Entegris: Solutions for Semiconductors - [Business Breakdowns, EP.137]

This is Matt Reustle. Today we are breaking down Entegris, a supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for semiconductors. Small interferences with the different materials that exist within the semiconductor will slow it down and make it inoperable, and that's where Entegris comes into play.  We get into that discussion with our guest, Daniel Pilling from Sands Capital. He joins us to talk through the history of semiconductors in his own terms, what makes it such a fascinating industry to cover, and what makes Entegris unique operating as a small player in an overall huge universe, dominated by major players. Please enjoy this breakdown of Entegris. Interested in hiring from the Colossus Community? Click here. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.  ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the modern research platform for leading investors, and provider of Canalyst. Tired of calculating fully-diluted shares outstanding? Access every publicly-reported datapoint and industry-specific KPI through their database of over 4,000 driveable global models handbuilt by a team of sector-focused analysts, 35+ industry comp sheets, and Excel add-ins that let you use their industry-leading data in your own spreadsheets. Tegus’ models automatically update each quarter, including hard to calculate KPIs like stock-based compensation and organic growth rates, empowering investors to bypass the friction of sourcing, building and updating models. Make efficiency your competitive advantage and take back your time today. As a listener, you can trial Canalyst by Tegus for free by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Show Notes (00:03:00) - (First question) - Why semiconductors is an interesting industry for Daniel (00:05:45) - An introduction to Entegris and its business (00:07:19) - A look at the chemicals produced for computer chip manufacturing (00:09:39) - A historical look at the importance of chemicals in chipmaking (00:11:45) - The cost of chemicals within a chip (00:13:55) - The backstory as to how Entegris started operating and their competitors  (00:17:03) - How the business has been able to remain so independent (00:21:57) - The stickiness of the business and how they aim to be the partner of choice (00:23:22) - A look at previous execution and any issues that have occurred in the past (00:23:56) - The cyclicality of the semiconductor industry historically (00:25:45) - An overview Entegris’ pricing power and maintaining margin profile (00:28:32) - Operating leverage within the business and how the margin profiles differ between the different segments (00:30:03) - A look at the business’ research and development spend (00:32:01) - How the business has approached mergers and acquisitions over the years (00:34:04) - Whether the business has ever been a target acquisition for a larger player  (00:34:48) - The outlook for Entegris’ revenue growth, expected margin expansion due to operating leverage (00:37:05) - Possible threats to the business from new technology (00:39:04) - A look at other potential risks to Entegris (00:41:18) - Should the industry’s growth slow or even decline how it could affect Entegris  (00:42:46) - How Daniel values the business comparing it to its peer group (00:45:04) - Other risks to the business not mentioned (00:46:00) - The lessons learned from Entegris