What companies do you respect?

In a recent class discussion, we shared which companies we would like to work at upon graduation, and the reasons for choosing these companies. Common answers for respectable companies were Google, Apple, Spotify, and Deloitte. My favorite is probably Google, because of they way it treats its employees and the unstructured work environment which allows for creativity. What are your favorite companies? Why? They don't have to be large corporations, but I would love to hear about what makes a company great.

 

To answer your first question, I really respect Mars, or, more specifically, their corporate HQ. It's a small, 80-person office at the end of a residential street in the suburbs of Washington, DC. It's notoriously private (the owners refuse to have their photos taken) and for years, it's been run by the Mars family. But God, is the firm doing well -- $30B+ in revenue alone, global brand, bought Buffett out for control of Wrigley, and the family supports a lot of causes that are overlooked by more high-profile donors (e.g., the opera). The people I've interacted with there have been very impressive and interesting individuals as well.

As to my favorite company, I'm afraid I'm limited to places I worked at in my response. In that respect, I really enjoyed my time at a BB that gets a bum rap on here. Everyone there was very professional, from the secretaries to the MDs, and was able to keep calm in some very chaotic times. It was one of my earlier exposures to the professional world and set a standard for me on what a good workplace should look like.

 

Completely agree with this. Forgot to add it to my list for Mars, but definitely a factor.

For the flip-side of OP's question, beyond going public for the sake of going public, I can't a respect a company that's a cultural Silicon-Valley-circa-2003 wannabe (i.e., the ping-pong table crowd who paint their offices such bright colors that the offices look like kindergartens designed by mental patients).

I always want to ask, "where were you for the last ~15 years?" These guys will always be playing catch-up.

 

This seems like the perfect thread for the thirty-something grandpas of WSO to play bingo on.

Sample squares: -Blackstone -Goldman -Harvard -Ferragamo -Hermes -Rolex -Armani -Swarovski -Ferrari -Bugatti -McKinsey -Lazard -1OAK -HBS -Stanford

Ok in all seriousness, kudos to everyone discussing the non-cliche stuff like Patagonia, Mars, etc.

Personally my favorite company is Berkshire Hathaway-- the thrifty Midwestern miracle that Buffet built with his bare hands.

Back to my rusty Honda. Gotta collect my bingo winnings and get home before Lawrence Welk comes on.

 

Why the 1OAK obsession for most? I thought Marquee was the better club?

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

I could choose some companies that I think are very well-run, but I'd rather articulate a couple of principles that these companies stick to:

  1. Focus on organic growth, i.e. any acquisitions are small and strategic. Major M&A is a huge source of corporate value destruction (for the acquirer) and is often a sign of CEO overconfidence/ego.
  2. Stability, i.e. CEOs stay in place for years at a time along with core strategies.
 

I'm a big fan of the successful large-scale cooperatives that are member-owned by a rather homogeneous set of individuals (the producer-members). They perform a balancing act between the corporate infrastructure/culture needed for a multinational company and the often tricky (and sometimes counterproductive) business of making their producers happy. There are tons of them in agriculture: Ocean Spray, Land O'Lakes, CHS, Agri-Mark (Cabot Cheese), etc.

 

Zappos. They recognized the biggest problem with online shoe sales (what if they don't fit) and solved it (free returns). This has become so commonplace with online retailers that i think a lot of people forget they were the first major company to do this.

I also respect Four Seasons / Ritz because their culture of customer service is incredible in its consistency across properties

 

Fake Taxi is one of my fantasies. I really feel I should do a NYC version of it, considering I have the looks for an Italian taxi driver. Next thing you know, Business Insider's going to publish an article on how The Frank is going to make a porno.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

Leaving the circle-jerking-monkey-shit-magnet "these are my favorite Banks / PE Funds" post aside.

  1. GE - Strategy, visionary leaders, leader in recent wave of supply chain changes, nimble despite scope, successful use of M&A.

  2. BHI - Innovation, effectively compete on their expertise over their scale

  3. Shell - One of the oldest companies in the world, I think they are the only super-major making the right move into LNG.

