The Synopsis

In this fantastic interview we spoke with the CEO of Shift4, Taylor Lauber, and CFO, Christopher Cruz. We covered everything from what sets Shift4 apart from competition to capital allocation and their latest acquistion of Global Blue.

You can find our Shift4 Research report here.

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Shift4 Business Overview (1:14) — Where Shift4 Fits in the Payment Value Chain (3:17) — How Shift4 Differentiates Itself (7:12) — Competitive Dynamics (8:46) — Toast vs Shift4 (14:26) — ROIC and Capital Allocation (24:46) — The Role of Gateway and Global Blue (36:34) — Global Blue Competitive Dynamics (44:06) — Organic Growth vs M&A (59:39) — 2027 Free Cash Flow Target Still on the Table? (1:04:22) — Can Shift4 be Recreated?

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in securities discussed. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this exceptional interview, we talk to Cofounder of Square (Block) Jim McKelvey on competing against Amazon. From his time at Square, he saw how they were able to outcompete Amazon and he wasn't sure how that was possible given their superior resources, merchant network, and large base of talented employees. After better understanding how that was possible, he wrote a book on his insights called "The Innovation Stack". In this interview we touch on some of his key learnings, as well as talk about why it is so hard to copy some businesses.

**Purchase Jim's Book, The Innovation Stack, Here

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Amazon vs Square (13:22) — Why Amazon Quit Against Square (24:58) — Southwest (37:33) — Copying a Companies Innovation Stack (40:53) — Advice to Build a Business

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in securities discuessed. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this Dialogue episode of The Synopsis, we discuss Netflix stepping away from Warner Bros., Duolingo and underlying growth issues, plus Paypal and what makes a great manager.

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YouTube Video Links: Paypal, Netflix, Duolingo

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Intro, Netflix/Paramount Warner Bros. Deal (17:17) — Duolingo Selloff (30:08) — Duolingo Valuation (36:20) — PayPal Overview (42:48) — What Makes a Good Manager? (52:41) — PayPal Valuation

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this Dialogue episode of The Synopsis, we discuss the recent fears in SaaS with the looming AI risk and dig deeper into ServiceNow!

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Watch the ServiceNow Video here, or the Constellation Software Video Here, the Adobe Video Here.

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Intro (3:48) — ServiceNow Business Overview (13:00) — Risks to ServiceNow (21:32) — AI Control Tower (24:14) — Competitive Dynamics (32:10) — Valuation (35:18) — Mature Margin Diatribe (42:39) — AI Risk Rebuttal (46:16) — ServiceNow Blue Sky Scenario (47:38) — Intuit Disrupted? (50:46) — Will Margins Collapse for SaaS? (52:54) — Difference Between SMB vs Enterprise SaaS

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this Company episode of The Synopsis we talk about Shift4, drawing from our 85-page research report to cover everything from their early history, to an overview of the payment landscape, and their unique customer acquisition model, as well as competitive moats.

**Learn more about our 85-page Shift4 Research Report here**

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Show Notes

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. At the time of recording no contributors had a position in FOUR. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this Dialogue episode of The Synopsis, we discuss the recent sell off of software names, Constellation Software, and introduce the idea of "Point of Monetization" to analyze why Dating Apps are such a bad business.

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Watch the Constellation Software Video Here, the Adobe Video Here, or The "Why Dating Apps are a Bad Business" Video Here.

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Ferrari Report (1:14) — Software Selloff (7:06) — Will AI Become Modularized? (8:25) — CSU AI Risk (24:30) — Why Dating Apps are Bad Businesses (39:52) — Upcoming Announcements

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this monologue episode of The Synopsis, we discuss AppFolio, Meta, & LVMH, plus make some CSU comments.

Watch the Constellation Software Video

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Show Notes

(0:00) —Monologue Intro (1:16) — CSU Video (3:28) — New Research Report Announcement (5:02) — LVMH 4Q25 Update (10:26) — AppFolio 4Q25 Update (13:34) — Meta 4Q25 Update (24:51) — Trailing Multiple Diatribe

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Disclaimer

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In this Dialogue episode of The Synopsis, we discuss Uber and AV! I also released a

Watch the Uber YouTube Video Here

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Podcast Format Announcement (3:37) — Uber History (11:12) — Alibaba Analogy (13:24) — Management & Increasing Monetization (16:32) — Opportunities (18:57) — Grocery Delivery (20:42) — Where Will Growth Come From? (22:36) — Uber Freight (23:20) —AV Opportunity (26:22) — AV Risk (Waymo) (29:24) — Robotaxi (35:21) — Agentic AI (37:52) — Valuation

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this rare interview, we talked to Claire Kent, a Former Board of Director at Prada to give her insight on the luxury industry and luxury investing. A special thanks to AlphaSense for letting us republish it here.

**Coupang Webinar Sign-up Link Here

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Intro (3:00) — Luxury Brand DNA (8:44) — Who is Actually Luxury (22:00) — Gen-Z (38:00) — China Slowdown (52:23) — More Sought After Company?

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Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast own $LVMH. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in $LVMH. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/

In this Dialogue episode of The Synopsis, we discuss SpaceX's business model and put real math around how to justify their reported $1.5 trillion valuation. We do this all while plugging an upcoming expert call webinar on Coupang and our new Shift4 deep dive!

Coupang Expert Call Interview

SpaceX YouTube Video

Shift4 Deep Dive

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Show Notes

(0:00) — Shift4 & AlphaSense Coupang Announcement (3:50) — SpaceX Intro (6:36) — SpaceX Business Segments (16:04) — Competition in Launch (21:36) — Starlink Competition (27:16) — SpaceX Valuation

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this podcast is investment advice nor should be construed as such. Contributors to the podcast may own securities discussed. Furthermore, accounts contributors advise on may also have positions in companies discussed. This may change without notice. Please see our full disclaimers here: https://speedwellresearch.com/disclaimer/