The Buffett Buying Criteria
l@sasacul123
· 1
+4.7%
since Oct 7
The idea
I believe in owning businesses that are easy to understand, protected by real competitive moats, and run with shareholders in mind, bought at sensible prices and held for years rather than traded. This basket spreads that test across five kinds of moat: financial toll roads that clip a fee on money moving, everyday consumer brands, the rare tech franchises durable enough to qualify, hard-asset compounders, and disciplined insurers. No single name dominates, and I keep a cash reserve on hand to wait for fair prices rather than chase expensive ones.
What it owns
- Businesses that take a small cut of payments and ratings everyone must use, with almost no capital needed. · Visa Inc.It clips a small fee on a huge share of the world's card payments, a toll road with almost no debt and fat margins., Mastercard IncorporatedIt takes the same toll-road cut as its competitor, and owning both is a bet on card payments themselves., American ExpressIts premium brand attracts cardholders who spend more and default less, the profile this take seeks., Moody's CorporationIt is one of two companies whose credit ratings nearly every bond issuer must pay for, a toll road that stays mandatory., S&P GlobalRatings and index licensing remain essential services that the financial industry must pay for regardless of market conditions.26%
- Brands people buy every week without thinking, the steady earnings most prized in this take. · Costco WholesaleMembers keep renewing at high rates and the warehouses keep filling, which is the test of a durable business., The Coca-Cola CompanyIt is a brand people reach for without thinking, with pricing power to match and decades of steady cash generation., Procter & GambleIt sells brands like Tide and Pampers that people buy every month regardless of the economy and that hold shelf space for generations., Walmart Inc.Its scale lets it sell cheaper than almost anyone, a moat that gets wider the bigger it gets., Johnson & JohnsonIt has raised its dividend for over six decades on products doctors and patients cannot easily swap out.24%
- Technology companies with switching costs and cash generation strong enough to pass a durability test. · Apple Inc.Customers upgrade inside the ecosystem rather than leave it, and enormous buybacks treat shareholders like owners., Microsoft CorporationBusinesses are built on Office, Windows, and Azure, and ripping them out costs more than paying for them., Alphabet Inc.It owns the default answer box for the internet and converts it into cash at margins most businesses never see.18%
- Irreplaceable physical networks and equipment franchises that earn steadily for decades. · Union PacificNobody can build a competing railroad across the western US, which is why this network is a durable moat., The Home DepotIt shares the home improvement market with exactly one real rival and earns high returns on capital because of that duopoly., Deere & CompanyIts dealer network and the loyalty of farmers who will not switch brands give it pricing power through farm cycles.13%
- Disciplined insurers earn float and compound it, the engine this take is built on. · Chubb LimitedIt makes money on the insurance itself, not just investing the float, which is the discipline this take demands., The Progressive CorporationIt prices auto insurance better than its rivals and grows by being the low-cost operator in its market.8%
- Cash11%