Planet Microcap Showcase Roundup
Some quick thoughts
Catching Up After Vegas
Still getting caught up from the conference last week in Vegas. It was great to reconnect with fellow investors and spend some in-person time with a range of management teams. The event was high quality—well over 100 companies were present—and I could genuinely see myself owning many of them.
As is often the case with these in-person conferences, I left with more ideas and a handful of new companies to dig into. I figured I’d put some of my thoughts here in case anyone’s interested.
Unfortunately, I had a small hiccup during the event—one of the hotel workers mistakenly thought I had left my binder behind and took it while I was in the restroom. So for about a third of the meetings, I was flying (nearly) blind. I did recover the binder after the conference, but needless to say, I didn’t get quite as much out of the event as I could have.
Huge thanks to Ian, Bobby, and all the behind-the-scenes helpers for pulling it all together. And shoutout to Sean Iddings for taking me to a nearby strength gym—my gains were preserved!
Companies Where I Hold a Full Position
McCoy Global - $MCB.to
Right before the conference MCB announced a very important and validating contract win. The business is performing well and they continue to work towards commercialization of their smart products. The contract was with a large player in the US land market. I have a feeling that other operators will purchase the smarTR hardware (and resulting software) to maintain their competitiveness.
The smarTR products and aftermarket parts now make up more than ever of the consolidated revenue. Both these segments boast high margins, so future profitability should improve. I have them around 4-4.5x EV/2025 EBITDA.
Sangoma Technologies - $STC.to
I sat in on Sangoma’s presentation and came away with a better appreciation for the mid-market migration to the cloud—which is just getting underway. That should be a nice tailwind.
There were several interesting operational tidbits you wouldn’t see in the financials, such as their channel partner base consolidating from over 5,000 to 1,100. The business looks cheap, with low leverage and modest capital requirements. If they can return to growth, things could get interesting. I have them at about 5.5x EV/2025 EBITDA.
Dirtt Environmental - $DRT.to
Every time I worry about DIRTT, I hear CEO Benjamin speak and feel reassured. He strikes me as a strong operator who’s thinking long-term—not just managing quarter to quarter. He gave several examples of strategic levers they can pull as they scale.
Quantifying the tariff impact is tough for me, and I’m not sure how the business performs in the short term. They haven’t revised guidance yet, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they do. I have them at around 6x EV/2025 EBITDA.
Names I Own, Used to Own, or Follow Closely
Biosyent - $RX.v
I’ve owned in the past, well before the COVID era. I always liked the business, but no the valuation given the amount of revenue derived from one product. Seeing them at the conference gave me a new perspective on the business and it’s potential. I am going to catch myself up on the name.
I have them at around 8x EV/2025 EBITDA which is at the lower end of the range historically.
Titan Logix - $TLA.v
TLA is interesting. I have loosely followed it for a few years. I think the set-up here. If they manage to meaningfully break into the refined fuels market, the shares are quite undervalued. Of course, there is some hair on it namely on the large shareholder and their sense of urgency around the large cash pile.
I think TLA is one that the valuation today isn’t nearly as meaningful as what it could be in a few years with the right catalyst.
Covalon - $COV.v
I have followed Covalon for a few years as well. I took notice when they hired a new CEO. He has managed to turn the business around and they have been growing again. I am expecting some lumpiness in the short term, but like what I am seeing with management.
I have them around 11x EV/2025 EBITDA. Things get interesting once they get through the tough comps on the collagen side of the business.
New Companies that I am looking at
Renoworks - $RW.v
This is an interesting set-up. If they can get above 15-20% growth, I think this business is too cheap. Need to better understand the potential.
Tantalus - $GRID.v
This one has shades of OneSoft for me. The customers are somewhat reluctant to switch to newer technology, but once they do it’s very sticky. I can see the launch of their most product TRUSense being a total game changer.
BuildDirect - $BILD.v
Without being exposed to the business, I would have written this one off. I met with the CEO and CFO and was impressed. I like the simplicity of the model here. I need to get comfortable with capital requirements moving forward.
Boardwalktech - $BWLK.v
Plain and simple this one is left for dead. They still have an open financing that is an overhang in the short term. Even with a capital raise, the pro forma market cap is so small for this business. If they manage to land a few larger incremental clients, then I think we get a share price that is multiples of where we are today.
How about you? Did you attend? Any companies you enjoyed? I would love to hear about it.
Thanks for reading my work.
Dean