Archive – scuttleblurb

2024

2023

12/18: [MTCH] Match Group

11/29: Consumer credit bureaus and FICO

11/8: [UHAL] U-Haul

10/23: [DLTR] Dollar Tree

10/9: yet another Dollar General take

9/20: some thoughts on Adyen

9/7: Class 1 freight rails: part 3 – Hunter Harrison, PSR, and investment implications

9/7: Class 1 freight rails: part 2 – freight types, route structures, and growth

8/15: Class 1 freight rails – part 1

7/25: [DNB] Dun & Bradstreet

7/5: quick update on Apollo (APO)

6/27: Lonza/Catalent: part 2

6/15: Lonza/Catalent: part 1

5/23: [DHR] Danaher

5/14: yet another Schwab post

4/26: [TMO] Thermo Fisher

4/5: [APH] Amphenol + quick $APG follow-up

3/28: [APG] APi Group

3/26: quick follow-up on Charles Schwab

3/12: some thoughts on Charles Schwab

2/27: [APO] Apollo

2/2: A tour through payments: part 3 (SQ, FOUR)

1/16: A tour through payments: part 2 (Adyen, GPN, FIS, FISV)

2022

12/22: A tour through payments: part 1 (Visa and Mastercard)

11/28: [SITE] SiteOne Landscape Supply

11/28: [VRSK] Verisk Analytics

11/15: [CSGP] CoStar

10/31: thoughts on Guidewire, Wizz Air, and Upwork

10/10: [OKTA, W] back to reality

9/19: IAC and MGM

8/29: [URI] United Rentals

8/8: [TXN] Texas Instruments

7/18: [UMG, WMG] record labels and the music industry: opportunities and challenges

6/27: [ODFL] Old Dominion and less-than-truckload

6/7: [CRM] Salesforce

5/23: GFL and waste management

5/9: [CPRT] Copart

4/22: Interview with Mirakle

4/18: CarMax, Carvana, and used car retailing

4/1: [DXCM] Dexcom

3/15: [AVLR] Avalara + another quick EVBG update

2/24: [TRUP] Trupanion

2/7: [ABNB, BKNG] Airbnb v Booking

1/26: interview with @LibertyRPF

1/12: [INTC] Intel Corp.

2021

12/23: scuttleblurb business update (2021)

12/17: Square / PayPal: Part 2

12/13: quick Everbridge (EVBG) update

12/1: Square / PayPal: Part 1

11/15: [SHW] Sherwin-Williams

10/28: Data, Observability and Monitoring ($SPLK, $ESTC, $NEWR, $DT, $DDOG)

10/6: [TDOC] Teladoc

9/27: quick thoughts on the IAC/MDP acquisition rumor

9/17: [TWLO] Twilio

8/31: Some thoughts on Fiserv / First Data (FISV) and Guidewire (GWRE)

8/13: IQVIA [IQV] + quick Wizz Air update

7/28: Nvidia (NVDA): Part 2 of 2

7/12: Nvidia (NVDA): Part 1 of 2

6/25: Update on IAC (+ Vimeo)

6/15: [EVBG – Everbridge] the COVID stock that wasn’t

6/2: [ALGN – Align Tech, SDC – Smile Direct Club] Brand, scale economies, and vertical integration

5/25: Chewy and Zooplus

5/12: [VEEV – Veeva Systems] Beyond CRM

4/26: [BOX – Box; DBX – Dropbox] Opportunities and competitive challenges

4/14: [FLT – FleetCor; WEX – WEX Inc.] Beyond fuel to B2B payments: part 2

3/31: [FLT – FleetCor; WEX – WEX Inc.] Beyond Fuel: Part 1

3/15: Thoughts on the S&P Global / IHS Markit merger

2/25: [TWTR] Twitter

2/8: [SNOW] Modern data systems: part 2

2/8: [MDB] Modern data systems: part 1

1/14: [IAC; ANGI] Yet another IAC write-up

2020

12/20: [FVRR, UPWK] Freelance marketplaces

11/30: [MKTX, TW] Market infrastructure: part 3

11/16: [SPGI, MCO] Market infrastructure: part 2

10/31: [FDS, LSE/Refinitiv] Market infrastructure: part 1

10/14: [Chr. Hansen, Novozymes] All the small things (plus some quick thoughts on The Trade Desk)

9/23: Thoughts on Watsco and some businesses like it

9/1: [ADSK, Dassault, PTC] Simulation, CAD, and PLM: Part 2

8/13: [CVNA – Carvana] Fat tail investing

7/30: Simulation, CAD, and PLM: Part 1

7/15: [Z – Zillow Group] On lead gen and iBuying

6/29: [ADM.L – Admiral Group] Barriers to scale; moats vs. revenue models

6/10: [APPN, PEGA, SMAR] No code evolution

5/24: FICO and the Consumer Credit Bureaus: Part 2

5/12: FICO and the Consumer Credit Bureaus: Part 1

4/28: Some thoughts on Gartner

4/14: [LILAK – Liberty Latin America] Once more unto the breach

3/31: Broadridge and blockchain

3/16: [CACC – Credit Acceptance Corp] Value in subprime auto

2/28: [CDNS – Cadence; SNPS – Synopsys] The evolution of the EDA industry and competitive positioning therein