 

I knew GE would come up somewhere in here. GE's past is certainly to be admired, efficient operations, largely successful M&A, cost management, etc...

I guess you could admire their current moves for being bold, but moving to Boston and chasing data/IoT seems like a stretch to me. It very well might pay off and there is an argument to be made that it's necessary for them, but this all-in feels a little bit desperate to me.

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 

Netflix: I use their service a lot and, to be honest, they have forever altered how we consume television and the trend will not be reversed. Additionally, their pivot from a mail rental service to the streaming giant it is today was extremely well executed.

Array
 

I'll throw out Burger King (now RBI I guess).

I remember reading an article a while back (that I can't find now) about the 3G Capital buyout and how the new management team that was put in place was all PE experience I think, CEO actually worked at 3G. Really interesting piece about how they revamped the corporate culture and structure etc.

Probably a cool place to work at actually that most people wouldn't necessarily think of.

 

Met a lot of that ownership team personally. Can confirm they are good people. Treated me like I mattered when, as a guy in his first job out of college, I very much didn't.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Toyota; incredible that it still flies below the radar here. Kaizen, The Toyota Way, Toyota Production System, etc., with due credit to W. Edwards Deming. The product has become synonymous with quality, longevity, and great value.

Also, In-N-Out. Great quality, incredible value, ridiculous consistency across all of the storefronts, still private/family owned, consistent values, well-paid staff, efficient supply chain. Yeah, and clean bathrooms. In-N-Out, eff yeah.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

In no particular order:

1.) Toyota - There approach to manufacturing is still practiced and taught in every supply chain class throughout the world. They found a way to be efficient and produce cheap cars that last a long time despite the US government doing everything it could to protect the Big 3 automakers from the foreign invasion.

2.) Schlumberger - Outside of O&G very few people know about this behemoth OFS company but there approach to OFS goes beyond hiring a bunch of West Texas rednecks. They have an army of software developers, data scientists, and leading researchers and scientists who have revolutionized the O&G industry...essentially the "GS of OFS."

3.) Uber, AirBnB - Two companies that created a simple concept and managed to make it work in the shared economy. If your name as a company becomes a generic trademark for a concept you've clearly made an impact (more so in Uber's case).

 

Schlumberger... IDK... I feel like revolutionized is a bit of a stretch. They are certainly the biggest, but at the end of the day they are still French. And besides, does all that extra cost that they have in their business really provide much more value? My answer to myself would be, only if you are a super major who is planning to us SLB for a majority of your projects... Which granted is a huge amount of the market but the revolution in oil markets is moving the other direction, smaller regional players at harder to get at reserves.

Although SLB has used M&A pretty effectively.

 

realjackryan by revolution I am referring to techniques and technologies they have created and processes they've established to increase production on wells as an example.

To your other point they may have been a French company but are truly global and maintain 3 HQs around the world and do not view themselves as a French company.

Lastly there "Rig of the Future" is supposed to simplify the project management aspect of E&P. You have a company that will not only perform geophysical analysis but can also drill a well (onshore with Rig of the Future), handle all the subsurface work required, and basically complete the E&P aspect of the process short of delivery via pipelines and refining.

 

1.) Google/Microsoft - Actually innovating across various tech spaces using a massive warchest. Also, because while they pursue profit, they see to it that the entire tech ecosystem can benefit from their innovation. And remember Microsoft's investment in Apple when those hipster turds were nearly bankrupt? What did Gates say then?

2.) Tesla/ Solarcity/ SpaceX - Musk fan here, and you've got to give credit to the guy who's trying to save the planet.

3.) Amazon - They've been taking convenience to a whole new level from the humble bookstore they were.

4.) Lehman - Intense entrepreneurial culture, and that underdog mentality never discouraged them from punching higher. Kudos to DickFuld for at least retaining that culture after the spinoff.

5.) Blackstone - Great guys in the firm, great culture, and I am yet to hear any news of them doing any messed up shit like some of the other PE firms.

6.) Four Seasons - Great service in all of their hotels around the world.

