This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down Entegris, a supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for semiconductors. Small interferences with the different materials that exist within the semiconductor will slow it down and make it inoperable, and that's where Entegris comes into play.  We get into that discussion with our guest, Daniel Pilling from Sands Capital. He joins us to talk through the history of semiconductors in his own terms, what makes it such a fascinating industry to cover, and what makes Entegris unique operating as a small player in an overall huge universe, dominated by major players. Please enjoy this breakdown of Entegris. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:03:00) - (First question) - Why semiconductors is an interesting industry for Daniel (00:05:45) - An introduction to Entegris and its business (00:07:19) - A look at the chemicals produced for computer chip manufacturing (00:09:39) - A historical look at the importance of chemicals in chipmaking (00:11:45) - The cost of chemicals within a chip (00:13:55) - The backstory as to how Entegris started operating and their competitors  (00:17:03) - How the business has been able to remain so independent (00:21:57) - The stickiness of the business and how they aim to be the partner of choice (00:23:22) - A look at previous execution and any issues that have occurred in the past (00:23:56) - The cyclicality of the semiconductor industry historically (00:25:45) - An overview Entegris’ pricing power and maintaining margin profile (00:28:32) - Operating leverage within the business and how the margin profiles differ between the different segments (00:30:03) - A look at the business’ research and development spend (00:32:01) - How the business has approached mergers and acquisitions over the years (00:34:04) - Whether the business has ever been a target acquisition for a larger player  (00:34:48) - The outlook for Entegris’ revenue growth, expected margin expansion due to operating leverage (00:37:05) - Possible threats to the business from new technology (00:39:04) - A look at other potential risks to Entegris (00:41:18) - Should the industry’s growth slow or even decline how it could affect Entegris  (00:42:46) - How Daniel values the business comparing it to its peer group (00:45:04) - Other risks to the business not mentioned (00:46:00) - The lessons learned from Entegris

Today we are breaking down FedEx. FedEx has a more direct impact on the U.S. economy than 99.9% of U.S. businesses - an actual statistic from Dun & Bradstreet. It was a business started in 1973 by the famous Fred Smith, as his planes delivered 186 packages to 25 cities. Today, FedEx moves about 15 million packages a day, all over the world. To break down the business, I'm joined by Staley Cates, Vice Chairman of Southeastern Asset Management. We cover the business of FedEx, how this network operates, the integration of Express and Ground services, and its history and valuation relative to UPS. Please enjoy this breakdown of FedEx. Founders Podcast: #151 Frederick Smith (FedEx) For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Stretch your research budget with flexible expert calls you can trust. At a fraction of the cost of traditional expert networks, Tegus customers pay only what an expert charges – with zero markups and no confusing call credits – netting an average 70% savings. Don’t want to conduct a full hour call? Tegus offers the ability to schedule 30-minutes, an offer you won’t find anywhere else. And they don’t stop there. With white-glove custom sourcing for every project and robust compliance measures, including a dedicated 50+ analyst team that vets every call transcript, Tegus ensures your privacy and protection. As the industry innovator for qualitative insights, Tegus helps you find the right experts you need at a quality and speed that can’t be matched. For a limited time, as a listener, you can trial Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes: (00:04:27) - First question - An overview of Staley’s relationship with FedEx (00:05:06) - How FedEx is doing as a business in general (00:06:46) - A look at the different segments of FedEx’s business (00:08:08) - The differences between FedEx’s express and ground services (00:09:51) - A brief history of Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx and the opportunity he saw in the market (00:14:03) - How eCommerce and other trends have affected FedEx over the years (00:18:36) - FedEx’s position on whether to battle UPS for Amazon’s shipping alternative option (00:20:25) - A look at the United States Postal Service and its role in the overall eCommerce system (00:21:39) - The reasons behind the upside in FedEx Ground margins  (00:26:07) - A look at LTL margins when it comes to FedEx Express services (00:28:20) - Potential opportunities for FedEx moving forward (00:31:24) - The re-fleeting of FedEx planes and other potential areas in FedEx’s business that may require capital expenditures (00:33:19) - The challenges FedEx faced when integrating the acquisition of TNT (00:36:04) - Bringing together FedEx’s different businesses to get an overview of the entire organization (00:38:34) - Wage inflation and how that will affect FedEx’s margin profile overall (00:42:56) - The potential for FedEx to compete with Amazon more directly (00:45:42) - FedEx’s current stock price and its potential  (00:50:29) - FedEx’s use of railroads and its expansion over the past two decades (00:52:54) - An overview of the risks FedEx could face in the future (00:54:19) - The lessons learned from studying FedEx