Customer Strategy
Case studies on customer strategy.
1-800-FLOWERS.COM — How Should Marketing Savings Be Deployed?
1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (FLWS) had prioritized marketing effectiveness and profitability over near-term growth. E-commerce orders fell, even as average order value rose. In parts of the business, contribution economics improved while revenue declined. Read case
3D Systems: Where Should the Next Incremental Dollar Go?
On August 4, 3D Systems announced that CEO Jeffrey Graves would leave the company and retire from its board when a successor was hired. Graves remained CEO during the search, and the company expected to name a successor later in 2026. The successor was not identified. The announcement did not specify a change in strategy. Read case
8x8 Inc.: Scale Usage-Based AI or Defend Recurring Revenue?
At the close of 5 August 2026, 8x8 had reported a quarter in which platform-usage revenue grew quickly while subscription revenue declined and company-wide gross margin fell. The company was also describing higher adoption of AI products, but it did not disclose AI-specific paid revenue or product-level margins. Read case
908 Devices: Commercializing NIRLAB Without Losing Focus
In May 2026, 908 Devices acquired NIRLAB, a Swiss developer of handheld near-infrared (NIR) chemical-analysis tools linked to mobile and cloud software. The acquisition added a new screening method and a subscription-based software offer to 908's handheld portfolio. Three months later, 908 reported second-quarter revenue growth and raised the low end of its 2026 outlook. Read case
A. O. Smith: What Should It Do With Its China Platform?
For decades, A. O. Smith had built a substantial water-heater and water-treatment business in China. The company reported roughly 8,700 points of sale, about 4,200 employees in China, and nearly 30 years of operating presence. Yet demand had weakened. Read case
A10 Networks — Where to Focus Commercial Attention?
A10 Networks entered the second half of 2026 with strong reported growth and a changing revenue mix. First-half revenue was $155.1 million, up 14.5% year over year. Enterprise revenue rose $35.3 million, while service-provider revenue fell $15.7 million. At the same time, one unnamed customer represented 38% of both second-quarter and first-half revenue. Read case
AAR Corp.: Integrating MRO Holdings Without Losing the Operating Edge
On September 28, 2026, AAR Corp. announced a definitive agreement to acquire a 65% controlling interest in MRO Holdings, a heavy airframe maintenance provider. The agreement was signed, but the acquisition had not closed. Closing was expected in AAR’s fiscal third quarter ending February 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Read case
Adobe Inc.: Choosing an Emphasis for the Next AI Cycle
On 22 September 2026, Adobe had just filed its third-quarter Form 10-Q, following its 10 September results announcement. Anil Chakravarthy, appointed president and chief executive officer effective 1 December, was preparing to take the role. Read case
AMD: How Much Capacity Should AMD Commit Before Demand Is Certain?
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) enters the fall of 2026 with accelerating data-center demand, several large customer deployment announcements and substantial existing supply commitments. The company has signed an agreement to acquire AI research company World Labs, pending closing and regulatory/customary conditions. Read case
Aflac Japan: which channel gets the next investment?
By early October 2026, Aflac Japan had restored most of its policyholder website after a June data intrusion. Two online procedures remained unavailable. An agent-assisted online consultation tool had also been suspended, and Aflac had not published a separate restoration status for that tool. Read case
Agilent Technologies: Integrating Biocare—How Fast, and Where?
Nearly three months after completing its acquisition of Biocare Medical, Agilent Technologies had a choice to make about how the two organizations would work together. The deal was closed, and Biocare had joined Agilent’s Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets group. Read case
Air Products’ Louisiana Bet: Commit, Stage, or Stop?
On June 25, 2026, Air Products and Chemicals (APD) faced a consequential choice about its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex (LCEC). The company had described a potential partnership with Yara International that linked APD’s hydrogen production and industrial-gas capabilities with Yara’s ammonia operations and distribution network. Read case
Albemarle: When to Commit at Richburg?
Albemarle had announced a plan to build a lithium hydroxide conversion facility in Chester County, South Carolina. The March 2023 announcement said construction was expected to begin in late 2024. Read case
Alliant Energy: Building Ahead or Waiting for the Next Load?
On August 21, 2026, Alliant Energy's leadership faced a planning question that was growing harder to defer: how much should its operating utilities commit to serve the next wave of large electricity customers, and what evidence should be required before each new commitment? Read case
Alphabet’s next compute allocation
Alphabet’s next infrastructure plan must support two demanding uses of AI compute. Google’s consumer products—including Search, Gemini, and YouTube—need capacity for models, inference, and product improvement. Google Cloud needs capacity to deliver customer workloads, meet commitments, and compete for new enterprise demand. Read case
Ameren Missouri: Advancing West Alton Amid Large-Load Uncertainty
On September 28, 2026, Ameren Missouri filed a new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The 20-year plan responded to a sharply higher forecast of electricity demand from large customers. It also called for a large portfolio of gas-fired generation, solar, storage and nuclear resources, alongside continued demand-side programs and planned coal retirements. Read case
AEP: Planning for a Texas load surge
On July 30, 2026, American Electric Power reported that contracted load growth through 2030 had reached 69 gigawatts (GW), after six GW of new signed agreements in the second quarter. Read case
American Tower — Where Should the India Proceeds Go?
On 30 April 2024, American Tower Corporation (AMT) released first-quarter results before its scheduled 8:30 a.m. earnings call. Its agreement to sell its Indian operating subsidiary remained pending. Read case
American Water: sequencing a regulated growth plan under merger uncertainty
American Water’s September 2026 investor presentation laid out a large standalone growth plan: $17.0–17.5 billion of regulated system investment and $2.0–2.5 billion of regulated acquisitions from 2026 through 2030, or $19–20 billion in total. The longer 2026–2035 plan was $46–48 billion. Read case
Amphenol — Integrating CommScope CCS
Amphenol completed its acquisition of CommScope’s Connectivity and Cable Solutions business on 9 January 2026. Eight months later, the acquisition had materially expanded Communications Solutions, the segment that sells products into communications networks and IT datacom markets. Read case
Applied Materials: Who Gets the First Look?
Applied Materials sells equipment and services used to manufacture semiconductors and displays. Semiconductor manufacturing depends on tightly linked steps: a tool must work with the materials and processes around it, then meet a chipmaker’s yield, throughput, and reliability requirements at production scale. Read case
Aptiv after EDS: setting a pace for capital return
On April 1, Aptiv completed the spin-off of its Electrical Distribution Systems business into Versigent PLC. Aptiv’s Q2 and first-half reporting presents EDS as discontinued operations for all periods, so the figures below describe continuing Aptiv rather than the old company before separation. Read case
Assurant and the Smartphone’s Second Life
On August 3, 2023, Assurant filed its second-quarter report. Global Lifestyle, the segment that includes Connected Living and Global Automotive, had generated more revenue than a year earlier, but its adjusted earnings were lower. Inside Connected Living, mobile subscribers and extended service contracts in North America were growing modestly. Read case
Atmos Energy: How should the next wave of investment be paced?
On August 5, 2026, Atmos Energy reported its third-quarter results and reaffirmed its fiscal-year outlook. The company had a large multiyear investment plan underway. Read case
Autodesk: the last perpetual license?
On 23 March 2016, Autodesk filed its annual report for the fiscal year ended 31 January. Most new perpetual licenses for individual software products had stopped selling on 1 February. A second milestone was four months away: on 1 August, Autodesk planned to stop selling new perpetual licenses for its Design & Creation Suites and affected products. Read case
ADP: Who sets the limits on the payroll agent?
In January 2026, ADP introduced a new set of ADP Assist agents for employees, managers, HR teams, and payroll practitioners. Read case
AutoZone: Where to Put the Next Mile of Growth?