7.) Sinaloa Cartel - Innovative firm, great culture, amazing CEO. Sometimes I think he's my long lost brother. It will be interesting to see their work in the years ahead.

Companies I give a ding: Facebook, HP, the current Apple, Twitter, the FBI (especially under Comey - read my biography for more)

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

@Frank Quattrone" speaking of the Sinaloa Cartel have you had a chance to read Narconomics by Tom Wainwright? If not or you haven't heard of him I recommended reading or listening to the following:

www.npr.org/2016/02/15/466491812/narconomics-how-the-drug-cartels-opera…

In all seriousness drug cartels like the Sinaloa and even Pablo Escobar operated a sophisticated empire and managed to do so without needing a bunch of Harvard MBAs running around.

 

Thanks! Cool read!

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

Blizzard (Now Activision Blizzard) - The gamer in me loves how they have managed to develop their core product line and keep a very old line-up fresh. They essentially transformed the gaming world with the MMORPG format, executed perfectly. People I have met there all love the culture.

...
 

Seconded! Those guys excel at serializing some really great franchises. Not to mention the WoW impact on gaming.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

My least favorite: Facebook (dislike Suckerberg, also programmer's sweatshop), HP (only because of Meg Whitman), EA (shit remakes), AMEX (for aggressive marketing after so many requests not to do so)

Also, drawing from our previous conversation, I'll include Spanx and Tory Burch too for favorites.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 
Frank Quattrone:

My least favorite: Facebook (dislike Suckerberg, also programmer's sweatshop), HP (only because of Meg Whitman), EA (shit remakes), AMEX (for aggressive marketing after so many requests not to do so)

Also, drawing from our previous conversation, I'll include Spanx and Tory Burch too for favorites.

What do you have against Zuckerberg? Also, I've never heard that FB is a sweatshop, do you have a source?

 

What's your beef with crossfit? Too litigious? Libertarian? Evangelical?

People tend to think life is a race with other people. They don't realize that every moment they spend sprinting towards the finish line is a moment they lose permanently, and a moment closer to their death.
 

I like crossfit because it reintroduced compound barbell movements to the masses, like the squat, bench, dead, and OLY movements as well, but I think it's become a victim of its own success. the lack of emphasis on form and the cultlike devotion to all things crossfit without tolerance for deviation is just asinine.

on the form thing, I'm sure there are boxes out there that teach form like a legit strength coach would: you start with the bar or a broomstick and you don't move up until your form is perfect. I can vividly remember my high school strength coach having the entire team do sets of 10 cleans with a broomstick in front of our teammates, and getting yelled at if there was the slightest imperfection.

yes, I know there is crossfit foundations, and that you see bad form at your local gym, but here's the difference: my local gym is not a group setting, it's DIY. you do bad form, that's on you. sure, you may catch some weird glances if your back turns into an upside down U for your bench, but that's on you. you hire a trainer, they'll correct you. crossfit is a group setting, and in group settings the participants rely on the coaches. it's my opinion coaches should not tolerate bad form whatsoever, and stop someone right in the middle of a fran or a murph if they're at risk of injury.

I also think that things like OLY movements are not meant to be done for time & the subsequent volume that comes with that. if you look at any OLY training regimen, it's lots of sets with not a lot of reps, rather than throw 135 on the bar and power clean for 90 seconds AMRAP. if you can do that with perfect form, I'd argue you're better off just running wind sprints because all you're doing is getting your heart rate up. if you're stimulating your muscles for that long with a complex lift, I'd argue your form suffers after about 30 seconds, if not sooner, and you're at risk for injury.

all of that being said, as a capitalist and an investor, they're a great brand, and I'm sure if the stock WOD ever came out, I'd definitely look through their s-1

 

WisdomTree was one of the first enhanced indexers and on their first-ever earnings call the CEO compared market-cap indexing to black-and-white televisions and said that the future was enhanced indexing and ETFs. His vision was right although the execution may have been a bit off. I respect it because the Asset Management industry is one where going with the herd prevails and it takes courage and conviction to do something different.

