Business Breakdowns

Business Breakdowns

Learn how companies work from the people who know them best. Each episode dissects a single business - from its origins and model to its financials and competitive edge. Join hosts Matt Reustle and Zack Fuss as they uncover the lessons behind every success story. Learn more at www.joincolossus.com.

Episodes

Exor: Fiat Crisis to Ferrari Glory - [Business Breakdowns, EP.229]

October 1, 2025 • 48 mins
 This is Zack Fuss. Today, we are breaking down Exor. The origins of Exor date back to the end of the 19th century when Giovanni Agnelli founded the Auto Company Fiat. Over the company's 100-year-old history, a lot has changed. While some of the core assets remain the same today, Exor serves as an investment holding company. Its largest and most notable assets include Ferrari, CNH, Stellantis, Philips, and a number of other notable...
Mark as Played

WaterBridge: Oil and Water - [Business Breakdowns, EP.228]

September 24, 2025 • 63 mins
 This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down the recent IPO WaterBridge. I am joined by James Davolos from Horizon Kinetics.  We start with HK's history with these very unique businesses that are off the radar for many with TPL, Landbridge and now Water Bridge. James gets into the weeds and nuances of what this business actually doesa and why the service that they're providing is so incredibly important, particularly with US ...
Mark as Played

Mercado Libre: E-commerce Empire - [Business Breakdowns, EP.227]

September 5, 2025 • 73 mins
 This is Matt Reustle.  Today we are breaking down the Latam e-commerce Giant, Mercado Libre. My guest is Daniel Wu of Bristlemoon Capital. I was introduced to MELI about 15 years ago when it was still the eBay of Latam, and similar to a place that you revisit after a long time away, MELI looks a lot different than those early days. Just consider that with a $120 billion market cap, MELI is three times the size of eBay today an...
Mark as Played

Compass: Real Estate Revolution - [Business Breakdowns, EP.226]

August 13, 2025 • 62 mins
 This is Matt Reustle. Today, we are breaking down the real estate broker Compass. Compass itself is a fascinating business and historically a controversial stock. It was founded in 2012 by Robert Reffkin and has scaled in that short period of time to become the largest real estate brokerage in the United States.  Geoff Collette, founder of Aeon Capital Partners, is back as a guest. After his Breakdown on Goosehead, we thought it ...
Mark as Played

PE Perspective on Insurance Brokers - [Business Breakdowns, EP.225]

August 7, 2025 • 58 mins
 This is Matt Reustle. Today's Breakdown caters to both public and private investors alike. My guest is Aaron Cohen, head of the Financial Services and Technology Group at GTCR, and our topic is insurance Brokers. I was initially intrigued by Aaron and GTCR after seeing their announced $13 billion sale of Assured Partners to Arthur J.Gallagher, an incredible success story in the insurance brokerage space that we covered in a previo...
Mark as Played

CME Group: The House Always Wins - [Business Breakdowns, EP.224]

July 23, 2025 • 60 mins
 This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. My guest is Adam Chandler, co-PM at Claremont Global, and together we get into the nitty gritty of exchanges. We all know how integral exchanges are to the financial system but we rarely stop to understand how they operate, how they make money, and how they shape the flow of dollars. This episode aims to do just that. Please enjoy this breakdown o...
Mark as Played

Agilent: Back To The Lab - [Business Breakdowns, EP.223]

July 16, 2025 • 41 mins
 This is Matt Reustle. Today, we are breaking down Agilent. If you aren't familiar with Agilent, it is a $30 billion market cap company at the time of this recording, and they focus on one of the more interesting niches: equipment and instruments sold into laboratories. Its equipment is being sold to the life sciences sector, diagnostics, applied chemical markets, and some very unique R&D work. My guest is Mark de Vos, fund manage...
Mark as Played

Patek Philippe: Watch Perfection - [Business Breakdowns, REPLAY]

July 9, 2025 • 58 mins
This is Matt Reustle. Today we are replaying our Breakdown of Patek Philippe. You never own a Patek Philippe. You merely watch over it for the next generation. I'll say it's the best marketing campaign in history, a campaign appropriate for the world's premier watchmaker and a watchmaker worthy of a Business Breakdown. Our guest today is John Reardon from Collectability. John has worked at Sotheby's, the auction house, and spent a...
Mark as Played

Alpha In Podcasts? - [Business Breakdowns, EP.222]

July 2, 2025 • 10 mins
This is Matt Reustle. Today’s episode looks a little different. We are exploring whether podcasts can be a source of investment alpha, sparked by a Wall Street Journal article about portfolio manager Steve Schurr's success mining podcast transcripts for Millennium Management. I analyze performance data from over 200 companies covered on Business Breakdowns since 2021, revealing that while the overall "podcast portfolio" has lagged ...
Mark as Played

Nexstar Media: Broadcasting's Biggest Bet - [Business Breakdowns, EP.221]

June 25, 2025 • 60 mins
 This is Zack Fuss. Today, we are breaking down Nexstar Media Group. Nexstar controls more local television stations than any other company in the US. This industry has experienced substantial consolidation, which has reshaped itself over the past decade and ultimately culminated in the emergence of businesses like Nexstar as the preeminent station group outside of the Big Four.  My guest today is Simeon McMillan, founder of media...
Mark as Played

