Aug 04, 2025

L/S Pitch during Interview

Quick question: I'm prepping for some interviews and have a long & short idea. How long should I be prepared to speak for? I've prepared a ~30sec version and a 5 minute version but wanted to see how I can gauge which one to start out with.

I.e. -> if interviewer asks some variation of "pitch me your long idea"

10 Comments

WSO Monkey Bot

11mo

For a long/short pitch during an interview, you should aim for a 5 to 10-minute version of your pitch. Based on the most helpful WSO content, this timeframe allows you to cover all critical aspects of your idea while keeping the interviewer engaged. Here's how you can structure it:

Start with a concise summary (~30 seconds): This is your elevator pitch. Highlight the key points—what the idea is, why it's compelling, and the catalyst driving it. This gives the interviewer a quick overview and sets the stage.
Expand into the detailed pitch (5-10 minutes): Dive deeper into the following:
- Catalyst: What will drive the stock's movement?
- Why the catalyst isn’t priced in yet: Explain the market inefficiency.
- Trade details: Include timeframe, stop loss, profit target, and any strategies like tiered buying/selling.
- Historical performance: Discuss the stock's performance over the past months/years and its key drivers.
- Relative performance: Compare it to the index, including correlation or beta factors.
Adapt based on interviewer cues: If they seem engaged or ask follow-up questions, you can elaborate further. If they appear pressed for time, keep it concise and focus on the most critical points.

Remember, the goal is to balance brevity with depth. A 30-second version is great for a quick overview, but the 5-10 minute version ensures you cover all bases effectively.

Sources: How long does it take to formulate a investment idea / stock pitch, How long does it take to formulate a investment idea / stock pitch, Stock Pitch Sample Template - Proven Examples to Help Ace Your Interview, Stock Pitch Sample Template - Proven Examples to Help Ace Your Interview, Three things for formidable presentations

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Prospect in HF - Macro

11mo

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Forward Contract Merchant

mtnmaster1

11mo

Most Helpful

Don't sweat the timing that much. 30 seconds feels a hair too light, and 5min feels too long, but I've never timed myself

You are long, and see xyz% upside/downside because x, y, and z. Summarize the headlines on the key thesis points (granted some nuance/background can take a couple extra sentences). Story now quantified into into your upside and risk/reward, and catalyst path. Boom done

From there, naturally the conversation and Q&A flows back to all the details you know.

Don't sweat it. When in doubt, leave more to the Q&A

Tips:

we aren't as interesting as we think, and listening to people rant about stuff, without it being very structured and focused... well people tune out and their mind goes elsewhere. Watch out for the interviewer losing track of what is happening, then pause for questions
A thesis isn't an exercise in proving how smart or intelligent you are. It is a business transaction with one goal ; communicate how you can make money, and why, supported with the strong evidence that supports your conviction
Elements of story telling do matter - don't just rant off a bunch of numbers and statistics otherwise whoever is listening might start drowning and not know whats going on. The numbers are super important but you have to weave both together.

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Authored by: Certified Asset Management Professional - Investment AnalystCertified Asset Management Pro

Associate 2 in PE - LBOs

10mo

Thanks. this is helpful! Would be great to get your thoughts on the below pitch? I blanked out the stock but my analysis is still the same - I timed it at ~2.5 minutes.

I’m long stock - 60% upside.

Short 20 sec description on Company..

Variant View

I think the market is underestimating stock’s growth trajectory due to ignoring the strength of New ARR growth across both Cloud and self-managed in FY26 and FY27
Vast majority of sell-side doesn’t model ARR and specifically, new ARR, which I believe is a core driver of growth, with the New Cloud ARR implied by consensus estimates yielding 10% growth in FY26 and 5% in FY27, with my base case supporting double digit growth. Street also doesn’t factor in revenue contribution uplift from GenAI workloads which I believe can drive another 100bps of revenue growth in FY26 and FY27 on top of the base case
Consensus is also underestimating margin expansion, which I believe should be higher driven by a more productive sales org given its recent GTM re-segmentation

Quantify Variant View vs. Consensus

I’m modeling base case revenue growth for FY26 at 16% and FY27 at 15%, ~400bps and ~600bps above consensus growth estimates of 12% for FY26 and 15% for FY27.
I’m modeling New ARR growth in FY26 and FY27 of 27% and 18%, with implied consensus New ARR growth of 10% and 5% in FY26-FY27
I’m also modeling operating margins of 17% and 19% for FY26 and FY27, above consensus margins of 16% and 17%

Set Up / Positioning

Stock is currently trading at multiple of 5.4x NTM consensus revenue, levels last seen in FY23, even with underlying growth and profitability outlook meaningfully strengthened and even lower at 4.2x] NTM Base case revenue
- Historical underperformance primarily attributed to GTM challenges, which management has put behind them
- Management’s conservative FY26 guide seems de-risked and consensus estimates bakes in slowing new ARR growth and declining market share, which sets up comfortable beat & raises in FY26
Applying a 25x FY27 FCF multiple implies a fair value of $127, above the current price of $80, with a 60% upside / 20% downside, implying a 3:1 R/R

Catalyst:

Positive estimate revisions will compel guidance raise in FYQ2'Q4’26 earnings
- Continued momentum in demonstrating customer’s Gen AI use cases through disclosures (2K customers as of Q4’25 up from 1.8K in Q3’25)

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Authored by: Certified Private Equity Professional - 2nd Year AssociateCertified Private Equity Pro

Benson Says

10mo

lol 2.5 min? If you rattle all of this off in 2.5 min, 100% anyone listening is going to be absolutely lost. There’s way too much info you’re trying to pack together and it’s just too hard to follow. More is not better. It just shows you’re a junior who doesn’t know how to sift through the noise. Highlight only the key arguments. Leave aside all the details for follow ups by saying “I have more to the thesis and numbers if you’d like to hear about them”

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