The Intrinsic Value Podcast - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Shawn O’Malley and Daniel Mahncke break down MSCI Inc. (MSCI), the global leader in financial market indexes that power the passive investing revolution. They explore how MSCI built its dominant, utility-like business model, its compounding potential, and whether the stock remains attractively priced.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:08 How indexes produced by MSCI help to organize, simplify, and provide context for different aspects of financial markets

00:06:01 What makes MSCI one of the highest quality businesses we’ve ever looked at

00:12:05 Why MSCI has become the industry standard for indexes outside of the U.S.

00:14:27 Whether passive investing will be a boon going forward for MSCI, or if declining management fees in mutual funds will devastate the business

00:30:13 About MSCI’s relationship with major asset managers like Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street

00:54:01 Whether direct indexing will disrupt MSCI’s golden goose

01:02:59 How to think about modeling MSCI’s intrinsic value

01:06:59 Whether Shawn and Daniel add MSCI to their Intrinsic Value Portfolio

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

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Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley dive into Copart, the salvage auction company that’s quietly become one of the best-performing stocks of the last three decades. From a single junkyard in California in the 1980s, Copart has grown into a global online marketplace that sells more than three million vehicles a year. With sellers ranging from major insurers and rental fleets to car dealers and finance companies, and buyers spanning over 190 countries, Copart has built a platform that turns totaled cars into a surprisingly durable business.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00:00 Intro

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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Shawn O’Malley and Daniel Mahncke break down Fair Isaac Corporation (ticker: FICO), a company whose algorithms are essential to computing credit scores, which are used in everything in the U.S., from applying for a mortgage, credit cards, apartments, to even job applications and more. FICO has incredible market penetration and earnings leverage, as almost all of its price increases trickle down to the bottom line, even though the cost of credit checks is typically a very small portion of the mortgage origination process, for example.

In this episode, you’ll learn about how FICO came to dominate credit scoring in the U.S., how credit scores have made it possible for millions of people to access financing, why FICO’s industry-leading position is so rock-solid, whether FICO can still be a “compunder” going forward,  and whether FICO’s stock is attractively priced, plus so much more!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

15:35 - How credit scores helped to democratize access to credit

25:47 - What actually goes into a FICO score

29:08 - Why FICO has become the industry standard for credit scores

29:49 - About FICO’s relationship with the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

30:19 - How the government helped solidify FICO’s moat, and whether that’s changing

55:12 - What makes FICO one of the most profitable businesses we’ve ever looked at

01:03:04 - How to think about modeling FICO’s intrinsic value

01:11:26 - Whether Shawn and Daniel add FICO to their Intrinsic Value Portfolio

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley dive into Manchester United, the legendary football club that’s grown from a 19th-century railway team into one of the most recognized sports brands on the planet. With revenue pillars in commercial sponsorships, broadcasting rights, and matchday income, plus a fanbase that spans every continent, United is often described as one of the biggest franchises in global sports. To frame the economics of the club, Daniel and Shawn also unpack the key differences between Europe’s open football leagues and the closed, franchise-based model of U.S. sports.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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Shawn O’Malley and Daniel Mahncke break down Universal Music Group (ticker: UMG), a company that controls a royalty stream on roughly ⅓ of the world’s music in an oligopolistic industry also dominated by Sony and Warner Music Group. Universal has incredibly high-quality earnings, with a very stable business and excess returns on capital — a recipe that is very appealing to investors at the right price.

In this episode, you’ll learn about the economics of the music industry, how Universal creates value for artists, what the company is doing in response to AI, the mutually dependent relationship between labels and music streaming platforms, and whether Universal Music Group’s stock is attractively priced, plus so much more!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

05:00 - Why royalties from the music industry are so stable

07:57 - How Universal Music Group makes money and supports artists

11:12 - How Universal operates as an oligopoly alongside Sony and Warner Music Group

20:24 - The economics of digital streaming

43:48 - Why Universal’s leading market share position reinforces its advantages

01:04:48 - About UMG’s unique business model as a serial acquirer of music catalogs

