Investing Notes

02/16/2026

Recent Ideas from the Web

Note: None of the ideas below are specific recommendations from this newsletter or its author. They are just things that sound interesting to me, and that may introduce readers who invest capital to some ideas and save you some time in your search process. Please also see the disclosure at the end of this post.

Below are several of the investment theses I’ve come across recently in year-end investor letters and articles—and commentary in regards to the recent volatility in the software space—that I thought were worth passing along to those interested…

Greenlight Capital wrote about Global Payments, which is currently trading over 10% below its average cost:

Global Payments (GPN) is a payments processor serving mostly small and mid-size merchants in the U.S. After exiting the position in 2023 at $108.61, we re-acquired shares at an average price of $77.85. In 2024, the company surprised investors by announcing a two-step transaction to sell its issuer processing business and acquire Worldpay. While the market did not like the announcement, we understand the logic behind it and the likely synergies it should create. Pro forma, GPN is targeting $5 billion of free cash flow in 2028, which equates to nearly 25% of the current pro forma combined market capitalization. Once the Worldpay transaction closes, we expect GPN’s consistent history of organic growth and its commitment to return nearly $7 billion to shareholders (one-third of the market cap) over the next two years to be better appreciated by the market and to provide runway for the shares to re-rate higher. GPN ended the quarter at $77.40.

Broyhill Asset Management discussed a few names, including its thesis on Watches of Switzerland, in its year-end letter:

Watches of Switzerland best exemplifies the opportunity we see in small, non-US companies today. The company is effectively the listed proxy for Rolex—commanding roughly 50% of Rolex sales in the UK and now rolling up the fragmented U.S. market. The business model is exceptional: full-price sales, multi-year waitlists, near-zero inventory, e-commerce risk, and ~20% store-level margins. Yet shares collapsed by 80% from 2022 highs on fears that Rolex’s acquisition of Bucherer signals disintermediation in distribution. At 11x depressed earnings with a pristine balance sheet and attractive returns on capital, the market is pricing WOSG as if its century-old franchise is permanently impaired. We see it differently, and as our conviction in the opportunity deepened, we increased our exposure through a dedicated investment vehicle alongside a small group of partners. Should the opportunity and alignment warrant it, we may consider additional closings for qualified investors in the coming weeks. Our full investment thesis accompanies this letter…