AutoZone had grown through new stores, a commercial program serving professional repair customers, and a network of hubs and mega hubs intended to widen parts availability. International operations were also expanding. The company said it planned higher investment in fiscal 2024, including supply-chain projects and store openings. Read case
Avery Dennison: Investing for Intelligent Labels growth
By September 2024, Avery Dennison had made Intelligent Labels (IL) a central part of its growth story. RFID-enabled labels connect physical products to digital information and can help customers track goods through stores and supply chains. Avery brought materials science, label manufacturing, RFID inlays and tags, and digital solutions to the opportunity. Read case
Axon Enterprise — Scaling the AI Era
Axon’s second-quarter 2026 results showed rapid growth across its connected devices and software businesses. The company reported that AI Era revenue had grown nearly 700% year over year. Yet the release did not provide an absolute AI Era revenue base, product-specific margins, customer usage, or renewal data. Read case
Baker Hughes: governing the Chart integration
On July 16, Baker Hughes completed its acquisition of Chart Industries. Twelve days later, the transaction had become an operating-design question. Baker Hughes had described Chart as a third reporting segment while also targeting shared procurement, support functions, manufacturing practices, engineering and commercial coordination, and lifecycle services. Read case
Ball Corporation: What should come next for Aerospace?
On August 3, 2023, Ball Corporation reported second-quarter results and told investors that it was considering options for its Aerospace business. Management said the options could better position the business to provide value to shareholders and customers. It also emphasized that no formal decision was certain. Read case
Bank of America — The Center and the Screen
On 16 July 2024, Bank of America (BofA) reported second-quarter results alongside continued growth in digital banking. Consumer Banking had 39.0 million active mobile users, and 53% of Consumer Banking sales were through digital channels. The bank also operated 3,786 financial centers. , slide 14. Read case
Baxter and Hillrom: integrating without disrupting care
On Monday, 13 December 2021, Baxter International announced that it had completed its acquisition of Hillrom. Baxter had paid $156 in cash for each Hillrom share, for a purchase price of approximately $10.5 billion based on shares outstanding at closing. Read case
Best Buy — What Should the Next CEO Sequence?
Jason Bonfig was scheduled to become Best Buy’s CEO on November 1, succeeding Corie Barry. The company had recently described four priorities: develop as a retail, media, advertising and technology company; expand its reach; elevate the customer experience; and remain human-powered and customer-focused. Read case
Bio-Techne: Funding the next phase of CGT growth
Bio-Techne had invested in specialized reagents and manufacturing capabilities for cell and gene therapies (CGT), while reporting weak organic growth in its largest segment. It also had a company-wide capital plan and a large future contractual purchase commitment tied to Wilson Wolf. Read case
Block — Should Cash App Local Grow Beyond Its Test?
In the second quarter of 2024, Block began testing Cash App Local with a handful of Square sellers. A customer could order from Cash App and earn cash back after signing up through a seller QR code or at the point of sale. Block said it was starting small as it identified the most compelling offerings. Read case
Booking Holdings — The Rules of the Marketplace
In January 2024, Spain's competition authority, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), notified Booking.com of a draft decision proposing a €486 million fine and restrictions on certain parity provisions and the criteria Booking.com could use to rank hotels. Read case
Broadcom and VMware: How Far Should the Bundle Go?
On December 20, 2024, Broadcom filed its fiscal 2024 annual report. It was the first full fiscal year in which Broadcom’s results included VMware, acquired in November 2023. VMware brought a large infrastructure software business into a company whose other major business was semiconductors. Read case
Brown & Brown — Choosing the First AI Workflows to Scale
On 23 July 2026, Brown & Brown announced that it was moving toward an AI-first enterprise. Its plan included deploying Anthropic’s Claude across approximately 23,000 teammates, working with Anthropic, McKinsey and Accenture, and establishing a value management office (VMO) to monitor adoption, impact, return on investment and controls. Read case
Bunge and Viterra: What Should the Remedy Package Protect?
On 13 June 2023, Bunge and Viterra announced an agreement to combine their global agribusiness operations. Bunge described the businesses as complementary across crops, regions and seasons. Read case
Cadence Design Systems — Integrating BETA CAE
On 3 June 2024, Cadence Design Systems announced that it had completed its acquisition of BETA CAE Systems International AG. Cadence described BETA CAE as a provider of multi-domain engineering simulation and analysis software with a strong automotive footprint and customers in aerospace, industrial, and healthcare. Read case
California Resources: where should the next dollar go?
You are advising a hypothetical CRC capital-allocation team after Carbon TerraVault I (CTV I) began injecting carbon dioxide in May 2026. Read case
California Water Service Group: How Much Revenue Protection Is Enough?
On 17 March 2026, California Water Service Group (Cal Water, NYSE: CWT) told investors that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) had issued a proposed decision in the company's 2024 California general rate case. The Commission had not voted. Read case
Calix: Invest Ahead of the Broadband Buildout?
On 22 July 2024, Calix, Inc. reported second-quarter revenue of $198.1 million, down 24% from a year earlier and 12% sequentially. Revenue EDGE and Intelligent Access EDGE appliance sales had weakened. Yet gross margin had improved, Calix Cloud and managed-service deployments were increasing, and remaining performance obligations (RPO) had grown year over year. Read case
Topgolf Callaway Brands: What Must Be True Before the Spin?
At 4:26 p.m. Eastern on September 4, Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. told investors that its Board intended to pursue a separation of Topgolf. A spin-off of at least 80.1% of Topgolf to shareholders was the most likely route, but the Board was still evaluating alternatives and had not approved final terms. Read case
Camden National: integrating Northway without losing the relationship franchise
On November 7, 2024, Camden National Corporation filed its latest quarterly report. The company had announced its agreement to acquire Northway Financial two months earlier. Both boards had approved the agreement, but the transaction still needed Northway shareholder and regulatory approvals. Read case
Camden Property Trust: when should the next apartment start?
On November 1, 2024, Camden Property Trust's latest quarterly filing described a deliberate pause in four predevelopment projects. Camden had recognized a $41.0 million noncash impairment on three land parcels and said it would stop capitalizing interest and expenses associated with those sites. The filing does not map each impaired parcel to each paused project. Read case
Camping World Holdings: How Much Inventory Is Enough?
Camping World Holdings, Inc. (CWH) entered the second half of 2026 with a difficult retail balance. New RV demand had weakened, but the company said it had continued to gain new-unit share through May. Used-unit sales were growing, yet margins on both new and used vehicles had fallen. Read case
Capital Bancorp: sequencing integration within a disclosed conversion baseline
Capital Bancorp had agreed to be acquired by Peoples Bancorp in an all-stock transaction. Both boards had approved the agreement, but shareholder and regulatory approvals and other closing conditions remained. Management expected the combination to close in the first half of 2027. Read case
Capital City Bank Group: Managing a Deposit-Product Reset
Capital City Bank Group entered the second half of 2026 with two developments moving at once. Loan demand remained selective, so management had used part of the first-half excess liquidity to buy investment securities while continuing to apply disciplined underwriting. Read case
Capital One: How far should the card portfolio travel?
Capital One’s acquisition of Discover created an opportunity to operate a large card issuer and a payments network under one corporate roof. It also created two migration streams that are easy to confuse. One moves Discover-originated accounts onto Capital One technology. The other routes Capital One-branded cards over Discover Network. Read case
Carvana: How long should the return promise last?
Carvana built its retail model around an online transaction. A customer can search a large inventory, inspect annotated photographs and vehicle details, arrange financing, and have the car delivered or pick it up. Carvana says its high-definition virtual tours show the actual vehicle and visible imperfections. Read case
Cboe Global Markets: When Is an Overnight Market Ready?
On 29 May 2026, the SEC approved amended EDGX rules for a 23-hours-per-day, five-days-per-week equity schedule. The approval created a path to overnight trading; it did not itself authorize EDGX to open the new session. Read case
CDW and Sirius: Building the Next Layer of Customer Solutions
In late February 2022, CDW’s leadership had a newly combined business to organize. The company had completed its acquisition of Sirius Computer Solutions on 1 December 2021. Read case
Cencora: When Should Nucleus Scale?