01:10:35 - How to think about modeling UMG’s intrinsic value

01:21:27 - Whether Shawn and Daniel add UMG to their Intrinsic Value Portfolio

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley dive into Berkshire Hathaway, the billion-dollar conglomerate built by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger that’s grown from a struggling textile mill into one of the most valuable companies in the world. With core pillars in insurance, railroads, and energy, plus a $250 billion equity portfolio anchored by Apple, Berkshire is often seen as the ultimate compounding machine. Its decentralized structure, conservative balance sheet, and reputation for permanence make it unlike any other business in corporate America.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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Shawn O’Malley and Daniel Mahncke break down Match Group (ticker: MTCH), a company that operates as part of a duopoly in online dating, owning a number of dating platforms, including Tinder, Match.com, Hinge, OkCupid, and more, with specialized platforms appealing to certain demographics and dating niches. During the Pandemic, the company was a popular growth stock, but as the number of paying users at Tinder has declined, the business has stagnated, and the market has punished it severely. Yet, the company is still quite profitable, yielding a seemingly attractive valuation. 

In this episode, you’ll learn about the unique business behind online dating, why Match is having trouble resonating with Gen Z, how large the TAM is for online dating, the most important things the company is focusing on to reinvigorate Tinder, why Hinge may be the future of Match Group and online dating, and whether Match Group is attractively priced, plus so much more!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 – Intro

07:24 - What advantages Match Group has in its favor as the world’s largest online-dating company

29:05 - About Match’s origin story as a spinoff and its executive turnover

35:59 - The biggest structural challenges weighing on Match Group’s growth

44:44 - Why the senior dating market may be a growth engine for Match Group

46:50 - How Match Group operates and competes as part of a duopoly with Bumble

47:19 - Why investors are so weary of the online dating industry

01:03:18 - How to think about modeling MTCH’s intrinsic value

01:07:28 - Whether Shawn and Daniel add MTCH to their Intrinsic Value Portfolio

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley dive into Dell Technologies, the legacy PC giant that’s quietly become one of the largest suppliers of AI infrastructure in the world. Once seen as a low-growth hardware player, Dell now sits at the heart of the data center buildout — shipping billions of dollars worth of GPU-powered servers to customers like xAI, Meta, and Microsoft. With a growing AI backlog, enterprise trust, and deep global reach, Dell might be one of the most overlooked players in today’s AI cycle.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN

00:00 – Intro

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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Connect with Daniel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Shawn O’Malley and Daniel Mahncke break down Ferrari (ticker: RACE), a company whose stock is arguably just as impressive as its high-performance and ultra-luxury vehicles. By global automotive standards, Ferrari hardly has any sales volumes, selling about 14,000 cars a year, yet these vehicles come with such premium price tags that the company can reasonably command a $90 billion market valuation still.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN

00:00 – Intro

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

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Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠⁠sponsors⁠⁠:

Connect with Daniel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley dive into Crocs, the footwear company that turned a ridiculed foam clog into a global fashion phenomenon. After a post-IPO collapse and years of overextension, Crocs has staged one of the most impressive brand comebacks in recent retail history — now fueled by strong margins, loyal customers, and bold international expansion. But there are still some challenges and risks. The HEYDUDE acquisition wasn’t successful yet, and the turnaround will still take time, and there are still reasonable doubts around the sustainability of the growth and fashion relevance of Crocs.

In this episode, Shawn and Daniel unpack what’s driving Crocs' profitability, why its turnaround worked, and whether its Asia strategy could be the next big unlock. They break down the brand's unique mix of comfort and cultural cachet, the economics of Jibbitz and limited-edition drops, and how Gen Z’s shift toward athleisure might power a decade of demand. Along the way, they explore whether Crocs is a misunderstood compounder or a hype-driven value trap — and where the stock could go in a bull, bear, and base-case scenario.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN

00:00 – Intro

13:38 – Why Crocs almost went bankrupt in 2008 and how it survived

25:44 – What started the second hype cycle

28:35 – What its highly customized designs mean from a business perspective

32:57 – What role social media plays in Crocs’ success

41:31 – How the HEYDUDE acquisition hurt Crocs’ business

50:28 – About Crocs’ international strategy

01:04:23 – Whether Crocs is attractively valued at its current levels

01:09:18 – Whether Shawn & Daniel add CROX to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

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SPONSORS

Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠sponsors⁠:

Connect with Daniel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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