This is Zack Fuss. Today we are breaking down Moody's Corporation. Moody's was founded by John Moody in 1909 with the idea of broadening access to credit information and codifying how people viewed credit statistics by producing manuals of stats related to bonds. In 2000, Moody's was spun off from Dun & Bradstreet as a separately traded public company. Today, it is nearly a $75 billion enterprise business, producing approximately $6 billion in revenue at 45 percent margins.  To break down Moody's, I'm joined by Brian Yacktman, the Founder and President of YCG Investments. During this conversation we explore the business's origin story, how the financial crisis impacted the trajectory of the business, and the role that credit ratings play in the broader investment ecosystem. Please enjoy this breakdown on Moody's. 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. Tired of running your own expert calls to get up to speed on a company? Tegus lets you ramp faster and find answers to critical questions more efficiently than any alternative method. The gold standard for research, the Tegus platform delivers unmatched access to timely, qualitative insights through the largest and most differentiated expert call transcript database. With over 60,000 transcripts spanning 22,000 public and private companies, investors can accelerate their fundamental research process by discovering highly-differentiated and reliable insights that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. As a listener, drive your next investment thesis forward with Tegus for free at 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 (00:02:30) - (First question) - Introducing Moody's and its operations (00:05:13) - Analyzing Moody’s revenue structure (00:06:13) - Highlighting Moody's business strengths (00:07:40) - Discussing Moody’s business model transformation (00:12:29) - Evaluating entry barriers in Moody’s field (00:17:06) - Exploring the network effects within the company (00:23:01) - Examining Moody’s profit margins (00:26:26) - Comparing Moody’s to S&P Global (00:28:08) - The impact of the financial crisis on Moody's (00:29:46) - Assessing economic sensitivities affecting Moody's (00:35:25) - Key takeaways from Moody’s business strategies

This is Dom Cooke. Today we are breaking down Ferrari. Ferrari was founded in 1929 as a race team by Italian driver, Enzo Ferrari, but it wasn’t until 1947 when Enzo was 50 that Ferrari sold its first car. Today, the car company is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, in large part because of its history in Formula 1, where it is both the oldest and most successful team ever. To break down Ferrari, I’m joined by Brian Lum, an Investment Manager at Baillie Gifford. We discuss how Ferrari went from racing team to a $70 billion business, the various ways it looks more like a luxury goods company than a car maker, and how its business model both nurtures and monetizes its famous red brand. There aren’t many things money can’t buy, but in many instances, a Ferrari is one of them. The ways in which the company manufactures scarcity are fascinating, and this conversation dives into all the aspects that make Ferrari so successful and unique. Please enjoy this Business Breakdown of Ferrari. 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 (00:02:31) - (First question) - An introduction to the numbers behind the Ferrari brand (00:04:26) - Exploring Ferrari's roots to understand the impact on the brand's present-day business landscape (00:07:06) - Enzo Ferrari’s dedication to the company extended to the location of his house (00:07:50) - A look at the brand’s racing heritage over the last 75 years (00:13:04) - A unique way of structuring a marketing budget, wholly focused on F1 (00:17:51) - Ferrari's restraint in capitalizing on the SUV market to uphold their brand identity (00:21:40) - A look at the product portfolio and how they cultivate exclusivity for their “collectors” (00:23:51) - A unique buying experience, how existing Ferrari owners become frequent buyers (00:26:50) - How Ferrari sets itself apart from its competitors (00:29:20) - An overview of Ferrari’s financials (00:35:21) - Alternative strategies beyond volume growth to uphold scarcity without compromising the brand's prestige (00:36:40) - A look at other segments of the business like fashion (00:38:44) - The business’ cost profile and its significant investment in R&D (00:41:27) - Ferrari’s approach to electrification and hybrid cars (00:48:31) - Comparing electrification and luxury watchmakers during the quartz crisis (00:52:39) - Looking at Ferrari’s future and incremental evolution (00:54:47) - Lessons learned from studying Ferrari