On June 17, 2026, Cencora announced a phased pilot of the next generation of Nucleus, its inventory-management solution for specialty physician practices. The planned pilot spans more than 20 sites. Cencora said it would assess system performance across practice settings and gather feedback. Read case
CF Industries: When Should Blue Point Reach FID?
On February 14, 2024, CF Industries said it and Mitsui had completed a front-end engineering and design study for a proposed low-carbon ammonia plant at Blue Point, Louisiana. The studied design used steam methane reforming (SMR) with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Read case
Charter Communications: What Should Spectrum Sell Next?
On 24 July 2026, Charter Communications reported a split in its consumer connectivity trends. Residential Internet customers were down 510,000 year over year, while residential mobile lines were up approximately 1.6 million. In the quarter, total Internet customers declined by 172,000 and total mobile lines increased by 406,000. Read case
Chipotle — Which Restaurant Formats Should Scale?
At 4:00:10 p.m. Eastern on 4 February 2020, Chipotle Mexican Grill had a few minutes before its scheduled fourth-quarter and full-year results release. Its newly filed 2019 Form 10-K put digital orders at 18% of revenue. Read case
Cintas and UniFirst: Pursue, pause, or walk away?
On January 7, Cintas publicly proposed to acquire UniFirst for $275 per share in cash. The proposal was nonbinding and required a definitive agreement. UniFirst’s board announced that it had unanimously rejected it. Cintas now has to decide whether to continue seeking a combination, pause, or redirect its attention elsewhere. Read case
Cisco’s AI Infrastructure Bet: Where Should It Focus Next?
In late summer 2026, Cisco broadened its AI infrastructure portfolio along two fronts. It announced a rack-scale offer that adds Supermicro compute to its Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA. A few weeks later, it announced an AI POD for Splunk that brings self-managed AI capabilities to customers running on-premises, private-cloud, and air-gapped environments. Read case
Clorox — How Much of Nutranext Should It Integrate?
One month after closing its $700 million acquisition of Nutranext, The Clorox Company faced an implementation choice. Nutranext brought four supplement brands and retail, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. Clorox said it could contribute brand building, innovation, digital marketing and retailer relationships. Read case
Consumers Energy — Reliability at What Pace?
On the morning of 25 April 2024, Consumers Energy CEO Garrick Rochow told investors that the company expected to file its next electric rate case in late May or early June. The filing would include initial spending from the utility's five-year electric Reliability Roadmap. Read case
Coherent Corp. — Sequencing the Datacom Ramp
On 1 March 2024, Coherent’s strategy team is preparing for its next operating review. Read case
Comcast — Where Should the Next Network Dollar Go?
Comcast's U.S. broadband business is investing in a network that combines hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) infrastructure with fiber deployment and line extensions. Fiber providers and wireless carriers are also expanding connectivity offers. At the same time, Comcast continues to report domestic broadband customer losses while its wireless line base grows. Read case
Consolidated Edison: What should CECONY put on the table?
Consolidated Edison Company of New York (CECONY) is negotiating a new rate plan for its Manhattan steam service. A hypothetical CECONY strategy director must advise the company’s negotiating team how to position its investment and revenue request before the proposed November 2026 rate year begins. Read case
Constellation Energy: Governing the Next Wave of Large Loads
Assume you advise Constellation’s board in a hypothetical autumn 2026 policy discussion. Recommend how the company should evaluate future, not-yet-committed large-load proposals near its generation assets. Set approval gates for system reliability, cost allocation, customer flexibility and credit, contract risk, accountable decision-makers, exceptions, and ongoing monitoring. Read case
Corning: Where should optical communications attention go next?
Corning’s Optical Communications business serves two broad groups. Its carrier network products support communications infrastructure for video, data and voice services. Its enterprise network products are optical networks sold to businesses, governments and individuals for their own use. The company sells fiber, cable, hardware and connectivity solutions across these markets.¹ Read case
Corpay: How Far Should the Agent Go?
By early October 2026, Corpay had announced several AI capabilities in Corpay Complete. Its latest release described agents for spend insights, expense creation by voice, and accounting coding. Earlier in the year, it had announced an AI Virtual Assistant and Agent Card, a capability intended to let trusted AI agents create and use virtual cards within payment controls. Read case
CRH and Arcosa: How should integration create value?
CRH plc has agreed to acquire Arcosa, Inc. The shareholder vote is complete, and the companies describe the expected closing period as the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory and other customary conditions. Read case
CrowdStrike — How Far Should Falcon Flex Go?
CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform brought together cloud-delivered cybersecurity and IT modules through a single lightweight agent and cloud console. The company said its architecture allowed customers to begin with selected modules and later add modules or endpoints. CrowdStrike sold subscriptions through a direct sales organization working with channel and technology partners. Read case
CSX Corporation — Intermodal Growth and Service
For this exercise, assume you are advising CSX’s intermodal commercial team at a hypothetical 2024 strategy review. Read case
Cummins: Which Zero-Emissions Path Should Accelera Prioritize?
This case places a hypothetical Cummins team at a strategic crossroads using information available when the company’s Q3 earnings-release 8-K was accepted by the SEC on November 2, 2023, at 7:47:13 a.m. Eastern Time. The case stops before Cummins’ 10:00 a.m. earnings call and later Q3 Form 10-Q filing. Read case
Datadog — How Wide Should the Platform Reach?
Datadog ended the second quarter of 2026 with revenue of $1.121 billion, up 36% from a year earlier. The company also reported about 4,720 customers with annual recurring revenue (ARR) of at least $100,000, up from about 3,850 a year earlier. In its latest annual report, it said customers were using a growing number of products across its observability and security platform. Read case
Deere & Company — Managing the Agricultural Equipment Downturn
Deere & Company entered fiscal 2024 with a mixed picture. Farm conditions had eased from recent record levels, and the company expected lower equipment demand across several major agricultural markets. But the downturn was not uniform. Read case
Dell Technologies — Allocating Scarce Components
Assume a hypothetical Dell operating committee must set rules for next-quarter allocation of scarce memory and other constrained components. The rules will apply across AI servers, traditional servers and networking, and storage, and will govern how customer readiness, order commitment, credit exposure, and supplier commitments affect priority. Read case
Dexcom: Where Should Stelo Begin?
On July 25, 2024, Dexcom reported second-quarter revenue of $1.004 billion, up 15% from a year earlier. U.S. revenue grew 19%. Read case
Digital Realty Trust — How Much Capacity Should DLR Commit?
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) has expanded its development program while demand for data-center capacity is growing and uncertain. A hypothetical investment committee must set the policy for the next wave of commitments: how much capacity should DLR advance toward full construction before customers have signed leases, and what evidence should be required at each step? Read case
Dollar General: Growth, traffic, and the returns question
On August 27, 2026, Dollar General reported second-quarter net sales of $11.29 billion, 5.2% above the year-earlier quarter. Same-store sales rose 3.5%. Customer traffic increased 2.0%, while average transaction amount rose 1.5%. Management attributed the higher transaction amount to higher average retail prices, partly offset by fewer items per transaction. Read case
Dominion Energy Virginia: Flexibility at the Grid Edge
In fall 2026, Virginia Electric and Power Company (Virginia Power), Dominion Energy’s regulated Virginia utility, is preparing a voluntary Large Load Demand Flexibility (LLDF) program petition due to the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) by January 15, 2027. Read case
Domino’s Pizza — Should It Open a New Ordering Channel?
Imagine you are advising Domino’s Pizza, Inc. on 11 July 2023. The company has built a large digital-ordering business and a delivery-and-carryout system operated mostly by franchisees. A third-party marketplace could offer another way for customers to find and order Domino’s. Read case
D.R. Horton: Can the FY25 closing target stay within reach?
