Been revisiting Christopher Mayer’s *100 Baggers* (covers 1962–2014) and pulled out the patterns that repeat across the actual 100× winners. Cutting out the fluff — here’s the compact version.
# 1) Timeline & CAGR
100× takes way longer than most people think:
* Usually **20–30 years**
* Avg ≈ **26 years**
* 100× in 26y = **\~17.5% CAGR**
* Fast ones did it in \~15y = **\~35% CAGR**
It takes patience...
# 2) Starting Size
Basically all of them started **tiny**:
* Typically **sub‑$1B**
* Median revenue \~**$170M**
* Large caps basically never showed up
# 3) Returns on Capital
Consistent pattern:
* Many ran **20%+ ROIC**
* Some stretches hit **30–50%**
* And they held those returns for *years*
# 4) Reinvestment (Capital Allocation)
They always had a place to shove more capital:
* New products
* New regions
* Distribution scaling
* More units at strong economics
* Avoiding high dividends, if they had high ROIC (better use of capital)
High ROIC only mattered because they could reinvest into it.
# 5) Growth (Revenue, EPS, Multiples)
* Revenue grew steadily off a **small base**
* EPS usually grew **faster** than revenue → margins expanded
* Multiple expansion was common:
* cheap at start → fair → expensive
* low P/E → 25–40× by the end
A lot of the 100× came from **EPS improving + market realizing it**. High growth necessary.
# 6) Insider Ownershipnd:
* Owner-operator setups beat the rest (by 7% per year on average!)
* 10–20%+ insider ownership was normal
* Better capital allocation, less clown behavior
# 7) Moats
Several moats available (find out what keeps competitors out):
* Distribution/logistics
* Brand
* Network effects
* Regulations
* Switching costs
* Cost structure
# 8) Volatility
Giving better entry points:
* Many dropped **50%+** several times
* Some crashed **70–90%** once
* Still ended up 100×
The path was ugly. Keep holding...
# 9) Miscellaneous
* **Avoid China** if you want 20–30 years of compounding (policy risk nukes long horizons)
* Skip serial diluters (>5% increase of shares outstanding per year over several years)
* Skip companies where **assets grow faster than EBITDA** for years
* Sector isn’t destiny: 100× names came from everywhere
Let me know what you think