The Investor's Podcast (We Study Billionaires) - The Investor’s Podcast Network

In this episode, William Green speaks with multibillionaire Sir Michael Moritz, arguably the most successful venture capitalist ever. He spent nearly four decades at Sequoia Capital, which invested in early-stage companies like Nvidia, Google, YouTube, PayPal, Airbnb, LinkedIn & Stripe. Here, he talks about his unconventional path to success, the role of temperament in investing, & what he learned from observing Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jensen Huang & Elon Musk.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:04:50) Why Michael Moritz has always felt like an outsider.

(00:14:05) How his family’s survival was built on the kindness of others.

(00:26:16) How his relentlessness became the key to his success.

(00:29:26) How Oxford & Time magazine prepared him for investing.

(00:38:27) How the novelist Philip Roth changed his life.

(00:44:06) What Michael learned from observing Bill Gates up close.

(00:57:28) What made Steve Jobs special.

(01:02:46) Why it’s so hard to predict which founders will succeed or fail.

(01:06:36) Why investors must be open enough to learn from younger people.

(01:09:20) What Charlie Munger identified as Michael’s investing edge.

(01:14:02) What soccer legend Sir Alex Ferguson taught Michael about leadership.

(01:18:05) Why he views Elon Musk as the greatest industrialist in US history.

(01:21:32) What Michael learned from his wife & children.

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

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Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley revisit the two luxury houses they passed on last time — Hermès (EPA: RMS), the 189-year-old maker of the Birkin bag, and LVMH (EPA: MC), the 75-brand conglomerate behind Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany, and Hennessy. Both stocks now sit near their lows: Hermès is down more than 50% from its February 2025 peak and trades at 32 times earnings for the first time in a decade, while LVMH has fallen to a five-year low after two straight years of declining sales — something that didn’t even happen in 2009. The luxury industry has lost roughly 70 million customers since 2022, the Chinese market that tripled between 2017 and 2021 has been shrinking ever since, and a war in the Gulf emptied the stores on the Champs-Élysées of their best-spending tourists.

But some brands are growing. Daniel and Shawn work out why Richemont can grow 20% in the same quarter LVMH grows 3%, why Hermès still earns a 41% margin while LVMH’s fashion and leather division has given back seven points of margin in five years, and why the top 0.1% of luxury clients keep spending while the aspirational buyer walks away. They also cover the Chinese property bust and its five-to-six-year playbook, and how prior luxury downturns in 2009, 2016, and 2020 ended. In the end, Daniel updates both valuation models and decides whether either Hermès or LVMH finally earns a spot in The Intrinsic Value Portfolio.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:35) About the state of the luxury market

(00:15:58) How Hermès’ business has done since our first pitch

(00:20:22) What makes LVMH and Hermès special

(00:31:30) How LVMH’s business has done since our first pitch

(00:33:23) How China is impacting the luxury market

(00:39:12) How long past luxury downturns were

(01:02:33) Why Hermès has an even better chance of recovering quickly

(01:09:10) Valuation discussion

(01:10:43) Intrinsic value of RMS

(01:12:26) Intrinsic value of LVMH

(01:12:51) Whether LVMH or RMS will be added to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

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SPONSORS

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In today’s episode, Kyle Grieve and Shawn O’Malley discuss HEICO and TransDigm, two dominant players in the aerospace components industry known for their pricing power and resiliency. They’ll compare how each company grows through acquisitions and organic expansion, how they approach debt and capital allocation, and what gives each business its durable competitive advantages. The discussion also covers the risks facing both companies, including regulatory scrutiny and reliance on continued aerospace demand, as well as potential sources of future growth.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:06:41) How TransDigm built its sole-source pricing power model

(00:10:12) How HEICO competes by underpricing original equipment manufacturers

(00:16:14) Why the aerospace industry has such high barriers to entry

(00:19:35) Why both companies rely heavily on acquisitions to grow

(00:29:33) How each company’s approach to debt differs sharply

(00:33:26) Why regulators have started scrutinizing TransDigm’s acquisition strategy

(00:46:20) What gives HEICO and TransDigm such durable competitive advantages

(00:54:08) How ownership and incentive structures shape each management team

(01:07:30) What risks could disrupt either company’s long runway of growth

(01:11:33) Where future growth could come from for both businesses

(01:16:44) Valuation discussion

(01:19:19) Intrinsic value of HEICO

(01:20:07) Whether Kyle & Shawn will add HEICO or TransDigm to the Intrinsic Value Portfolio

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

SPONSORS

Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠⁠⁠⁠sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠:

