MBI Deep Dives

MBI Deep Dives

Shopify: The Anti-Amazon Protagonist

On February 12, 2021, Shopify was trading at ~$1,500/share, an all-time high for the stock. From February 12, 2016 to the day it reached its record high, Shopify generated 7,429.7% for its shareholders (source: KoyFin). I thought to myself, wait, is that ~75x in 5 years?

Autodesk: The Horse for the Infrastructure Decade

Disclosure: Autodesk is the third largest position in my portfolio In 1982, John Walker, along with 12 other programmers, gathered $59,000 to found Autodesk. Today, Autodesk is ~$60 Bn market cap company. More people probably heard about AutoCAD than the company behind the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software application. Just

Copart: Owner-operator with deep moats but potential long-term risks

In March 1994, Copart became listed in NASDAQ. Since then, the company has generated 19,492% (21.7% CAGR) return for its shareholders. This eye-popping wealth machine was founded by Willis Johnson, who, in many ways, personified the American dream. He was not handed a particularly good hand in life.

Ansys: Picks and Shovels for Innovation

Founded in 1970, Ansys (Ticker: ANSS) came to IPO in 1996. A microcap with only $55 Mn market cap, Ansys has become one of the most successful stocks in the last 25 years. Looking at the CAGR return over different time horizon, it is clear Ansys has created enormous wealth

Deep Dive on ANGI

Disclosure: I am long shares of ANGI I have taken a slightly different approach in this month’s deep dive. Given the length of my deep dives, I have outlined six different sections to help readers navigate and know beforehand what to expect. Here are the sections below, and a

The Economics of the Cult of Lululemon

Lululemon Athletica (Ticker: LULU) is a fantastic company. In 2005, Lulu generated $40.7 mn sales. 15 years later, its sales were ~100x of that, implying an astounding ~35% CAGR over this period which was almost entirely organic in nature. For context, Amazon grew at ~28% CAGR during the same

My Approach to Valuation

On July 07, 2020, Charlie Songhurst, former Head of Strategy at Microsoft, appeared at Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s podcast “Invest Like the Best”. Mr. Songhurst invested in 483 companies, and it is one of the best episodes I have listened to in this year. At one point he mentioned the

My Research Process

Before I explain my process, let me elaborate how I pick companies for the deep dives. My general starting point is the companies I am curious about. The goal is to build some sort of mapping of different businesses in my head so that it gets easier to connect the

Etsy: A Handmade Giant in the Passion Economy

Deep Dive on Uber