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Buffett's hypothesis (as I understand it) boiled down to (1) find successful businesses that are capital-starved, (2) pair them with businesses which naturally
by ethbro 7y ago
Buffett's hypothesis (as I understand it) boiled down to (1) find successful businesses that are capital-starved, (2) pair them with businesses which naturally generate float (e.g. insurance), under a corporate umbrella, (3) invest the float in those businesses and thereby beat market returns (by only selecting quality businesses, and having the ability to provide mentorship / experienced leadership).
- benj111 7y agoOk fair enough, that's more late Buffett. I don't think he invests so much in capital starved businesses, more he just uses the cash generated by eg insurance to invest in high quality businesses. I suppose the difference here is the high quality part. Wework doesn't seem to have much of a moat, have particularly good governance, or have much of a track record of anything.
- prolepunk 7y agoWhat does 'generate float' mean as a financial term?
- sambroner 7y agoIt basically means "hold cash", so visa, stripe, insurance companies etc. all get cash from customers, hold it for a period of time, and distribute it to customers. Holding it for a period of time is "generating float." For many of these companies the float is a large multiple of the profit.