D.R. Horton entered fiscal 2025 with an initial target of 90,000–92,000 homebuilding closings. It had closed 89,690 homes in FY2024. The target was therefore a modest increase, but the evidence around demand was mixed: FY2024 net orders rose, cancellations declined, backlog was smaller, and the number of completed unsold homes had increased. Read case
DTE Energy: Building Ahead of a New Load
On July 28, DTE Energy reported that it had invested more than $2.6 billion in its utilities during the first half of 2026. The company said those investments were strengthening its electric and natural-gas infrastructure, improving reliability, and advancing cleaner energy. Read case
Duke Energy — What Evidence Should Accompany a Resource Plan?
Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) and Duke Energy Progress (DEP) filed a new Carolinas resource plan on October 1, 2025. Assume you are advising a hypothetical joint DEC/DEP strategy team preparing to present the filing to regulators and customers. Read case
EchoStar — Financing the 5G Build
On August 9, 2024, EchoStar published results for the first half of the year and filed its quarterly report. The company was investing in a nationwide 5G network while using wholesale networks to serve most wireless customers. It had regulatory buildout deadlines less than a year away, a large debt maturity in November and much less cash than it held at year-end. Read case
Ecolab — Integrating CoolIT
On 2 July 2026, Ecolab completed its approximately $4.75 billion cash acquisition of CoolIT Systems, a supplier of coolant distribution units (CDUs), cold plates and direct-to-chip cooling systems for data centers. Ecolab said it planned to introduce a combined platform at SC26 in November: CoolIT hardware alongside Ecolab's 3D TRASAR digital optimization and cooling fluids. Read case
Edison International — SCE’s Next Wildfire-Mitigation Priorities
On March 1, 2024, a hypothetical planning group at Southern California Edison (SCE) is asked to prepare a recommendation for the next cycle of wildfire-risk mitigation. SCE already has an approved 2023–25 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP), and it reported that it exceeded its 2023 covered-conductor target. Read case
Elevance Health: Renew, rebuild, or retreat in Medicaid?
On August 3, Elevance Health's strategy team is preparing a recommendation for a hypothetical leadership review of its Medicaid business. The question is not whether public health insurance matters to Elevance: the company serves millions of Medicaid members, and state contracts connect its health plans with a broad provider and community network. Read case
EMCOR Group: What Does the Backlog Say?
EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE: EME) installs, renovates and maintains electrical and mechanical systems in commercial, industrial and institutional facilities. On July 30, 2026, the company reported record second-quarter revenue and operating income, alongside a record $17.1 billion of remaining performance obligations (RPO). Read case
Entergy Louisiana: Power for growth, or flexibility for the future?
In fall 2026, Entergy Louisiana, LLC (ELL) is seeking Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) approval to build two large gas-fired power stations and recover eligible costs from customers. The plants would take years to complete. The utility argues that its system needs more dispatchable capacity as demand grows and older resources retire. Read case
Equifax: What comes after the cloud?
Equifax had spent several years rebuilding its technology infrastructure. The company described the Equifax Cloud as a multi-year investment of more than $1.5 billion. Its aim was to move applications and data to a new architecture, then use that platform to improve reliability, bring products to market faster and make better use of its data and analytics. Read case
Equinix: Where should the next capacity dollar go?
Equinix has to serve two related but different markets. Its IBX data centers sell retail colocation and interconnection to a broad customer ecosystem. Its xScale facilities are designed for core deployments by a targeted group of hyperscale customers. A hyperscaler can use both, but the company’s disclosures do not show how much value one product creates for the other. Read case
Erie Indemnity: Setting the Next Management Fee
Erie Indemnity Company occupies an unusual position in the insurance business. It is a publicly traded stock company and attorney-in-fact for the subscribers of Erie Insurance Exchange. The Exchange writes insurance and is Indemnity’s sole customer. Read case
Evergy: How Much Capacity Should the Utility Build Ahead of Demand?
On September 16, Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. issued $350 million of 5.600% first-mortgage bonds due 2034. The filing was made jointly under Evergy, Inc.’s SEC reporting umbrella, but Kansas Central—not the holding company—was the bond issuer and secured obligor. Read case
Everpure: Funding the Next Growth Vectors
On September 23, Everpure set out a broader growth plan for the years ahead. Management described four vectors: Core and Core AI; Modern Data Software; Scale AI; and Hyperscale Solutions. The company said the newer vectors were expected to contribute about 20% of revenue by fiscal 2030 and offered a preliminary fiscal 2028 outlook. Read case
EverQuote: Reinvest, Wait, or Diversify?
After a sharp retrenchment, EverQuote was seeing early signs that auto insurers were returning to customer acquisition. EverQuote's first-quarter results beat its guidance, and a larger marketplace competitor had just reported a sharp re-ramp in auto-insurance carrier spending. Read case
Everspin Technologies: Where to Place the Next Commercialization Dollar?
Everspin released its FY2024 results on 26 February 2025; it filed its FY2024 Form 10-K the next day, on 27 February. The company had two visible product-development paths. Its 28nm xSPI STT-MRAM family served industrial and embedded applications; its 1Gb DDR4 STT-MRAM was selected for IBM's FlashCore Module 4, a data-storage system. Read case
EVERTEC: Pacing Repurchases After Sinqia
On March 7, 2024, EVERTEC had $150 million of repurchase authorization remaining after agreeing the previous day to a $70 million ASR. The authorization allowed repurchases through December 31, 2025, subject to business opportunities and other factors. It did not require the company to repurchase the full amount, nor did it establish that $150 million was set aside as cash. Read case
EVgo: Pacing the Fast-Charging Buildout
On 12 November 2024, EVgo reported third-quarter results and filed its quarterly report. Its latest operating measures showed a network growing quickly: Q3 revenue was $67.5 million, network throughput was 78 gigawatt-hours, and the company added more than 270 operational stalls. Read case
Evolv — Supporting Customers Under a New Constraint
On 23 January 2025, Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. issued a business update while a court-entered order gave a defined group of school customers a temporary right to cancel their Evolv Express contracts. The company said no eligible customer had exercised the right as of that date and that the “vast majority” of those rights were scheduled to expire by 14 March. Read case
BGE Case 9888: Defending Reliability While Addressing Affordability
On July 30, 2026, Exelon’s second-quarter filing listed a major Maryland proceeding for its subsidiary Baltimore Gas and Electric. BGE had submitted an application to adjust its electric base rates on July 2. It asked the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve a $156.1 million electric revenue deficiency, based on the 12 months ended March 31, 2026. Read case
Expand Energy: Integrating a Gas-Marketing Platform
Expand Energy completed its acquisition of Twin Eagle Holdings, N.A., LLC on September 16, 2026. The close release also said Dan Turco would serve as EVP of Commercial Activities, focus on LNG, and assist with gas-marketing integration. Read case
Expedia Group — How Broad Should One Key Be?
Imagine you are advising Expedia Group’s consumer-business leadership on 10 February 2023. The company has said it plans to launch One Key in 2023, bringing together loyalty programs across its travel brands. Read case
Expeditors: Automating Customs Without Automating Accountability
In June 2026, Expeditors reorganized Global Technology. By August, management was describing a smaller, more modern technology organization with continuing investment in AI and technology. A hypothetical strategy team is now asked to recommend how the company should scale AI and workflow automation in customs brokerage. Read case
F5: How should it commercialize NGINX One?
F5 announced general availability of NGINX One on 17 September 2024. The cloud console is designed to manage F5 NGINX instances and NGINX Open Source through one interface. F5 described visibility, policy and patch-management features, with security and optimization capabilities and integration with F5 Distributed Cloud Services. Read case
Fastenal: Where should the next increment of capacity go?