2/13: [AMT – American Tower; CCI – Crown Castle] Legacy advantages and incremental returns

1/28: [MELI – MercadoLibre] Digging the Moat (Or Is It A Grave?): Part 3

1/13: [SHOP – Shopify; WIX – Wix] Platforms, scale economies, and technology

2019

12/26: scuttleblurb business update (2019)

12/18: [FISV, GPN, FIS, SQ, Stripe, Adyen] On payment processors, distribution, and technology: Part 4 of 4

12/18: [FISV, GPN, FIS, SQ, Stripe, Adyen] On payment processors, distribution, and technology: Part 3 of 4

11/26: [FISV, GPN, FIS, SQ, Stripe, Adyen] On payment processors, distribution, and technology: Part 2 of 4

11/8: [FISV, GPN, FIS, SQ, Stripe, Adyen] On payment processors, distribution, and technology: Part 1 of 4

10/25: [BLL – Ball Corp] Static moats and sustainabiliy

10/10: [V – Visa; MA – Mastercard] Beyond the card

9/26: [GWRE – Guidewire Software] Move slow and maintain things

9/11: [HEI/A – HEICO Corp] Niches get riches; Part 2

8/30: [RAMP – LiveRamp] Beyond the cookie

8/19: [BUR/LN – Burford Capital] Part 3: The short heard round the world

8/5: [RR/LN: Rolls-Royce] Entry barriers, learning curves, and the hazards of complexity

7/24: [BUR/LN – Burford Capital] Part 2: Investment returns and valuation

7/17: [BUR/LN – Burford Capital] Part 1: Industry context and competitive advantages

7/5: [TTD – The Trade Desk] A gorilla in ad tech?

6/19: [TDG – TransDigm] Niches get riches

6/5: [EVBG – Everbridge] The ERP of Enterprise Safety

5/24: [PANW – Palo Alto Networks] Thoughts on cybersecurity and stock-based compensation

5/14: [Sirius/Pandora – SIRI; Spotify – SPOT] Long-term relevance, long-term dominance

4/24: [ALGN – Align Technology] Process Advantages

4/10: [OKTA – Okta] Owning Identity

3/27: [ICE, NDAQ, CME, CBOE] Exchange Operators: Fragmentation and New Points of Differentiation

3/9: [WDAY, CDAY, PAYC, ULTI, ORCL, SAP] Workday and Competitive Dynamics in HCM

2/23: [COUP – Coupa Software] Savings-as-a-Service

2/12: [DWDP – DowDuPont] Rack & Break; Part 2

2/12: [DWDP – DowDuPont] Rack & Break; Part 1

1/27: [PROTCT – Protector Forsikring] Insider Buying; Reserve Hits; Low Cost vs. Cost Advantage

1/11:[ADS – Alliance Data Systems] Value Delayed, Value Revealed

2018

12/28: [ELLI – Ellie Mae] Market Opportunity, Competitive Threats, and Profitability

12/19: [WIZZ – Wizz Air] Flying Through the Storm

12/7: [CSU – Constellation Software] Doesn’t Suck at Allocating Capital; Faces Size and Valuation Constraints

11/27: [TYL – Tyler Technologies] Finding Common Ground in Government (Systems)

11/9: [ZG – Zillow] “Transformational Innovation”

10/30: [RDFN – Redfin] Business Model Analysis and Growth Constraints

10/16: [RAMP – LiveRamp] Ad Tech Situations are Special

10/5: [CHGG – Chegg] Low Cost Channel to Bundled Ed Tech and Challenges in the Publishing Industry

9/20: Discount Brokers: Disruption, Bundling, and the Battle for the Mass Affluent; Part 2

9/10: Discount Brokers: Disruption, Bundling, and the Battle for the Mass Affluent; Part 1

8/28: [TREE – LendingTree] Lead Gen, Marketplaces, and Scale Economies

8/14: [V – Visa; MA – Mastercard] Expanding the Rails, Part 2

7/30: [TEAM – Atlassian] Collaboration and Competition

7/16: [FNF, FAF] Title Insurance, Ownership, and “Blockchain”

7/2: [SQ – Square; PYPL – PayPal] Comparing Business Models and Strategies

6/19: [MELI – MercadoLibre] Digging the Moat (Or Is It A Grave?), Part 2

6/5: [CPRT – Copart; KAR – KAR Auction Services] Copart is a Beast + Impending IAA Spin-Off from KAR

5/21: [GDDY – GoDaddy; VRSN – Verisign; EIGI – Endurance International] Value Migration in Web Services

