The Internet's Hard Plumbing
Zach McCullough@zachmccullough
−6.0%
since Oct 10
The idea
I believe AI can write throwaway apps but can't replace the hard plumbing running the internet, and I expect an AI-coding outage or hack to push companies back to proven infrastructure providers that the recent software rally skipped over. This leans into content delivery and traffic control, network backbone gear, data center landlords, and trusted reliability names like IBM and Check Point, anchored by the .com registry operator, while deliberately skipping domain registrars.
What it owns
- These companies move and protect internet traffic, the hardest infrastructure to get right and the first to fail when things break. · Akamai TechnologiesIt has delivered and protected traffic for large companies for decades, doing the hard plumbing that cannot be rewritten quickly, and belongs as long as customers keep paying for that delivery and defense instead of building it themselves., F5, Inc.It sits in front of banks' and governments' applications to route every request, work where a single error causes outages, and belongs as long as large customers keep choosing it over custom-built alternatives., Fastly, Inc.It runs edge servers positioned near users to serve and screen web traffic, and it belongs only while customers trust it with critical traffic rather than moving to larger rivals or building their own systems.27%
- The routers, switches and fiber that underpin everything require decades of proven reliability that new software cannot replace. · Cisco Systems, Inc.Its switches and routers are the standard network equipment inside most large organizations, the kind of proven infrastructure companies avoid replacing, and it belongs as long as they keep buying that core network gear., Hewlett Packard EnterpriseIt owns the routing business that moves traffic between large networks plus the servers that banks use for critical work, and it belongs as long as networking remains a core part of what customers buy., Lumen Technologies, Inc.It owns long-haul fiber carrying a large share of US internet traffic, and it belongs only while companies keep renting that fiber for serious traffic and the business finances remain stable., Extreme Networks, Inc.It makes office and campus networking equipment that gets far less attention than larger competitors, and it belongs while it keeps winning network contracts from schools, hospitals and companies seeking proven gear.21%
- Long-established companies that banks and governments rely on for systems where downtime is not an option. · International Business MachinesIts mainframes still process the majority of bank and airline transactions, the most conservative computing available, and it belongs as long as major institutions keep running critical systems on mainframes rather than replacing them., Check Point Software TechnologiesIt has sold firewalls for decades as a trusted vendor for critical network security, and it belongs as long as customers keep renewing contracts or turning to established names when breaches become costly.15%
- Physical buildings where networks meet and connect become more valuable as the internet depends more heavily on proven infrastructure. · Equinix, Inc.It operates the physical hubs where networks, clouds and companies connect to each other, and that value increases as firms lean more heavily on proven, hands-on infrastructure rather than newer alternatives., Digital Realty Trust, Inc.It leases data center space and power to the companies running the internet's infrastructure, and it belongs as long as tenants keep signing and renewing leases at steady or rising rates.12%
- Every dot-com website depends on a single trusted operator to keep the address lookups running without interruption. · VeriSign, Inc.It operates the dot-com registry, the master address book that every dot-com site depends on, and belongs as long as it maintains its contract to keep the registry running without serious outages.10%
- Cash15%