Monopoly HuntersOur approach
A large company is not automatically a defensible company. A defensible company is not automatically an attractive investment. Our research separates those questions.
Identify the mechanism
Look for a specific source of advantage: switching costs, network effects, cost structure, distribution, intellectual property, or regulation. Explain who benefits and why a competitor cannot easily reproduce it.
Find the business evidence
Examine filings, customer behavior, pricing, margins, and capital requirements. Distinguish evidence of an advantage from a management claim about one.
Test the breaking point
Consider new technology, substitutes, customer bargaining power, and regulation. State what would weaken or overturn the thesis.
Bring valuation back in
Business quality and investment returns are related but different. The price paid, expectations already embedded in it, and the time needed for a thesis to develop all matter.