Fastenal began as a fastener distributor and grew into a North American and international industrial-supply network. At year-end 2025, the company reported 1,595 branches in 25 countries, 15 North American distribution centers, additional centers in Asia and Europe, and 24,489 employees. Read case
FedEx: The Next Network 2.0 Wave
In October 2026, FedEx’s U.S. parcel-network leaders must set the pace and market-selection rules for the next phase of Network 2.0. The company has said it expects to complete the U.S. implementation by the end of calendar 2027. Read case
Fifth Third Bancorp: When should the next Texas branches open?
On September 15, Fifth Third Bancorp said it planned to open 150 branches in Texas by 2029 and had identified more than 100 potential locations. Management described the initiative as applying a Southeast growth playbook to Comerica's established Texas franchise. The company characterized the initial marketing response as strong. Read case
FirstEnergy — Governing the Grid Investment Plan
FirstEnergy's leadership had presented Energize365 as a five-year plan for approximately $26 billion of transmission and distribution investment from 2024 through 2028. The company said the program would improve reliability and resilience, modernize the grid, support changing energy needs and provide customer value. Read case
Fiserv: Where should Clover grow next?
Fiserv has reported rapid growth in Clover, its cloud-based point-of-sale and integrated-commerce platform for small and midsize businesses. Read case
Ford Motor Company: Sequencing the Reset
Ford's July 2026 results carried two messages. The company reported stronger adjusted operating earnings than a year earlier and raised its full-year outlook. Ford Model e, however, still reported a substantial quarterly loss. At the same time, a large charge from unwinding a battery joint venture weighed on GAAP results. Read case
Fortinet: Where Should the Platform Stop?
Fortinet's public filings and product announcements describe a company extending a common security platform in two directions. The first ties network security and secure access more tightly together. The second brings security operations into a cloud-delivered, AI-enabled console. Read case
Garmin: Integrating Coach-Led Training Platforms
On July 22, 2026, Garmin announced that it had acquired TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic, platforms serving endurance and strength athletes and coaches. Garmin said the products would expand access to coach-led training experiences and that 120 associates would join the company. The announcement did not disclose financial terms, acquired-platform results, or a product roadmap. Read case
Gartner, Inc. — Where to Focus Research Attention?
Gartner sells research and advisory subscriptions, hosts conferences, and provides consulting. Its Research segment supports technology users and providers through Global Technology Sales (GTS), and other business functions through Global Business Sales (GBS). Read case
GE Vernova: How fast should Stafford scale?
GE Vernova is planning capacity investments as demand for its Electrification products grows. One visible commitment is at its Stafford, UK facilities, which make high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transformers and valves. GE Vernova has announced a new valve line and a plan to nearly double capacity. Read case
Gen Digital: One Platform or a Portfolio of Trusted Products?
Gen Digital had spent years protecting consumers’ devices, identities, and privacy through brands such as Norton, Avast, and LifeLock. In 2025 it added MoneyLion, a personal-finance platform, marketplace, and set of first-party financial products. Management’s direction was to connect cyber safety and financial wellness as one broader consumer need. Read case
Generac: how fast to build for large-MW demand?
Generac Holdings had entered a new scale of power generation. Its large-megawatt (large-MW) diesel generators, packaging capabilities and service offer were aimed at data centers and other critical-infrastructure customers. In July, the company reported a $1.6 billion data-center product backlog. Read case
General Dynamics: Backlog Is Not Delivery
On July 29, General Dynamics reported second-quarter revenue of $14.1 billion, up 8.1% year over year, and diluted earnings per share of $4.24, up 13.4%. Operating margin expanded 40 basis points to 10.4%. The company also reported a record $136.5 billion backlog and a 1.4-to-1 company-wide book-to-bill ratio. Read case
General Motors: Which Road to Electrification?
In late January 2024, General Motors (GM) was investing in a broad battery-electric vehicle (BEV) portfolio and its Ultium architecture while continuing to sell what the company described as profitable internal-combustion trucks and SUVs. Its public strategy emphasized an all-electric future. Read case
Genuine Parts Company — Sequencing the Separation
On September 9, Genuine Parts Company (GPC) announced leadership plans for its intended separation of Automotive and Industrial into two public companies. Court Carruthers was named CEO-elect of Automotive, which is expected to retain the GPC name; he would take office at completion. Read case
Global Payments: Integrating for Scale Without Losing the Fit
On Monday, January 12, Global Payments announced that it had completed its acquisition of Worldpay and the sale of its Issuer Solutions business to FIS. The transactions had legally closed three days earlier, on January 9. Read case
Globe Life: How fast should AIL grow?
Globe Life had just reported another quarter of growth at American Income Life (AIL), its largest life-insurance distribution channel. On April 11, Globe Life issued a response to public allegations about AIL sales practices, calling them misleading and unsubstantiated and saying it intended to provide a fuller rebuttal. Read case
GoDaddy — Where Should Airo Sit?
GoDaddy's Airo product was expanding from AI-assisted website creation into a broader set of tools for small businesses. On July 30, 2026, the company reported a $50 million annualized bookings run rate for Airo, five times the $10 million figure it had reported one quarter earlier. Read case
Halliburton: Choosing where to scale next
Halliburton serves oil and gas producers across the life of a reservoir, from subsurface analysis and drilling through completion, intervention, and production. The company operates in more than 70 countries with over 46,000 employees. Its reported businesses span two segments: Completion and Production (C&P), and Drilling and Evaluation (D&E). Read case
Hasbro: Turning a Crossover into a Community
In July, Wizards of the Coast announced that Magic: The Gathering’s 2027 schedule would alternate three Magic Multiverse sets with three Universes Beyond sets. The slate and its release windows were public. The open management question for this case is what go-to-market support should surround those releases—and what evidence should guide additional spending and attention. Read case
Henry Schein after the cyber disruption
On February 29, 2024, Henry Schein’s leadership had a company with its distribution systems restored, customers still expecting dependable deliveries, and a growth plan that depended on technology and value-added services. The October 2023 cyber incident had interrupted important operations and affected earnings. Read case
Hewlett Packard Enterprise: How much AI demand should supply chain commit to?
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) had just reported record quarterly revenue and record AI-systems revenue. The results also showed how difficult it could be to convert interest into durable orders: during the quarter HPE booked approximately $1.2 billion in AI-systems orders, then removed a $700 million order over concern about a specific customer. Read case
Home Depot — Building the Pro Ecosystem
You are an outside strategy adviser preparing a memo for an investment committee. The committee wants to assess the strategic logic behind Home Depot's expansion into specialty distribution for professional contractors (“Pros”). It is not asking for a stock-price target or a financial model. Read case
Howmet Aerospace: How fast should capacity commitments move?
Howmet Aerospace entered autumn 2026 with strong demand signals in commercial aerospace and gas turbines. In the first half, reported commercial-aerospace revenue was $2.574 billion, up from $2.076 billion a year earlier; gas-turbine revenue was $605 million, compared with $437 million. Read case
HP Inc.: Sequencing the AI-PC Portfolio
On March 1, 2024, a hypothetical HP product strategy team is preparing for the next stage of its PC roadmap. HP has introduced its first laptops using Intel Core Ultra processors and says additional products with silicon and software partners will come in the following quarters. Read case
Huntington Ingalls Industries: capacity before volume
At the July 30, 2026 cutoff, a hypothetical NNS leadership team faced a strategic implementation question. The Navy had just placed additional Block VI Virginia-class and Build II Columbia-class work into a long production horizon. Read case
Illinois Tool Works: Scaling Customer-Back Innovation
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has spent years using its 80/20 Front-to-Back approach to simplify product lines and focus on important customers and products. The company’s current Enterprise Strategy places greater emphasis on organic growth and Customer-Back Innovation (CBI): identifying customers’ important problems and developing solutions starting from those needs. Read case
Ingersoll Rand — How Should Lone Star Be Integrated?