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In today’s episode, Kyle Grieve and Shawn O’Malley discuss Walmart and how it grew from Sam Walton’s small-town five-and-dime into a retail giant. Today, it also makes money from e-commerce, a marketplace, advertising and memberships. They cover the scale advantages behind Walmart’s everyday low prices, how its suppliers end up financing its inventory, and why its power over those suppliers continues to draw antitrust scrutiny. They also look at Walmart’s capital allocation, management, growth levers and the biggest risks facing the business.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:12) How Sam Walton’s early franchise lessons shaped Walmart’s strategy

(00:11:10) Why trading margin for volume remains core to Walmart

(00:15:21) How Walmart makes money beyond traditional brick-and-mortar retail

(00:28:56) Why everyday low prices built lasting customer trust

(00:34:48) How negative working capital supports Walmart’s free cash flow

(00:38:01) What the PepsiCo case reveals about Walmart’s supplier power

(00:41:19) How Walmart splits capital between buybacks, dividends and reinvestment

(00:53:25) Why the Jet.com acquisition was a good acquisition despite the write-down

(01:05:52) Where Walmart’s future growth may come from

(01:10:14) How agentic AI shopping could threaten Walmart’s customer relationships

(01:15:27) Valuation discussion of Walmart

(01:16:58) Walmart's intrinsic value

(01:19:43) Whether Kyle & Shawn will add Walmart to the Intrinsic Value Portfolio

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

SPONSORS

Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠⁠⁠sponsors⁠⁠⁠:

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In this episode, Stig Brodersen speaks with David Fagan about Total Wealth Performance and why someone with average investment returns can still build a meaningful net worth. They discuss why saving is the first step in wealth creation, why financial independence is a matter of intention rather than luck, and how idle cash quietly becomes one of the most expensive decisions investors ever make.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:04:20) Why David has been a saver ever since he blew his entire net worth on a Hot Wheels racetrack at age eight

(00:12:34) Why money decisions that look odd are often rational given someone's lived experiences

(00:13:56) Why financial independence is not luck but small habits that compound

(00:17:47) What Total Wealth Performance is, and why the return on your broker statement is not your real return

(00:22:29) How Stig thinks about financial independence

(00:29:34) The ABCs of front-end performance: availability, behavior, and configuration

(00:37:55) Why idle cash is one of the most expensive decisions an investor can make

(00:45:00) Why net worth beats portfolio returns as a scorecard during the accumulation phase

(00:54:13) How and why tax is a real expense

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

SPONSORS

Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors:

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley revisit Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), the advertising machine behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp that reaches 3.6 billion people every day — over 40% of the world’s population — and just grew ad revenue 27% to a nearly $240 billion annual run rate. Yet the stock trades more than 20% below its highs, because the money is going out even faster than it’s coming in: operating margins fell from 43% to 31% in a single year, quarterly free cash flow collapsed from $8.5 billion to $784 million, and capex guidance now sits at $130–145 billion this year — with analysts penciling in $200 billion for next.

Daniel and Shawn dig into what all that spending actually buys. Is this Mark Zuckerberg’s third failed attempt to turn Meta into a platform — after the FarmVille-era Facebook apps and a $100 billion metaverse — or does AI finally make the vision real, whether through AI glasses, a personal agent, a budding cloud business, or an ad engine where every pixel becomes sellable inventory? They also cover Meta’s $17 billion settlement with 47 states over teen safety, the special purpose vehicles keeping tens of billions of data-center debt off Meta’s balance sheet, why Apple is quietly taking the opposite side of Meta’s bet, and why Wall Street rewards Google for the same capex it punishes Meta for. In the end, Daniel rebuilds his valuation model from scratch and decides whether Meta finally earns a spot in The Intrinsic Value Portfolio.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:01:54) About Zuckerberg’s Platform Dream

(00:11:52) Why Meta was sued and how it settled

(00:25:18) What the regulatory risk means for Meta’s future

(00:30:56) What Meta’s AI vision looks like

(00:39:00) How AI could revolutionize Meta’s Ads Business

(00:42:02) About the optionality of WhatsApp

(00:53:21) Why AI could make Meta glasses a success

(01:06:58) How Meta is planning to build a Cloud Business

(01:22:46) Meta's valuation discussion

(01:26:29) How much Meta's stock is actually worth

(01:26:51) Whether META will be added to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

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SPONSORS

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In this episode, William Green speaks with Rob Vinall, an English hedge fund manager with a terrific track record. Since launching his Business Owner Fund in 2008, he’s racked up stellar annualized returns of 15.5%. Rob almost never gives interviews but speaks in depth here about the principles & practices that have driven his success in the 20 years since he founded his firm, RV Capital—not least, his habit of betting on CEOs who view their business as their life’s work.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:03:54) How Rob Vinall vaulted himself out of humble circumstances

