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"When others are crying, be buying"

"When others are crying, be buying"

Trucking has been ugly the last few years. Headlined by the Yellow bankruptcy. Saia responded by spending over $1B on terminals and equipment. The results of this build-out will be interesting to follow.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
A True Commodity Business (Gold/Silver Mining)

A True Commodity Business (Gold/Silver Mining)

Most of Pan American Silver’s results come down to metal prices, operating discipline, and CapEx decisions. I prefer businesses that have more opportunity for competitive differentiation, but every business has a few commodity traits to it.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Why UFC and WWE Are Really IP, Not Events, Businesses

Why UFC and WWE Are Really IP, Not Events, Businesses

Most of TKO’s revenue comes from long-term media deals, not ticket sales. Live events are meant to boost the next contract, not to maximize that one-night profit (although that often occurs!).

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Network Effects Don’t Always Look Like Social Media

Network Effects Don’t Always Look Like Social Media

In ICE’s world (likely not the ICE you're thinking of), more participants mean better outcomes for everyone already inside the network. That feedback loop makes the platform harder to compete with each year. Entrepreneurs can apply the same thinking well outside finance.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
A Category Leader Spending Like a Drunken Sailor

A Category Leader Spending Like a Drunken Sailor

Procore built the operating system for construction, and that position has given them a strong competitive moat. Switching costs are high, network effects are stronger than they look, and the product is deeply embedded in the work their customer's do. The problem is they continue to spend money like a drunken venture capitalist.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Looking At My First Homebuilder

Looking At My First Homebuilder

Homebuilding is wildly competitive, local, and interest-rate sensitive. PulteGroup has still managed to hold strong margins through the recent rate cycle by optimizing their land buying discipline, construction repeatability, and sales execution.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
A Hardware Company With Software-Level Margins

A Hardware Company With Software-Level Margins

Fortinet sells hardware, but that’s not what drives the economics. The real business is recurring services layered on top of its sticky infrastructure.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
The Holy Grail Metric for Recurring Revenue Businesses

The Holy Grail Metric for Recurring Revenue Businesses

This profile breaks down how Net Revenue Retention helped turn a mid-sized SaaS business into a take-private candidate.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Sticky Software, Defensible from AI?

Sticky Software, Defensible from AI?

Clarivate owns benchmarks and databases that institutions are afraid to replace. That creates reliable recurring revenue and pricing power. But is it enough to defend them against AI software innovation?

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Dealer Networks > DTC ?

Dealer Networks > DTC ?

Toro sells mowers, irrigation, and construction gear. It's moat is in its dealers, service, parts, and availability. It's give me motivation to revisit using channel partners in my future ventures.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
My New Year's Resolution in Company-Form

My New Year's Resolution in Company-Form

I’m trying to start the year by doing less things better. Illinois Tool Works has been doing that for a long time. And it sure appears to be working.

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
Will Enterprise Software Stay Sticky in an AI World?

Will Enterprise Software Stay Sticky in an AI World?

OpenText is a useful case study for this question. The company runs on long-term contracts and deep switching costs, but AI is making it easier for companies to build internal tools. Will their 94% renewal rate hold up?

Nick Horob
Nick Horob
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