The Berkshire Hathaway of Microcaps
An under the radar compounder with an elite investing track record
Investment Highlights
Following the Berkshire model of investing in growing companies with one of the best stock pickers around
Sticky, asset-light, recurring revenue business that just inflected to profitability
Revenues growing double digit %’s YoY
Has been cash-flow positive from day 1
Elite capital allocation
Stock already up 280% in last year but has cooled off a bit recently
Trading at less than 1.5x sales
The Berkshire Hathaway of Microcaps
Yes, I realize you probably rolled your eyes at that headline but hear me out. Similar to Berkshire, this is also a profitable, boring, cash-flow machine using its treasure chest to invest in other companies and buy back its own stock. And it just so happens that the President and CEO is arguably one of the best microcap investors of all-time. Now have I piqued your interest?
This investment is inspired by one of the tax clients I worked on before I left public accounting. They were a high-margin software company that spit out more cash than they knew what to do with so had accumulated a massive amount of cash that was mostly kept in money market funds and etfs. This new focus company is investing in other growing companies so it’s entirely possible that we end up with a multibagger inside of a multibagger. One of their $50,000 investments has already turned into a $1 million position.
Financial Statements
Let’s start with the financials because I think it’s important to show the growth before I let any of the qualitative factors influence the thesis.
The chart below shows revenue, operating cash flow and net income since the business was first purchased in 2018. I have included net income, but revenue and operating cash flows are the more important indicators here.
The company must include unrealized gains and losses in net income even if they are long-term investments. As you can see above, revenues are accelerating and operating cash flow is starting to hockey stick. There is not much capex needed and no debt so most of the cash goes straight into the war chest. Management has stated they think their stock is still cheap (even after a 280% move!) and will continue to use excess cash for buybacks while looking for other companies to buy. Very, very little stock compensation paid as well. You love to see it. Gross margins were 11% when business was purchased and have grown to 25% with expectations for continued growth.
Valuation