Ann: Appen 2020 Full Year results, page-193

You have presented a good bull case @savvyinvestor, but it is also worth examining the flip side/bear case and the likelihood of it playing out. Do you have a good handle on the bear arguments and counterpoints to those?

My high-level thesis for investing in APX, after a long period of skepticism about its business model which caused me to miss it in the single digits prior to the LeapForce acquisition, is the following -

a.) Data is the new oil and only exploding in volume and use cases.
b.) Appen is a “picks and shovels” play on the data revolution, as a clear market leader in data services with top-tier clients.
c.) It has a good history of strong top and bottom-line growth with good returns on capital and cash generation.
d.) The balance sheet is healthy.
e.) There is reasonable insider alignment.

A lot of that still holds regardless of short-term headwinds and bouts of overvaluation, so I am favourably disposed to it.