Ingersoll Rand has added Lone Star Blower, doing business as Lone Star Turbo, to its Industrial Technologies and Services (IT&S) segment. The two businesses have complementary-looking products and services: Lone Star makes engineered blower and compressor systems and controls, and has application-engineering, service, and rental capabilities. Read case
Insulet Corporation — Sequencing Omnipod 5’s Next Releases
Insulet’s Omnipod 5 is a tubeless automated insulin delivery (AID) system that works with compatible continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). Users can select among compatible sensors; availability depends on regulatory clearance, launch timing and local access. Insulet describes its system as combining a pod, controller or compatible smartphone, and CGM. Read case
Interactive Brokers Group — What Is Cash Worth?
On 16 April 2024, Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR) reported first-quarter net interest income of $747 million, up 17% from a year earlier. It also reported $104.9 billion in customer credit balances, 2.75 million customer accounts, and $465.9 billion in customer equity. Read case
IBM: integrating HashiCorp without narrowing the ecosystem
IBM had completed its acquisition of HashiCorp in February 2025. The strategic logic was broad: combine IBM's hybrid-cloud portfolio and enterprise reach with HashiCorp's infrastructure automation and security products. Public statements pointed to potential connections between Terraform and Ansible, and between Vault and Red Hat OpenShift. Read case
International Flavors & Fragrances: Where Should Shared Capabilities Live?
On August 4, 2026, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) reported its second-quarter results and described a company with a changing portfolio. The company had sold its Pharma Solutions and Nitrocellulose businesses in May 2025. It had completed the sale of Soy Crush, Concentrates & Lecithin (SCL) in March 2026. Read case
International Paper: How Far Should the Company Go for DS Smith?
On March 27, 2024, an executive working group at International Paper (IP) must advise whether to keep negotiating with DS Smith and prepare a firm offer, subject to a maximum exchange ratio and specific diligence gates, or to end discussions and pursue IP’s standalone operating and capital-allocation plan. Read case
Intuit: How Much Should the Agent Do?
Intuit’s strategy is to build an AI-driven expert platform for consumers, businesses and accountants. Its FY2026 Form 10-K describes combining company data, AI, domain expertise and a network of AI-enabled human experts to provide recommendations and complete tasks. Read case
Intuitive Surgical — Who Gets the First da Vinci 5 Systems?
Intuitive Surgical ended 2023 with a da Vinci installed base of approximately 8,606 systems across hospitals worldwide. Those systems supported approximately 2.286 million procedures during the year, up 22% from 2022. The company placed 1,370 da Vinci systems in 2023: 666 in the United States and 704 outside it. Read case
Strategy Case: IQVIA — Connecting Data and Clinical Research
Suppose IQVIA’s corporate strategy team is asked to advise its executive leadership on the next planning cycle. Should the company keep decision-making and accountability mainly within its three business segments, coordinate selected customer opportunities across them, or prioritize a broader integrated platform model? Read case
Iron Mountain: How much data-center capacity should it commit next?
Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM) built its business around storing and managing physical and digital information. Its global data-center business had become an increasingly visible growth platform. Read case
Jabil — Staging an India AI Infrastructure Alliance
On 15 June 2026, Jabil and Adani Enterprises announced their intent to form a strategic alliance for an AI and data-center infrastructure manufacturing platform in India. The release described broad product ambitions, from AI racks and servers to power and cooling equipment. It also said definitive operating frameworks and formal documentation were still in progress. Read case
J.B. Hunt: Where Should the Next Intermodal Mile Go?
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (J.B. Hunt) enters its FY2027 planning cycle with a strong second quarter in Intermodal (JBI), especially in its Eastern network. Read case
JBT Marel: Where Should Integration Attention Go?
On 18 August 2026, JBT Marel's leadership team faced a resource-allocation problem that the headline synergy target could not answer by itself. The company had combined JBT and Marel to offer customers a wider set of food-processing technologies and to capture cost savings. Read case
JFrog — How Fast Should Cloud Grow?
JFrog’s software-supply-chain platform was growing, and its hosted cloud business was growing faster by the company’s reported cloud metric. The company also continued to offer self-managed software for customers running workloads in public cloud, private cloud, on-premise, or hybrid environments. Read case
John Marshall Bancorp and Eagle Financial Services — Integrating Two Community Banks
On 8 September 2026, John Marshall Bancorp and Eagle Financial Services announced that they had signed an all-stock merger agreement. At the cutoff, both shareholder votes and required regulatory approvals remained outstanding; the companies expected a close in early Q1 2027, subject to conditions. The transaction had not closed. Read case
Johnson Controls: Governing the Next Stage of AI Building Controls
Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) had made two public moves in 2026: it acquired Nantum AI, then launched new AI capabilities in OpenBlue, its digital building ecosystem. Energy & Comfort Intelligence (ECI), powered by Nantum, was intended to optimize air circulation across air-handling units, fans and related systems. Read case
Johnson Outdoors — Planning for the Next Season
The fiscal year had just ended, but Johnson Outdoors had not yet reported its fourth-quarter or full-year results . The latest operating figures available were for the three and nine months ended 3 July 2026. Sales differed across the company’s three segments: Fishing and Diving were higher year over year, while Camping & Watercraft Recreation was lower. Read case
KeyCorp — Where to Focus Relationship-Building Effort?
Imagine joining KeyCorp’s strategy team at the start of March 2024. The team is preparing its next review of customer and deposit priorities. Read case
Keysight Technologies: Connecting the Portfolio
On September 19, 2024, Keysight Technologies announced an agreement to acquire Synopsys' Optical Solutions Group, adding optical design and simulation software to a portfolio already expanding through acquisitions. Read case
Kinder Morgan’s Conditional Capital: When Should Approval Become Commitment?
At 4:29 p.m. Eastern on July 22, Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) had just released second-quarter results. Its 4:30 p.m. earnings webcast had not yet begun. The release reported that the board had given contingent approval to nearly $400 million of projects, which were not yet included in the company’s committed project backlog. Read case
The Kroger Co. — Where Should the Next Customer Dollar Go?
Imagine you advise Kroger’s leadership as it plans its next annual cycle of customer-value investment. By the close of 8 December 2023, the company had reported a mixed third quarter: identical sales excluding fuel declined, digital sales grew, and management described margin support from Our Brands and sourcing alongside the cost of price investment. Read case
Lam Research: funding the next process inflection
Lam Research has spent decades building expertise in deposition, etch, clean and related wafer-fabrication processes. On October 23, 2024, the company reported a second consecutive quarter of revenue growth and told investors it expected wafer-fabrication-equipment spending to rise in calendar 2025. Read case
Leidos — How Much Integration Is Enough?
On March 27, 2026, Leidos completed its $2.4 billion cash acquisition of ENTRUST Solutions Group (Entrust), a provider of infrastructure design, grid modernization and program-management services primarily to electric, gas and pipeline utilities. Leidos said the acquisition added more than 3,100 professionals and effectively doubled its energy-infrastructure presence. Read case
Linde’s Next Hydrogen Gate: Preserve the Option or Wait?
On the afternoon of October 31, Linde’s strategy committee must decide how to handle a possible next stage of its relationship with Dow’s Path2Zero project in Alberta, Canada. Linde signed a long-term supply agreement for Phase 1 and announced an investment exceeding $2 billion in a new industrial-gas complex. Read case
Lowe’s: Sequencing Customer and Omnichannel Investments
On March 1, 2024, Lowe’s leadership team is preparing its next operating review. The latest results show pressure across the home improvement market, while the company continues investments intended to serve both do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers and professional (Pro) customers. Read case
Lumentum: How Much Capacity Before the Orders?
On February 8, 2024, Lumentum's leadership team had a capacity question to resolve. The company had announced production lines in Thailand for advanced datacom transceivers, including 800G and 1.6T products. Management described strong AI-data-center bandwidth demand, traction on new transceiver opportunities and a planned summer capacity ramp. Read case
M&T Bank: Who should own the New England growth agenda?
