My guest this week is Michael Mauboussin. Many of you will know Michael and his work well. He’s Head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global, one of the sharpest investment minds I know, and a frequent guest on this show. In this discussion, we go deep into his recent work on market share, returns on capital, and capital allocation - all of which are coming under increasing scrutiny for different reasons. Please enjoy this great conversation with my friend Michael Mauboussin.

Listen to Founders podcast

Founders Episode #136 A Success Story: Estee Lauder 

Invest Like the Best with David Senra: Passion & Pain

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I’ve been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.

-----

Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:03:46] - [First question] - Overview of Michael’s recent research on market share

[00:05:48] - Market share dynamics in modern history

[00:08:43] - How market share data is useful for investors

[00:12:30] - Investing in early breakout companies from low-concentration markets

[00:14:34] - Surprises from his recent research project

[00:15:29] - Using the value stick for stakeholder satisfaction

[00:19:12] - Examples of value creation using the value stick

[00:23:33] - Market power in relation to markups and willingness to pay

[00:32:00] - Identifying a company’s real ROIC numbers

[00:44:00] - How important absolute ROIC is when picking investments

[00:47:07] - Research on capital generation and allocation trends

[00:54:25] - Characteristics of great capital allocation strategies

[00:59:26] - Surprises in the market since his deep-dive research

[01:02:54] - Artificial intelligence and other sources of disruptive innovation