$ADBE (-2%)

I have $ADBE (-2%) shares in my portfolio, and the company is currently trading at a discount. I’d like to know your opinion — why isn’t this company attractive to you?

Maybe you don’t like the declining revenues or the fast-growing competitors?

• Strong brand and ecosystem (Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator, Acrobat, etc.)

• Shift to subscription model created stable cash flow

• Actively integrating AI (Firefly, etc.)

• Gross margin ~87%, operating margin >30%

• Not dependent on raw materials, logistics, or cyclical demand

$ADBE (-2%)

$ADBE (-2%)

🔹 Adj EPS: $5.06 (Est. $4.98) 🟢

🔹 Revenue: $5.87B (Est. $5.80B) 🟢; UP +11% YoY

🔹 RPO: $19.69B

Q3 Guidance:

🔹 Revenue: $5.875B–$5.925B (Est. $5.877B) 🟡

🔹 Adjusted EPS: $5.15–$5.20 (Est. $5.10) 🟢

FY Guidance (Raised):

🔹 Revenue: $23.5B–$23.6B (Est. $23.455B) 🟢

🔹 Adjusted EPS: $20.50–$20.70 (Est. $20.36) 🟢

🔹 Digital Media ARR Growth: +11% YoY

Q3 Segment Performance:

🔹 Digital Media Revenue: $4.35B; UP +11% YoY

🔹 Digital Media ARR: $18.09B; UP +12.1% YoY

🔹 Digital Experience Revenue: $1.46B; UP +10% YoY

🔹 Digital Experience Subscription Revenue: $1.33B; UP +11% YoY

Customer Group Breakdown:

🔹 Business Professionals and Consumers Group Subscription Revenue: $1.60B; UP +15% YoY

🔹 Creative and Marketing Professionals Group Subscription Revenue: $4.02B; UP +10% YoY

Other Q2 Metrics:

🔹 Adjusted Operating Income: $2.67B

🔹 Adjusted Net Income: $2.17B

🔹 Operating Cash Flow: $2.19B

🔹 Shares Repurchased: ~8.6M during Q2

CEO Shantanu Narayen's Commentary:

🔸 "Our strategy to deliver ground-breaking innovation for Business Professionals and Consumers, and Creative and Marketing Professionals is delighting customers and we are pleased to raise Adobe’s FY25 revenue target."

CFO Dan Durn's Commentary:

🔸 "We continue to invest in AI innovation across our customer groups to enhance value realization and expand the universe of customers we serve."

I challenge you to critique my current holdings. Any critique is welcome. Go!

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (+0.41%)

$META (-1.26%)

$MA (-2.45%)

$BRK.B (-0.45%)

$AMZN (+0.72%)

$ASML (-0.15%)

$MSCI (-3.27%)

$MC (-2.64%)

$BKNG (-0.25%)

$SPGI (-0.43%)

$ADBE (-2%)

$NOVO B (-3.08%)

$AIR (-0.76%)

$CDNS (-0.34%)

$OR (-2.48%)

$IDXX (-1.33%)

$EL (-3.31%)

$FTNT (-1.24%)

$LULU (-0.95%)

When I‘m screening markets for my investable universe I look for high-quality compounders with:

• Strong and consistent capital returns (ROCE)
• High and stable profitability (gross, operating, and FCF margins)
• Steady revenue growth over time
• Large market capitalization (mature, established companies)

In detail I’m screening for:

• Market Cap: at least $ 10B
• ROCE 3-Year Avg: ≥ 25%
• ROCE 10-Year Avg: ≥ 25%
• Gross Margin 3-Year Avg: ≥ 50%
• FCF Margin 3-Year Avg: ≥ 20%
• Operating Margin 10-Year Avg: ≥ 25%
• Revenue per share CAGR 3-Year: ≥ 5%
• Revenue per share CAGR 10-Year: ≥ 5%
• FCF per share CAGR 3-Year: ≥ 10%
• FCF per share CAGR 10-Year: ≥ 10%
• Consistency/stability of earnings (from max. 1.0): ≥ 0.8
• No more than 75% revenue exposure to one single country/market (eg. USA)

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (+0.41%)

$META (-1.26%)

$MA (-2.45%)

$BRK.B (-0.45%)

$AMZN (+0.72%)

$ASML (-0.15%)

$MSCI (-3.27%)

$MC (-2.64%)

$BKNG (-0.25%)

$SPGI (-0.43%)

$ADBE (-2%)

$NOVO B (-3.08%)

$AIR (-0.76%)

$CDNS (-0.34%)

$OR (-2.48%)

$IDXX (-1.33%)

$EL (-3.31%)

$FTNT (-1.24%)

$LULU (-0.95%)

Today I‘m sharing with you my main portfolio. This doesn’t include any ETF investments and crypto currencies / gold etc. since I want to focus my presence on getquin on stock-picking.

