In this episode of Dividend Talk, we’re joined by Niklas from Heavy Moat Investments for a deep dive into European small- and mid-cap investing, moats, portfolio concentration, and how to think about quality businesses when valuations get stretched.

We kick things off with a packed dividend roundup, covering recent dividend hikes from Broadcom, Mastercard, Abbott Labs, Eli Lilly, WD-40, Zoetis, and more, with a strong focus on why healthcare has been so active lately. We also discuss Pfizer keeping its dividend flat, and what that signals for big pharma investors.

From there, we look at one of the biggest European investing stories of the week: Aegon moving its headquarters to the US. We break down what this means for European capital markets, valuation multiples, and whether companies leaving Europe is a symptom of deeper structural issues.

The core of the episode is our conversation with Niklas, where we explore:

• What a “moat” really means — and why moats are not static

• How he evaluates small and mid-cap European companies

• Why insider ownership matters more than market cap

• His approach to portfolio concentration vs diversification

• How he uses hurdle rates, expected IRR, and quality scoring

• When and why he decides to sell a stock

We also discuss several real-world examples, including:

• InPost and the rise of parcel locker networks across Europe

• EVS Broadcast, a Belgian hidden champion in live sports technology

• Mensch und Maschine, Autodesk reselling, proprietary software, and dividend sustainability

• Edenred, regulation risk, shareholder yield, and why pessimism may be overdone

• Eurofins Scientific as a long-term compounder with strong capital allocation

To wrap up, we answer listener questions on:

• Story vs fundamentals

• The biggest financial red flags to watch for

• AI in investing and portfolio analysis

• The “right” number of stocks in a portfolio

• Small-cap investing in Europe vs the US

As always, this episode is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice.

Useful links:

• Continue the conversation with our community at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠
• 20 Deep Dives a Year &Library of 150 EU & US Dividend stocks at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.dividendtalk.eu
• Heavy Moat Investments | Substack