(00:14:26) Why he disliked working at Goldman Sachs

(00:17:12) How he taught himself to invest during the dotcom crash

(00:24:20) How Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting changed his life

(00:27:39) How he launched a fund with no staff, no office & no track record

(00:41:22) What he learned from Warren Buffett’s relationship with Ajit Jain

(00:50:19) What qualities Rob looks for in outlier CEOs

(01:01:03) Why he admires Mark Zuckerberg & disagrees with Meta’s critics

(01:03:21) How Rob’s thinking about business moats has evolved

(01:04:47) Why he’s betting a third of his assets on out-of-favor Chinese stocks

(01:20:41) Why today’s momentum-driven market is ideal for long-term investors

(01:32:12) How he survived the most traumatic year of his life

(01:42:07) What drives him after 20 years of investment success

(01:48:54) How to handle being rich without wrecking your kids

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

SPONSORS 

Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠sponsors⁠:

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In today’s episode, Kyle Grieve and Shawn O’Malley revisit Alphabet nearly two years after Shawn’s original pitch, tracing how the company transformed from a cash-rich, buyback-driven business into an aggressive spender on AI infrastructure. They walk through what changed across Search, YouTube, Cloud, and Waymo, and unpack why the market’s fears around AI disrupting Google were largely unfounded. Along the way, they dig into how Alphabet is funding its buildout, what that means for shareholders, and which questions will determine whether this evolved version of the business is actually better.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:03) Why Shawn’s original Alphabet thesis needed a revisit

(00:05:55) How the AI-kills-search narrative played out in reality

(00:32:00) Why Google Cloud’s margins surprised skeptical investors

(00:45:27) How Waymo went from afterthought to major asset

(00:51:27) How Alphabet’s AI spending flows through its earnings

(01:09:06) What Berkshire Hathaway’s growing stake signals about the company

(01:09:42) Why Alphabet paused buybacks and started raising equity

(01:13:11) Which unresolved questions will define Alphabet’s next few years

(01:19:06) Whether Kyle & Shawn will add to their Alphabet position in the Intrinsic Value Portfolio

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

SPONSORS

Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠⁠sponsors⁠⁠:

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

In this episode, Stig Brodersen welcomes back Ian Cassel, founder of MicroCapClub and CIO of Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management, to discuss his new book, Stock Picker. They dig into why most microcaps must be sold within 36 months, why Ian never holds a large cash position, and how he arrived at the $2 million that let him live off his portfolio.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:12:24) Why Ian's first big win at 16 shaped his risk tolerance for life.

(00:24:48) How Ian arrived at the $2 million he needed to become a full-time private investor, and why the number was about pain tolerance, not expected returns.

(00:26:48) Why there is no such thing as saving when you live off your portfolio, and the safeguards Ian built to survive consistently inconsistent returns.

(00:32:19) Why most microcaps you buy must be sold within 36 months, even the winners, and why the greats had their best returns in their highest-turnover years.

(00:40:56) Why Ian never holds a large cash position, and how a 3 to 5% cash buffer forces him to sell his least convicted idea.

(00:46:09) Whether Ian would take a guaranteed 20% annual return for the rest of his life.

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

SPONSORS

Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors:

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley revisit Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT), the online salvage auction giant that turns totaled cars into a global marketplace, connecting insurers with more than a million buyers across 190 countries. Copart owns over 250 salvage yards outright — land that’s increasingly difficult to permit today — and compounded earnings per share at over 20% a year for a decade. But the stock is down more than 40% from its highs, U.S. insurance volumes have fallen for four straight quarters, and its main competitor, IAA, has now outgrown Copart for six straight quarters.

Daniel and Shawn dig into what actually broke. Is the volume decline cyclical, driven by Americans dropping insurance coverage after premiums rose ~50% in three years — or structural, as Progressive becomes America’s largest auto insurer while sending three-quarters of its salvage to IAA? They also cover why founder-era CEO Jay Adair returned after four years away, why Copart just bought back $1.6 billion of its own stock after five years of nothing, and what a rumored acquisition of CCC Intelligent Solutions would mean for a company that has never carried meaningful debt. In the end, Daniel updates his valuation model and decides whether Copart earns its way back into The Intrinsic Value Portfolio.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:29) What changed since our last episode on Copart

(00:14:22) How Copart’s moat works

(00:23:37) Whether Copart’s moat still exists

(00:26:14) Whether competition actually gained market share

(00:45:28) What new CEO Jay Adair wants to change

(01:03:53) How much Copart stock is actually worth

(01:10:29) Whether CPRT will be added to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

NEW TO THE SHOW?

SPONSORS

References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor’s Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm