. To break down Fanatics, I am joined by an early investor, Deven Parekh, from Insight Partners. Deven has been an investor in Fanatics since 2011. We cover Fanatics' unique vertically integrated commerce model, how they redefin...
Mar 23, 2022•41 min•Ep. 51
Today's episode was originally featured in our Web3 Breakdowns feed. For listeners unfamiliar with Web3 Breakdowns, the concept was inspired by Business Breakdowns but intended to be a place fully dedicated to the emerging ecosystem around blockchains, crypto assets, and everything that makes up Web3. This Breakdown of Anchorage Digital has a foot in both camps, by diving into a business that’s enabling traditional institutions to participate in and profit from digital assets. If you enjoy this ...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 2 min
This is Zack Fuss and today we’re breaking down European-based payment business, Adyen. Adyen was founded in Amsterdam in 2006 by a group of payments entrepreneurs who had already built and sold a business in this space. Adyen was their chance to start afresh and build a modern solution to displace the patchwork legacy system that merchants were being forced to use. To break down the business, I’m joined by Michael Willar, a portfolio manager at Stenham Asset Management. Our discussion covers Ad...
Mar 09, 2022•59 min•Ep. 50
This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down Cadence Design Systems. Cadence operates in the semiconductor ecosystem where they offer electronic design automation software - also known as EDA software - which is used for chip design. Putting that in much simpler terms - our phones now carry an entire 1980s Radio Shack inside them, and Cadence makes that possible with software to design smaller and more powerful chips. To break down Cadence, I'm joined by two well-known tech investors and ...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 49
This is Jesse Pujji and today we’re breaking down The New York Times. Since its founding in 1851, The New York Times has become known as the national “newspaper of record” through its focus on truth seeking and quality journalism. To underline that status, it has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, almost double its nearest competitor. However, the business behind the Times hasn’t always been easy and it has faced several existential threats over its history, most recent of which has come from the internet...
Feb 23, 2022•58 min•Ep. 48
This is Matt Reustle, and today we’re breaking down Europe’s leading low-cost gym operator, Basic-Fit. Netherlands based Basic-Fit is a story of rapid expansion. Today, they operate over a 1000 clubs across 5 countries, and have 2 million combined members in their system. To break down the business, I’m joined by Jonathan Abenaim from Arlen House Capital, who is an investor in Basic-Fit. We cover a history of fitness clubs dating back to the late 70’s and early 80’s, how low-cost gym models have...
Feb 16, 2022•47 min•Ep. 47
I'm Zack Fuss and today we are breaking down UPS. With over 100 years of history, it's a business we all know as consumers and one many of us interact with on a daily basis. But in investing circles, UPS carries far less relevance and attention share despite its large market cap. To break down UPS and its rich history, I am joined by former Transport Analyst Matt Reustle. Please enjoy this breakdown of UPS. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check o...
Feb 09, 2022•45 min•Ep. 46
I’m Zack Fuss, and today we are breaking down Twitter, a business that needs little introduction. Founded by Jack Dorsey in 2006, Twitter has become one of the most visited and influential platforms in the world. Yet, despite its rising social status, investors and users have been left frustrated by the company’s pace of innovation and shareholder returns. To help me break down Twitter’s business, I’m joined by anonymous professional investor, @Compound248. Please enjoy this breakdown of Twitter...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 45
This is Jesse Pujji and today we are breaking down ViacomCBS. This episode has a different format - you'll hear from both an investor and from company management. Chris Marangi from Gabelli Asset Management starts us off with a history of ViacomCBS. He goes deep into the dynamics of content creation, curation, and distribution, hitting home the value of IP. Then he helps break down how ViacomCBS is transitioning from a shrinking linear business to a growing streaming business. Next, I sit down w...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 44
