Mitsubishi Corporation: A Japanese Trading Company - [Business Breakdowns, EP.156]

This is Zack Fuss. Today we are breaking down the Mitsubishi Corporation. In Japan, the business model of a trading company is prominent. The big five trading companies caught the attention of global investors in 2020, when Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a major stake in all of them: Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Marubeni, and Sumitomo. Today's Berkshire stake is nearly 10%.   I'm joined by Krishna Mohanraj, a Portfolio Manager at Diamond Hill Capital Management. In this episode, we discuss how the rich history of trading houses is steeped in Japanese culture and how each differs from one another. Krishna helps unravel the evolution of stakeholder priorities and how capital allocation policies have changed in the Japanese capital markets. Please enjoy this Breakdown of Mitsubishi Corporation.  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, the only investment research platform built for the investor. With traditional research vendors, the diligence process is slow, fragmented, and expensive. That leaves investors competing on how well they can aggregate data — not on their unique ability to analyze insights and make great investment decisions. Tegus offers an end-to-end platform with all the data you need to get up to speed on a company or market: up-to-the-minute financials, customizable models, management and culture checks, and, of course, our vast and growing library of expert call transcripts. Tegus is changing the world of expert research. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/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 | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt | @domcooke Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns (00:03:12) First Question - Understanding Mitsubishi's Global Impact and Business Model (00:07:12) The Evolution of Mitsubishi and Japanese Trading Houses (00:12:12) Mitsubishi's Investment Case and Market Position (00:15:02) Comparing Mitsubishi with Other Japanese Trading Houses (00:18:22) The Secret to Mitsubishi's Success and Global Network (00:21:16) The Relevance of Berkshire’s Investment in the Japanese Trading Houses (00:26:45) A Cultural Shift in the Orientation of Japanese Businesses Towards Their Shareholders  (00:28:35) Valuing Mitsubishi (00:31:05) Reinvesting in The Business And Reallocating Capital (00:33:02) Mitsubishi’s Unique Management Dynamic (00:38:54) Advantages of the Mitsubishi Group (00:42:44) Lessons Learned from Mitsubishi