Sunny,
I think it might be an overstatement to say that BMC doesn't doesn't draw any attention, but more about that later. Heck, I know a smidgeon about the company (not more than a simdgeon) so it must be fairly well known. :)
BMC sports a market cap of $15 billion give or take a couple billion which would make it a large-cap stock in anyone's book. Stockholders of Peregrine Systems absolutlely LOVE to mention that the guy who started BMC is now behind Peregrine. They're hoping that Peregrine does just half as well as BMC as done over the years. Okay, so they really hope it does absolutely as well.
I don't know anything about their business so I don't have an idea of whether or not it is a royalty or gorilla game. There are a few possibilities. It could be a gorilla game -- even one in which BMC is the proclaimed gorilla -- but a game in a smaller market that doesn't get the attention of the media. It could also be a gorilla game that ultimately does not produce a gorilla. Or as you mention it could be a royalty game.
If you want to describe the nature of the business in gorilla game terms folks following this folder can help you arrive at your own conclusions. Try to focus on whether or not there are proprietary technologies, high costs of switching, value chains, etc.
Even if I'm completely way off base about BMC being fairly well known, consider this. Qualcomm and Siebel Systems, two of my favorite companies for the long term, are still relatively unknown despite that they dominate their respective markets. Heck, most people I talk to who buy stocks don't even know what front office software is (Siebel's market) or that there are various technologies (CMDA, TDMA, GSM) supporting wireless transmission, the business Qualcomm is in. The fact that they DON'T know about them is a good sign for long-term investing, which is what gorilla gaming is all about; when people do finally figure it out, you and I will have owned our stocks for a long time and will reap rewards the johnny-come-latelies can't achieve.
Is that great cheerleading, or what?!!!! :)
--Mike Buckley |