M&T Bank Corporation entered the second half of 2026 with two priorities on its agenda. Its July investor presentation called for “Operational Excellence”: scalable infrastructure, consistent client experiences, efficiency, and maintained quality and risk standards. Read case
Marathon Petroleum: How should it manage renewable diesel?
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) entered the second half of 2026 with renewable-diesel production, joint ventures, feedstock operations and long-standing refining and midstream businesses. Its latest filing presented a striking year-over-year improvement in Renewable Diesel segment results. MPC attributed much of the improvement to higher regulatory-credit values. Read case
Marriott Bonvoy: Where Should the Next Loyalty Dollar Go?
Marriott International had built a global lodging system around brands, hotel owners and franchisees, and a large loyalty program. As the company entered its next planning cycle, one strategic question remained difficult: where would the next increment of Bonvoy investment create the most value? Read case
Masco Corporation: Where Should Enterprise Commercial Capability Go?
Masco has created an enterprise Chief Marketing Officer role spanning marketing, commercial excellence, digital acceleration, and customer capabilities. Read case
Mastercard: Choosing Where to Extend the Network
On March 1, 2024, Mastercard’s strategy team is preparing for its next planning cycle. The network is growing, services revenue is growing faster than the core payment-network line, and policy proposals could change routing or issuer economics. Read case
Where Should McCormick Place Its Next Growth Bets?
At 4:37 p.m. Eastern Time on January 23, 2025, McCormick & Company filed its fiscal 2024 Form 10-K. The company had reported its year-end results earlier that day and had issued its outlook for 2025. Read case
McDonald’s: Making value visible across a franchised system
McDonald’s had a value question to answer. On April 30, the company reported U.S. comparable sales growth of 2.5% for the first quarter, down from 12.6% in the year-earlier quarter. Results remained positive, but the growth rate had slowed. Read case
Case: McKesson and the next step for Medical-Surgical Solutions
McKesson Corporation is a large health care services and distribution company. In fiscal 2026, it reported four operating segments: North American Pharmaceutical; Oncology & Multispecialty; Prescription Technology Solutions; and Medical-Surgical Solutions (MMS). McKesson announced that it intended to separate MMS into an independent company. Read case
Medtronic: How Fast Should Hugo Go?
On September 1, Medtronic announced a roughly $700 million investment and strategic partnership with Cornerstone Robotics. The agreement covered staged funding and rights to distribute Cornerstone’s Sentire robotic system in selected markets outside the United States. Medtronic described Sentire as complementary to Hugo, its own robotic-assisted surgery system. Read case
MetLife: Reaching the Sponsor, the Adviser, and the Employee
MetLife’s New Frontier strategy names Group Benefits as a growth priority. In its 2025 Form 10-K, the company said employers have been emphasizing voluntary products and that it had increased communication and marketing to employees to foster sales. Read case
Mettler-Toledo — Keeping Precision in Motion
On 8 February 2024, Mettler-Toledo reported that fourth-quarter sales had been affected by approximately $58 million of shipping delays “with a new external European logistics service provider.” Management expected the delayed sales to be largely recovered in the first quarter of 2024. Read case
Micron Technology: Where to Place the Next Memory Dollar?
On December 18, 2024, Micron Technology reported record quarterly revenue. Its data-center business had become a larger part of the company, and its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products were part of the hardware supporting artificial-intelligence computing. Read case
Microsoft: Where Should the Next AI Capacity Go?
On April 25, 2024, Microsoft reported another quarter of strong cloud growth while describing a constraint that complicated its next infrastructure decisions. Azure and other cloud services grew 31% year over year. Management attributed seven percentage points of that growth to AI services and described the other 24 points as core Azure. Read case
Monolithic Power Systems: The Next Power Roadmap
Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) designs semiconductor-based power electronics. It is a fabless company: outside suppliers manufacture, assemble, and test its products, while MPS focuses on design, engineering, system knowledge, integration, and packaging. Its leadership has described a continuing shift from a chip-only supplier toward a full-solution provider. Read case
Monster Beverage: Where should Bang fit?
On February 28, 2024, Monster Beverage reported its 2023 results. The company had acquired substantially all of Bang Energy’s assets seven months earlier. The acquisition added a recognizable energy-drink brand and a Phoenix production facility to a company whose energy-drink portfolio already included Monster and Reign. Read case
Moody’s Corporation: Where Should AI’s Customer Interface Live?
Moody’s combines a credit-ratings business with Moody’s Analytics (MA), which sells data, research, software and financial workflows. MA was investing in generative AI across its own applications and customer systems, while also making Moody’s information and analytical tools available through technology partners. Read case
Morgan Stanley: Retaining Workplace Stock-Plan Assets After Vesting
On March 1, 2024, Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management leadership is reviewing how to serve employees whose company stock awards vest. The company reported that its workplace-channel vested-asset retention rate was 29% in 2023, down from 34% in 2022 but above 24% in 2021. Read case
Nasdaq — One Nasdaq, Many Buyers?
Nasdaq had set a target: at least $100 million in Financial Technology cross-sell run-rate revenue by year-end 2027. At its February 2026 Investor Day, the company said it had completed 42 Financial Technology cross-sells since the Adenza acquisition. Read case
NetApp: Is an AI-Ready Data Platform Producing Durable Growth?
On September 2, NetApp reported revenue of $2.025 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 30% from the year-earlier quarter. Product revenue rose 51%, all-flash revenue increased 47%, and Public Cloud revenue rose 28%. The company also raised its full-year outlook. Read case
Netflix: Building Both Sides of the Ad-Supported Plan
At 1:05 p.m. Pacific Time on January 23, 2024, Netflix's Q4 shareholder letter had been available for only a few minutes. It showed that the company's advertising-supported plan was gaining members quickly. Read case
News Corp: Streaming Growth, Sports Rights, and a New Hub
In November 2024, News Corporation was reporting growth in its Australian streaming services even as its residential broadcast base continued to decline. Kayo and BINGE were adding subscribers and revenue. At the same time, the company reported higher sports-rights and production costs, and Hubbl—a recently launched content aggregation product—was adding expense. Read case
NextEra Energy: Making the Virginia Promise Measurable
On October 2, NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy faced the next stage of review for their proposed combination. Shareholders of both companies had approved the transaction proposals on September 3. The approvals cleared an important step, but the merger remained subject to regulatory clearances and other closing conditions. Read case
Nordson Corporation: How Much Integration Should ARAG Have?
Nordson had completed a major acquisition nine months earlier. ARAG, an Italian supplier of precision controls and smart fluid components for agricultural spraying, now sat within Nordson’s Industrial Precision Solutions (IPS) segment. The acquisition added a distinct product portfolio and agricultural customer base. Read case
Norfolk Southern: Run the railroad, prepare for a merger—or both?
On August 4, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) was operating its eastern U.S. freight railroad while a proposed acquisition by Union Pacific (UP) remained before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The STB had accepted the revised application for consideration in May but paused the proceeding and its environmental review while requiring supplemental information. Read case
NRG Energy: Who Pays for the Next Megawatt?
In August 2026, NRG Energy said it had aligned with a large cloud and AI customer on principal commercial terms for a proposed 1.2-gigawatt (GW) combined-cycle gas plant in Texas. The company called the arrangement “Bring Your Own Power” (BYOP): a customer-backed approach to adding generation alongside a large new load. Read case
NVIDIA: Where Should NVLink Fusion Draw the Platform Boundary?
NVIDIA has announced a way for partners and customers to connect custom compute silicon to NVLink and NVIDIA rack-scale systems. It has also expanded its relationship with Marvell and invested $2 billion in the company. Read case
O’Reilly Automotive: Where should the next stores go?
On April 24, 2024, O’Reilly Automotive reported first-quarter comparable-store sales growth of 3.4%, following 10.8% in the year-earlier quarter. The company reaffirmed its plan to open 190–200 net new stores during 2024. Read case
Omnicell: Connecting the Pharmacy—at What Pace?