5/7: [ZO1 – Zooplus] Competing with Amazon

4/24: [LYV – Live Nation] On Flywheels and Bundles

4/13: [WK – Workiva] From Point Solution to Platform

3/30: [KMX – CarMax; CVNA – Carvana] Moat, Growth, and Competition

3/16: Quick Blurbs [Ryanair, Equinix, Interxion, Amerco]3

3/2: [RHT – Red Hat] On A Bridge Between Clouds

2/16: [CMPR – Cimpress NV] Scale Economies and Hard Realities, Pt. 3

2/16: [RP – RealPage] Software Bundle, Not a Platform

2/2: [IDXX – IDEXX Labs] Priced to Win

1/19: [MSFT – Microsoft] Death Star, Reformed

1/5: [SERV – ServiceMaster; ROL – Rollins] Scale Economies and Hard Realities: Part 2

2017

12/20: [TRUP – Trupanion] A SaaSy Underwriter

12/11: [FSV – FirstService; CWD LN – Countrywide plc] Scale Economies and Hard Realities: Part 1

12/1: [CSGP – CoStar Group; REIS – Reis Inc.] Tale of Two Data Providers

11/21: [TripAdvisor, Trivago, OTAs] Thoughts on the Carnage

11/21: [ODFL – Old Dominion Freight Line] Superb Logistics Company

11/15: [ADI – Analog Devices] A Silent Hero

11/6: [WIX – Wix.com] Scaling Profitably

10/27: [EQIX – Equinix; INXN – Interxion] Network Effects in a Box

10/19: [MELI – MercadoLibre] Digging The Moat (Or Is It A Grave?), Pt. 1

10/5: [BLK – Blackrock] Not Another Passive vs. Active Debate

10/5: [MCEM – Monarch Cement] Ash Grove Part Deux?

9/28: [V – Visa; MA – Mastercard] Expanding the Rails, Part 1

9/18: [EFX – Equifax] Investment Implications of Breach Fiasco

9/13: [CB – Chubb Ltd] A Port in the Storm

9/8: [FAST – Fastenal] Notes from CFO Convo; [ASHG – Ash Grove] Constructive Cement Pricing, Stock Is Cheap

9/8: [ELLI – Ellie Mae] SaaS With Class…But Still Too Expensive

8/31: [MCO – Moody’s] The Self-Reinforcing Standards Moat

8/24: [GBX – Greenbrier] Valuation Update

8/24: Quick Blurbs [MSCI, Paypal, S&P Global]

8/16: [DOOR – Masonite Intl] Reasonable Valuation, So-So Moat

8/16: Quick Blurbs [SAP, Tripadvisor]

8/8: [TRIP – Tripadvisor] Good Asset, Fumbled Monetization Strategy

7/14: [ASHG – Ash Grove Cement] Cheap Stock or Value Trap?

6/27: [INTU] Intuit

6/16: [VRSK – Verisk] High Quality Cash Flow, Limited Reinvestment Opportunities

6/6: [SHW – Sherwin-Williams] Valuation Looks Stretched

5/23: [CBG – CBRE Group] Expensive on Normalized Earnings

5/23: [GNRC – Generac] Value Come, Value Go

5/2: [ESRX – Express Scripts] Post-ANTM Thoughts

4/17: [GAIA – Gaia] Interesting Company, Less Interesting Price

4/11: [LYV – Live Nation Entertainment] Some of It’s Magic, Some of It’s Tragic

4/3: [RYAAY – Ryanair] Low Cost Flywheel

3/28: [LEN – Lennar] Valuation Update

3/20: [AMZN – Amazon, GOOG – Alphabet] Trillion Dollar Baby

3/10: [MRC – MRC Global, CF – CF Industries] Closer to Entry

2/21: [ADNT – Adient] Self-Help Margin Expansion Opportunity, 4-Year Double

2/13: [OAK – Oaktree] Valuation Attractive on Normalized FRE

2/13: [CF – CF Industries] Global N Fertilizer Supply But Pricing Recovery Priced In

2/6: [CHUBA/K – CommerceHub] A Skeptical Take

1/30: [EBAY – eBay] Dilemma and Opportunity

1/30: [LEN – Lennar] Sum-of-the-Parts Valuation

1/23: Quickblurb [AXP – American Express; SAP – SAP SE]

1/23: [DAL – Delta Airlines, UAL – United Continental] So You’re Saying There’s a Chance?

1/18: [IBKR – Interactive Brokers] Low Volatility Weighing on Commissions; Valuation Still Attractive

1/13: [SVU – Supervalu] Opportunity Post Save-A-Lot Divestiture?

1/11: [ADS – Alliance Data] Form vs. Function

1/9: [GBX – Greenbrier] Valuation About Fair on Normalized Railcar Shipments

Pre-scutteblurb

10/15/16: [PPG – PPG Industries] High Quality Specialty Chem with Share Gain Opportunities

3/4/16: [DF – Dean Foods] Levered Commodity Processor, Impending Challenges

12/11/15: [BRO – Brown & Brown] Compounder in a Fragmented Sector

5/28/12: [DDMG – Digital Domain] Confused Corporate Strategy, Few Sustainable Advantages

Login