Sometimes you have companies like that in your portfolio. You buy them once and just let them lie. You don't really have to worry about it, because everything runs like clockwork. One such company is Tyler Technologies from the USA.

I bought the stock in June 2020, and since then I have spent no more than 15 minutes with the company. That is limited to a brief look at the quarterly figures every three months. That's all that's necessary in this case.

For most, the company should be relatively unknown. Tyler was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas not far from Dallas. Founded by Joseph F. McKinney, the company's original name was Saturn Industries. In 1968, Tyler Pipe, a manufacturer of iron pipe, was acquired. The division quickly became the main source of revenue, so the company's name later changed to Tyler Corporation. In 1969, Saturn Industries went public on the NYSE and was then renamed Tyler Corporation in 1970.

By 1998, Tyler was operating as a holding company then with several industrial, retail and distribution companies. During the 1970s through the 1990s, a number of corporate acquisitions and divestitures occurred. In 1987, annual sales of $1.1 billion were generated with 10,000 employees.

In 1997, Tyler radically changed its business model and launched a multi-phase plan that completely changed the company's focus. From that moment on, information software was sold to government agencies. The company changed its name to Tyler Technologies and entered the local software market with a series of strategic acquisitions of companies. In 2021, Tyler Technologies is the largest company in the country dedicated exclusively to providing software and services to the public sector, including solutions for state, county and local governments, as well as prisons and schools.

The company is growing in part through the acquisition and integration of smaller software companies. What makes Tyler special is that, despite its many acquisitions, it is virtually debt-free. More than 30 companies have been acquired since 1998.

Tyler Technologies has 35 offices in 17 states and one in Toronto, Canada. In all, about 5,500 people work for the company, including more than 1,150 software developers. 33% of Tyler's employees have previously worked in public administration, so they know the concerns and hardships of the sector. The largest customer is the County of Los Angeles, with a population of 10 million; the smallest is Loving County in Texas, with a population of 134. In total, more than 8,600 customers are served, with 21 of the 25 largest counties in the U.S. and 17 of the 25 largest U.S. cities among the customer base. 98% of all customers renew expiring contracts. This is not surprising, as switching comes at a high cost. Collin County in Texas alone uses 13 different Tyler products.

Tyler first had cloud-based software solutions in its portfolio as early as 2000. The company has been on the Forbes "Best Small Companies" list for a total of 9 years and on Barron`s "Most Promising Companies in America" list for 8 years. Since Q4 2010, each subsequent quarter has been completed with revenue growth.

The company`s products include a total of six categories: Assessment and Tax Software and Services, Integrated Software for Courts and Justice Agencies, Financial Software Systems, Planning / Regulatory / Maintenance Software, Public Safety Software, Records / Document Management Software Solutions, and Transportation Software Solutions for Schools. Each of the categories includes a variety of products. In total, more than 26,000 installations are currently running at 10,000 sites with customers in all 50 states in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, Australia and other international locations.

Since my purchase in June 2020, the stock is up nearly 60%, with a 10-year price gain of more than 1,500%. The market value is $22 billion, a small company by American standards. However, the current P/E ratio is a hefty 80, so it's not necessarily suitable for an entry at the moment, but it's definitely not to be scoffed at for the watchlist.