Hello Kris. Thank you for your article on Constellation Software!
I have a vague question. I’m in the US and use Robinhood, Fidelity, and Schwab. What are the options for US folks to buy CSU shares? Any pointers would help.
I live in Europe myself, but I know many people in the industry in the US, so I asked one of them.
He said that Fidelity will allow you to buy in Canada (if international is on) or the ADR (ticker: CNSWF), Schwab will let you buy the ADR (which is bought on the OTC market or "the pink sheets.") Robinhood won't allow you to buy it, he says.
Great article.. thanks for clearly articulating the reasons not to fear the bear case arguments put forth by AI and by Mark's retirement from the CEO position.
I’m looking at which companies I trim or sell to upgrade my portfolio with more CSU. I started buying in December and you make case that I should keep buying as the drawdown continues!
Solid breakdown of why data moats matter more than coding efficiency. The integration lock-in you mentioned is huge, I've watched companeis spend years just mapping dependencies before attempting a migration. The bit about auditors and regulators missing familiar interfaces is underrated too. When compliance hinges on institutional memory of specific workflows, switching costs go way beyond teh technical. Mark Miller's operational background actualyl seems like the right profile for navigating this environment.
I think your article only tackles 2 out of 3 concerns. The third one being: Is CSU at its current size and the FCF realized each year able to invest efficiently at the same hurdle rate? CSU already separated the hurdle rates for very large acquisitions and the rest, where they accept a lower rate for the larger ones. The larger CSU becomes, the harder it gets, if—and that’s the interesting point—they don’t change the business model at some time. E.g. by making use of (a part of) the FCF to buy shares of other great companies with high FCF yields, and becoming even more of a BRK clone.
Hello Kris. Thank you for your article on Constellation Software!
I have a vague question. I’m in the US and use Robinhood, Fidelity, and Schwab. What are the options for US folks to buy CSU shares? Any pointers would help.
Hi
I live in Europe myself, but I know many people in the industry in the US, so I asked one of them.
He said that Fidelity will allow you to buy in Canada (if international is on) or the ADR (ticker: CNSWF), Schwab will let you buy the ADR (which is bought on the OTC market or "the pink sheets.") Robinhood won't allow you to buy it, he says.
I hope this helps.
Great article.. thanks for clearly articulating the reasons not to fear the bear case arguments put forth by AI and by Mark's retirement from the CEO position.
Thank you, Kamran!
I’m looking at which companies I trim or sell to upgrade my portfolio with more CSU. I started buying in December and you make case that I should keep buying as the drawdown continues!
Yes, I think it's interesting here.
Solid work, thank you
Solid breakdown of why data moats matter more than coding efficiency. The integration lock-in you mentioned is huge, I've watched companeis spend years just mapping dependencies before attempting a migration. The bit about auditors and regulators missing familiar interfaces is underrated too. When compliance hinges on institutional memory of specific workflows, switching costs go way beyond teh technical. Mark Miller's operational background actualyl seems like the right profile for navigating this environment.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I think your article only tackles 2 out of 3 concerns. The third one being: Is CSU at its current size and the FCF realized each year able to invest efficiently at the same hurdle rate? CSU already separated the hurdle rates for very large acquisitions and the rest, where they accept a lower rate for the larger ones. The larger CSU becomes, the harder it gets, if—and that’s the interesting point—they don’t change the business model at some time. E.g. by making use of (a part of) the FCF to buy shares of other great companies with high FCF yields, and becoming even more of a BRK clone.
You prefer CSU or Duolingo?
Why would I have to choose? I like both, but they have a different profile. CSU is more established, DUOL a bit riskier, I would say.
Very correct. Been writing about the same thing.