Chit Chat Stocks Dev Kantesaria: Great Compounding Machines That Crush The Market (Plus, New Stocks He Has Bought) $FICO $V $MA $SPGI + More
Aug 27, 2025
Discover the unique journey of Dev Kantesaria from medicine to finance and his application of Buffett's principles in investing. Explore the allure of capital-light businesses with strong margins like FICO, Visa, and Mastercard. Learn about S&P Global's resilience and pricing power since the 2008 crisis, showcasing its impressive growth. Dive into Kantesaria's portfolio strategy, emphasizing misunderstood profitability and steady returns, while contemplating the future of investment in the era of AI advancements.
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A Portfolio Of Elite, High-Margin Businesses
- His portfolio skews extremely large-cap with a $237B weighted average market cap and 47% operating margins.
- These metrics reveal concentrated ownership of high-margin, durable-moat businesses.
Capital Light Models Fuel Cash Accumulation
- Holdings are capital-light: FICO 1% and S&P Global 3% CapEx-to-op-cash ratios among examples.
- Low reinvestment needs let cash accumulate and fuel buybacks or margin expansion.
FICO: A One-Off Compounder Story
- Valley Forge first bought FICO in Q2 2018 and has held through massive gains and a later drawdown.
- Kantesaria benefited from FICO's price increases, margin expansion, and serial buybacks.