EQT: Returns at Scale - [Business Breakdowns, EP.220]

June 18, 2025 • 78 mins
 This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down EQT, the Swedish global investment organization. Right off the top, I need to mention our guest today, Sean Barrett, who couldn't have been more perfect for this breakdown. Sean has been investing in the Alts since Blackstone christened this asset class just over a decade ago. Sean is the founder of Counter Global, and alt investing is ingrained in its DNA. We cover the massive, ye...
Mark as Played

UnitedHealth Group: Beyond The Premium - [Business Breakdowns, EP.219]

June 4, 2025 • 64 mins
This is Zack Fuss. Today, we're tackling a giant in a controversial and incredibly complex industry, UnitedHealth Group. At its recent apex, UNH was a half-trillion-dollar market cap business, the 15th largest listed business in the United States. Today, that market cap sits at just $275 billion. The company generates an excess of $400 billion in sales annually and produces $40 billion in EBITDA as it touches every facet of the Am...
Mark as Played

Moncler: The Après Playbook - [Business Breakdowns, EP.218]

May 30, 2025 • 59 mins
Today we are breaking down Moncler, the high-end outerwear brand. Known for their down jackets and  stylized M logo, it’s a mix of style and substance that blends into the brand history and evolution of Moncler.  I am joined by Chris Davies, investment manager at Baillie Gifford to cover Moncler’s story, particularly in the hands of Remo Ruffini. We get into its push to define luxury outerwear and extend outward into other product...
Mark as Played

Vulcan Materials: Rock On - [Business Breakdowns, REPLAY]

May 21, 2025 • 52 mins
Today, we are replaying our Breakdown on Vulcan Materials. Vulcan is America's largest producer of construction aggregates. This includes all of the crushed rock, sand, and gravel, which gets used for the foundation of nearly everything around us. Think of all of the buildings, the roads, and the infrastructure that define the physical footprint of America. To break down Vulcan, I am joined by Rob Hansen, Senior Analyst at Vonto...
Mark as Played

monday.com⁠: Work Management Software - [Business Breakdowns, EP.217]

May 13, 2025 • 77 mins
Today we are breaking down the work management software platform monday.com. Founded in February 2012, today monday.com has a market cap of over $14 billion. The platform has transformed a simple task management tool to a versatile platform serving numerous industries and use cases.  I am joined by Ben Hensman, Portfolio Manager of the Global Tech Fund at Square Peg. He takes us through the story of monday.com and how they emerged...
Mark as Played

Interactive Brokers: Margin Masters - [Business Breakdowns, EP.216]

May 9, 2025 • 45 mins
This is Zack Fuss. Today, we are breaking down Interactive Brokers, widely recognized as IBKR. Founded in 1978, Interactive Brokers evolved from a market maker on the American Stock Exchange to a global, cutting-edge electronic brokerage firm. Its founder, Thomas Peterffy, remains far and away its largest shareholder and has earned his place as one of the wealthiest people in the world. To break down IBKR, I'm joined by Freddie La...
Mark as Played

Chemed: Empire of Care - [Business Breakdowns, EP.215]

May 1, 2025 • 45 mins
This is Zack Fuss. Today we are breaking down Chemed. Chemed represents the union of two seemingly distinct businesses: end-of-life healthcare and plumbing services. As our guest aptly puts it, old houses and old people. The two underlying businesses, VITAS and the widely recognized Roto-Rooter, both offer interesting stories in their own right. The strength of this business has been its intentional and well-executed capital all...
Mark as Played

Ecolab: Clean Machine - [Business Breakdowns, EP.214]

April 23, 2025 • 41 mins
Today we are breaking down Ecolab, a global sustainability leader offering water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions that protect people & the resources vital to life. As of this recording, Ecolab has a $66 billion market cap and protects over 36% of the world's packaged food supply and over 44% of the global milk supply. My guest is Todd Wenning, founder of KNA Capital Management, who has a knack for finding interesting b...
Mark as Played

Snap-on: Tools of the Trades - [Business Breakdowns, EP.213]

April 16, 2025 • 46 mins
Today, we explore the world of tools to break down Snap-on. Snap-on has been around for over 100 years and operates with over a $17 billion market cap. It has continuously evolved the straightforward model of selling tools to specialists, like mechanics, into a durable business model while carving out a leadership position in the professional tools market. My guest is Matt Fleming, portfolio manager at William Blair. Matt gets into...
Mark as Played

Goosehead: Insuring Coverage - [Business Breakdowns, EP.212]

April 9, 2025 • 69 mins
Today we are breaking down Goosehead Insurance. I always enjoy hearing about how a new entrant has effectively carved out a niche in a world of incumbents and Goosehead fits that billing perfectly.  I'm joined by Geoff Collette, founder and PM of Aeon Capital Partners, and he walks us through the story of Goosehead identifying a bottleneck in the home-buying process.  We also cover the evolving market, where captives like State Far...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    Stuff You Should Know

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

    My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

    My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

    The Breakfast Club

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

Explore

iHeart

Live Radio

Podcasts

Artist Radio

Exclusives

News

Features

Events

Contests

Photos

Information

About

Advertise

Blog

Brand Guidelines

Contest Guidelines

Subscription Offers

Jobs

Get the App

Automotive

Home

Mobile

Wearables

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.