Not so hot take: The Soul of a New Machine is a story of a company with no moat.
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Kidder covers the story of an amazing effort to build a new computer in the minicomputer wars of the 70s. 10 years later, Data General was a has-been, and 20 years later, it was gone.
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The lesson isn’t “oh, you need a moat (or Power, ala 7 Powers) to be a successful business” — although that much is true! DG did die 20 years later!
The lesson is that moatless companies can live a LONGGG time. (Though to be precise DG was killed more by disruption than arb).
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Tbf; Helmer, Porter, et. al. Don't say you'll die without moats. They say you won't have an extended period of profit and an overall crappy ROIC.
Many many businesses hanging on at breakeven.
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Actually, I'd argue that many businesses are hanging on at below breakeven — though that's a quirk of our current zero interest rate environment.
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Fair point. I know some local businesses that are making more money now with stimulus than they have in years.
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