5 pieces
Researching a business through direct conversation with its customers, suppliers and former employees is not a new skill for someone who has built a company. It is the same habit, pointed outward.
A capable new AI model, a sharp sell-off, and a flood of candid commentary from executives, rivals, and customers. It is exactly what long-term investors call "scuttlebutt" — and a live lesson in how long-term owners tell durable free cash flow apart from fragile hype.
Philip Fisher’s method of learning about companies by talking to everyone around them hasn’t changed in sixty years. What’s changed is what “talking to everyone” looks like — and the sheer volume of signal available to anyone willing to listen.
AI in investing usually means algorithmic trading. The more interesting shift is happening on the other side of the industry — in the messy, judgment-heavy work of understanding businesses.
The most durable edge in investing isn’t in the data everyone can see — it’s in the qualitative signals most models can’t process.