Read my 3-part portfolio strategy posts to get the full picture - here are just the main pillars of what I‘m doing:

• Long-term buy and hold (average holding time 5+ years at least)
• Focus on high-ROIC compounders riding secular trends (top-tier capital efficiency)
• High margins, strong FCF growth, large moats (7 powers strategy)
• Holding not more than 20 stocks at a time while mainly focusing on US and EU based companies

I like to divide my holdings into „core holdings“ (forever stocks) and „trend picks“ (2030 stocks) as follows:

Core Holdings (“Forever Stocks”):

• $MSFT (+0.41%)
  $ADBE (-2%)
  $META (-1.26%)
  $MA (-2.45%)
  $AMZN (+0.72%)
• 
  $OR (-2.48%)
  $MC (-2.64%)
  $RMS (-1.5%)
  $EL (-3.31%)
• 
  $BRK.B (-0.45%)
  $MSCI (-3.27%)
  $SPGI (-0.43%)

Growth Picks (“2030 Stocks”):

• $ASML (-0.15%)
  $CDNS (-0.34%)
  $FTNT (-1.24%)
• 
  $BKNG (-0.25%)
  $AIR (-0.76%)
• 
  $LULU (-0.95%)
  $IDXX (-1.33%)
  $NOVO B (-3.08%)

I use the 7 Powers framework from the book “7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy” by Hamilton Helmer. It’s a killer framework for understanding why some businesses create lasting value and compound returns over time.

Each “Power” is a sustainable strategic advantage that lets a company generate outsized returns for a long time. I ask the 7 questions for each stock I am considering to buy.

1. Counter-Positioning

• What it is: A new entrant adopts a superior business model that incumbents can’t copy without damaging their own biz.
• Example: Netflix vs. Blockbuster. Blockbuster couldn’t move to streaming without killing its DVD revenue.
• Why it matters: Creates asymmetric pressure; the old guard is paralyzed.

2. Scale Economies

• What it is: Unit costs drop as volume increases.
• Example: Amazon, Costco. Bigger = cheaper = stronger moat.
• Why it matters: Hard to compete if you can’t match their cost base.

3. Switching Costs

• What it is: Customers stick around because switching is painful.
• Example: Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, Salesforce.
• Why it matters: High retention = stable cash flows = compounding machine.

4. Network Effects

• What it is: The product gets better as more people use it.
• Example: Meta, Visa, LinkedIn.
• Why it matters: Leads to dominance, creates a feedback loop of growth.

5. Branding

• What it is: Emotional or symbolic value, not just functional.
• Example: L’Oréal, Hermès, Apple.
• Why it matters: Lets companies charge premium prices and keeps customers loyal even if alternatives exist.

6. Cornered Resource

• What it is: Exclusive access to a critical asset — talent, IP, data, supply.
• Example: ASML (EUV tech), Novo Nordisk (Ozempic IP), Ferrari (brand + heritage + team).
• Why it matters: If no one else can get it, you win.

7. Process Power

• What it is: Unique internal processes that drive efficiency, innovation, or quality — and are hard to copy.
• Example: Toyota (lean manufacturing), Amazon (logistics, culture of innovation).
• Why it matters: Long-lasting edge baked into the org’s DNA.

If I had to chose one, Network effects would be the most important one for me.

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (+0.41%)

$META (-1.26%)

$MA (-2.45%)

$BRK.B (-0.45%)

$AMZN (+0.72%)

$ASML (-0.15%)

$MSCI (-3.27%)

$MC (-2.64%)

$BKNG (-0.25%)

$SPGI (-0.43%)

$ADBE (-2%)

$NOVO B (-3.08%)

$AIR (-0.76%)

$CDNS (-0.34%)

$OR (-2.48%)

$IDXX (-1.33%)

$EL (-3.31%)

$FTNT (-1.24%)

$LULU (-0.95%)

• Concentrate on the following sectors: Tech, consumer, healthcare, financial (excluding banks), industrials
• Smallest position size 2% / largest position size 15%
• Only sell a position when it can be replaced with a position that increases the overall quality of the portfolio
• Avoid companies with little to no track record or companies going through a restructuring phase

Here are my current holdings:

$MSFT (+0.41%)

$META (-1.26%)

$MA (-2.45%)

$BRK.B (-0.45%)

$AMZN (+0.72%)

$ASML (-0.15%)

$MSCI (-3.27%)

$MC (-2.64%)

$BKNG (-0.25%)

$SPGI (-0.43%)

$ADBE (-2%)

$NOVO B (-3.08%)

$AIR (-0.76%)

$CDNS (-0.34%)

$OR (-2.48%)

$IDXX (-1.33%)

$EL (-3.31%)

$RMS (-1.5%)

$FTNT (-1.24%)

$LULU (-0.95%)