 

Hear there's a lot of M&E activity in there. But I don't think their exit opps are any good.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

Softbank - You have to be a badass company to raise a $100B fund. I'd shit myself in excitement if I had $100B to play with. Also, it's one of the very few Japanese tech companies not in the toilet.

PayPal - PayPal has given rise to the most successful group of entrepreneurs in history (3 billionaires, LinkedIn, YouTube,

AirAsia - Have to give credit to Tony Fernandes for building an amazing low-cost airline that also offers excellent service. The US airline industry should take note.

DJI - For spearheading the drone revolution.

There are many others. These are just a few that come to mind.

 

I would agree that I respect Microsoft - and its leadership - more than others. I think IBM and UPS are also very respectable companies, and I think Intel is definitely up there. I mostly base this on employee compensation, benefits, treatment, culture, etc. -- all of these companies treat their employees really well and are purported to have fantastic culture. That's what's up.

 
In general, this year’s results show an investor appreciation for pedigreed U.S.-based multinationals, which echoes the dramatic outperformance of domestic stocks amid the past year's global tumult, and the more recent outperformance of quality mega-cap shares as global growth expectations have softened.

Half the time it's things like these that are what actually makes companies a good buy...

 

Brunello Cucinelli SpA - I would genuinely rather work here as a tailor than work at google as an engineer.

On google: I don't think I will ever understand why "top-level" computer scientists fetishize the kindergarten work environment. I would never want to work around a bunch of type A computer scientist/ Standford MBA drones. Google seems like the perfect place to work if your parents made all your life decisions for you (Wiped your ass until you were 22), and you are looking for a company that will emulate the experience.

 

Sidney Weinberg. Guy goes from knife fighting in the streets -> shoeshine boy at GS -> mailroom -> military -> back to GS -> trading -> saves the firm from bankruptcy -> CEO -> turns them into a global powerhouse. My hero.

He also changed his family legacy, and his kids grew up to be worthwhile people who served as partners at GS. Not saying they didn't have a direct connection, but they weren't the Paris Hilton type slobs either.

Get busy living
 

Koenigsegg - Built his firm based on a stop-motion film about a cycle repairmen who built his own race car. Minuscule size firm in a very heavy R&D business, constantly being one car from profitability. And, also, he builds cars which opens like this | |, not like this / .

Netflix - A lot of firms in dying industries often only pursue cost cutting strategies or other types of performance management activities. Therefore, I have a great deal of respect for Netflix for innovating their way out of a crisis, taking a truly well calculated risk.

 

Tech: I'd have to go with google, purely because they constantly release kick-ass tech that's open to the public. Fashion: Raffaele Caruso. Hands down the best bang for the buck menswear clothing company. Fantastic consistency, quality:price ratio, and they make fantastic looking apparel if you're into Italian tailoring. For shoes, I'd go with Vass, a small company from Budapest. Consumer goods: Huawei. good phones at affordable prices. Though there's been an explosion in that market the past 2 years or so.

 

I've gotta go there... The Catholic Church. Bear with me for a second.

  • Estimated net worth of $17 billion as of July 2016.
  • The majority of the Catholic Church's value is attributable to its sizable real estate holdings as its churches are literally sprinkled across the globe.
  • 2000 years of operating history
  • +1 billion total members
  • Maintains operations of the most vast network of charitable organizations in the world, including but not limited to clinics, hospitals, community centers and schools.
  • The legal structure is the most mind-boggling characteristic of this global behemoth of an organization, as each region of local churches are held by the individual dioceses of that area, which limit recourse and damages that would be paid in the event of foul play that warrants legal proceedings against the Church. Put simply, they are hella diversified and protected from a legal standpoint.

What's better is that it's a nonprofit organization, so it doesn't pay taxes.

Still not somewhat mildly impressed? The Catholic Church has an estimated operating budget of $170 billion. By comparison, in 2016, Amazon generated revenue of ~ $136 billion. That is a respectable perspective.

 

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What concert costs 45 cents? 50 Cent feat. Nickelback.
 

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http://www.profitconfidential.com/stocks/three-top-cybersecurity-stocks-for-2017/
 

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