KEEP IT BORING AND YOUR MONEY WILL BE SOARING

🍕📈 “Boring” GOATs: How Domino’s, Build-A-Bear, Monster & AutoZone Quietly Crushed

If you think only flashy AI names win, the scoreboard says otherwise. Over long stretches, a crew of “boring” operators has smoked the market by compounding profits, buying back stock, and never losing the plot on execution. Here’s the tea, the receipts, and the why. 🫖

1) Domino’s (DPZ) vs Google/Alphabet (GOOGL) — the compounding pizza oven 🍕🔥

• The receipts: Domino’s was the best-performing S&P 500 stock of the 2010s, outpacing even tech titans.

• Multiple long-horizon comparisons show DPZ beat Google on total return across big chunks since their 2004 IPO year (yes, really).

• Why it worked: ruthless delivery/tech focus, franchising flywheel, price hikes without losing demand, and heavy buybacks.

• Fundamentals (recent ballparks): mid-to-high P/E for a consumer staple, rich P/S for a restaurant, negative book from buybacks is normal here, strong FCF, high ROIC, manageable debt backed by franchise cash flows.

• 10-yr vibe: relentless compounding with fewer drawdowns than glam tech.

2) Build-A-Bear (BBW) — the late-cycle monster 🧸🚀

• The receipts: ~+2700% 5-yr run recently, even ahead of Nvidia over that same 5-yr stretch.

• Why it worked: margin rehab + e-commerce + licensing collabs + capital returns; small-cap + operating leverage = outsized gains.

• Fundamentals: low-to-mid P/E for a retailer when earnings pop, low P/S, chunky margins for a niche brand, net cash periods, robust FCF conversion.

• 10-yr vibe: boom-bust earlier, but last half-decade = textbook turnaround compounding.

3) Monster Beverage (MNST) — 25-year G.O.A.T. 🥤🐐

• The receipts: Among the best U.S. stocks of the last 25 years (six-figure percentage returns).

• Why it worked: category growth + brand moat, global distribution, elite gross & operating margins, disciplined innovation.

• Fundamentals: premium P/E (moat tax), high gross margin vs beverage peers, light capex, massive FCF, fortress balance sheet.

• Recent prints still show resilient demand and beats.

• 10-yr vibe: compounding machine with occasional label/regulatory scares—then new highs.

4) AutoZone (AZO) — the buyback bulldozer 🧰💵

• The receipts: One of the great multi-decade compounders; huge total returns via relentless share repurchases + steady growth.

• Why it worked: counter-cyclical repairs, pricing power on parts, scale in supply chain, and SHRINKING share count turbocharges EPS.

• Fundamentals: mid-to-high P/E for a durable retailer, negative book common (buybacks), strong FCF, leverage is purposeful & manageable.

• 10-yr vibe: up-and-to-the-right with brief pit stops during recessions.

5) Gold (and why it quietly beat the index for long spans) 🪙🏆

• The receipts: Over ~20-year+ windows, gold has outpaced the S&P 500 at times (especially when starting near bubble peaks).

• Why it worked: hedge against policy shocks, negative real rates, and dollar cycles.

• 10-yr vibe: choppy, but shines when inflation expectations or macro stress spike.

What these winners share (aka the “boring alpha” checklist) ✅

1. Simple profit engines (pizza, parts, energy drinks, plush): easy to understand, hard to disrupt.

2. Pricing power + repeat purchases: small, frequent transactions → durable revenue.

3. High ROIC + FCF: they earn more than it costs to grow, then buy back shares.

4. Long runways: international expansion, digital upgrades, or category penetration—not hype cycles.

5. Owner-like discipline: capital allocation that compounds. (Peter Lynch preached this: buy what you understand, watch cash flows, ignore noise.)

But aren’t tech rockets the only way? Not always.

• DPZ outgunned megatech in the 2010s.

• BBW outpaced NVDA over 5 years (yes, that NVDA).

• MNST & AZO quietly crushed decade after decade.

Quick fundamentals snapshot (plain-English, recent ballparks)

• DPZ: Premium P/E, rich P/S for restaurants, strong FCF, heavy buybacks, franchise debt well covered.

• GOOGL: Reasonable P/E vs growth (low-20s to mid-20s historically), oceans of FCF, fortress balance sheet.

• MNST: Premium P/E, elite margins, high FCF; category growth persists.

• AZO: Mid/high P/E for a retailer, negative book from buybacks, strong FCF, consistent execution.

• BBW: Lower P/E vs growth, high cash conversion, low leverage; small-cap volatility cuts both ways.

Ratios move with prices—treat these as recent ranges, not fixed numbers.

How to use this (not financial advice, just a framework) 🧭

• Own some “boring killers.” If you can explain in one sentence how they make money—and why that won’t change—you’ve found compounding fuel.

• Watch FCF & buybacks. High free cash flow + shrinking share count = sneaky EPS rocket.

• Prefer moats over memes. Brands with repeat purchase behavior are underrated alpha.

• Hold through yawns. The secret sauce is time in market, not timing. Peter Lynch 101.

TL;DR

• DPZ cooked tech over long stretches, MNST is a 25-yr legend, AZO buys back its way to glory, BBW shocked with a 5-yr moonshot (even over NVDA). Boring? Maybe. Profitable? Absolutely.