On December 12, 2024, Omnicell's leadership team was closing out the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting in New Orleans. Three days earlier, the company had announced OmniSphere, a cloud-native workflow engine and data platform intended to connect its automation and medication-management products. Read case
On Holding: Where should the next growth franc go?
At 12:30 p.m. in Zurich on 12 March 2024, a hypothetical member of On Holding AG's leadership team is preparing for the company's scheduled U.S. results call. On's 2023 annual report and full-year results release are public. Read case
onsemi: How fast to scale silicon-carbide capacity?
By 6 February 2024, ON Semiconductor Corporation (onsemi) had published its 2023 results and annual report. The company had reported a fourfold year-over-year increase in silicon-carbide (SiC) revenue, record automotive revenue, and more than $1.5 billion of capital expenditures in 2023. Read case
ONE Gas: timing a capital plan under different rules
ONE Gas plans to invest about $4.3 billion from 2026 through 2030 in its natural-gas distribution systems. About $2.5 billion is assigned to system integrity and replacement, and about $1.2 billion to growth. The remaining amount covers other categories and costs described in the company’s plan. Read case
One Stop Systems — From Design-In to Delivery
One Stop Systems, Inc. (OSS) designs and manufactures rugged, high-performance computing, switching, and storage systems for edge applications such as sensor processing, autonomy, and AI. Its products operate in demanding environments on aircraft, ships, vehicles, and mobile command systems, as well as in commercial applications. , Note 1, lines 525–533; MD&A, lines 1068–1076. Read case
OneWater Marine — Stocking for a Softer Season
At 30 June 2026, OneWater Marine had $485.5 million of inventory and $68.7 million of unrestricted cash. The late-July Q3 release showed a mixed picture: reported revenue and same-store sales declined, while gross margin and operating income improved. Read case
Onterris: A Review Without a Bid
On August 5, Onterris, Inc. announced a Board-led strategic review. The review covers the company’s business, portfolio, capital allocation, long-range plan and strategic alternatives. Read case
Onto Innovation: Turning a Strategic Stake into a Product
On August 10, Onto Innovation completed its purchase of a 27% minority stake in Rigaku Holdings Corporation for approximately $720 million. Onto had announced the purchase in April at an estimated $710 million, alongside a collaboration to combine Rigaku’s X-ray measurement platform with Onto’s analytics software. Read case
Oracle: Turning AI cloud commitments into durable returns
On September 11, 2026, Oracle filed its first-quarter report for fiscal 2027. The quarter ended August 31. The filings and earnings release showed a cloud business growing quickly, a record book of remaining performance obligations, and an expanding infrastructure base. Read case
PACCAR: How Fast Should the Line Run?
PACCAR's executive team is preparing its hypothetical FY2027 North American Class 8 production plan. Orders have strengthened, freight rates have improved, and management says most 2026 build slots are full. Read case
Palantir: Where Should the Next Deployment Team Go?
Palantir Technologies has two large, fast-growing customer markets. U.S. commercial revenue is accelerating amid customer interest in its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), while government programs continue to account for slightly more than half of company revenue. Read case
Palo Alto Networks: Sequencing Platform Adoption
On March 1, 2024, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) has recently announced an accelerated platformization and consolidation strategy. The company has described three platforms—Network Security, Cloud Security and Security Operations—and says customers can consolidate products across them. Read case
Paychex: How far should the platforms converge?
In early August 2026, Paychex had completed its acquisition of Paycor and was reporting strong growth. It also described three proprietary HCM platforms—SurePayroll, Paychex Flex and Paycor—designed for different customer needs. The integration question was no longer only whether the acquisition could add scale. Read case
PayPal: giving the new businesses room to move
On April 29, PayPal announced three businesses intended to sharpen accountability and speed execution. By the morning after its second-quarter results, the structure was public, but the operating rules were not. Read case
PG&E: Choosing the Next Wildfire-Risk Mitigation Tranche
Assume you advise a hypothetical PG&E strategy team planning its next tranche of distribution wildfire-risk mitigation. Recommend how the team should prioritize work among (1) undergrounding selected high-risk circuit segments, (2) overhead hardening such as covered conductor and stronger poles, and (3) operational measures such as EPSS, PSPS, detection and monitoring. Read case
Pinnacle West — Buying Time, Capacity, and Flexibility
On 26 February 2025, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW) had just filed its FY2024 Form 10-K. Its Arizona Public Service subsidiary (APS) had received proposals in a new all-source resource solicitation. APS sought at least 2,000 MW for summer peaks, reserves, and the needs of extra-high-load-factor customers. The proposal deadline had passed on February 5. Read case
PNC: How fast should the branch network grow?
On October 15, 2024, PNC Financial Services Group reported third-quarter results while the banking industry continued to adapt to digital service, higher deposit costs and changing customer expectations. Read case
Pool Corporation: Where should the next unit of network investment go?
Pool Corporation (POOL) had built a large distribution network serving an industry with two different rhythms. Pool professionals needed dependable access to parts and technical support throughout the year. New pool construction and discretionary remodeling, by contrast, could move with consumer confidence, financing costs and local conditions. Read case
PPG Industries: What should the coatings business become?
In February 2024, PPG Industries announced a strategic review of its U.S. and Canada architectural coatings business. Eight months later, the company had reported third-quarter results, but its public disclosures still did not provide the business's standalone profit, cash flow, capital requirements, or separation economics. Read case
PPL: Growth Under the Regulated-Utility Compact
PPL Corporation expected annual earnings-per-share growth of 6%–8% through at least 2029. Its plan rested on regulated investment in three U.S. territories, while new data centers and other large energy users could create additional opportunities. Read case
Progressive: Making the next mile count
On November 4, 2024, Progressive filed its quarterly report for the period ended September 30. The numbers described a company again growing quickly after a deliberate effort to restore underwriting profitability. Personal-auto applications had surged, marketing had expanded, and the companywide combined ratio was below its stated ceiling for growth. Read case
PTC: Where to Place the Next Dollar of Growth?
At 4:59 p.m. on May 1, 2024, PTC's executive team had a new target to work with. The industrial software company had just reported 12% constant-currency growth in annual run rate (ARR) for its second fiscal quarter. It had also lowered its mid-term ARR growth target from the mid-teens to the low double digits. Its free-cash-flow targets for the next two years remained intact. Read case
Public Service Enterprise Group: Sequencing the Grid Investment Plan
On 25 February 2025, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) reported a five-year capital plan of $22.5–$26 billion for 2025–2029, of which $21–$24 billion was expected to be regulated investment. Management projected 6%–7.5% annual growth in regulated rate base over the period. Read case
Qnity: Is the AI materials thesis structural or cyclical?
DuPont completed the separation of its Electronics business on November 1, 2025. Qnity began trading on the New York Stock Exchange two days later, on November 3. Read case
Qualcomm: Where to place the next engineering dollar?
On the afternoon of November 1, Qualcomm Incorporated released results for fiscal 2023 and filed its annual report. The company had just reported a sharp contraction in its handset business, while automotive revenue continued to grow. Read case
Quanta Services: Where Should the Next Crew Go?
On July 30, Quanta Services reported $53.4 billion of backlog as of June 30, 2026. The company had raised its 2026 expectations and described demand across utility infrastructure, power generation, renewables, and large-load projects. Read case
Ralph Lauren: Where Should the Next Growth Dollar Go?
Ralph Lauren Corporation entered the second year of its “Next Great Chapter: Drive” plan with a striking set of results. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, revenue rose 14.0% as reported and 13.4% in constant currency. Comparable sales grew 12% worldwide. Asia was the fastest-growing region: revenue increased 25.3% in constant currency and retail comparable sales rose 23%. Read case
Raymond James Financial — How Should Advisor Growth Be Governed?
Raymond James Financial entered calendar 2024 with record client assets and what management described as robust advisor recruiting. For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, domestic Private Client Group (PCG) net new assets were $21.6 billion, equal to 7.8% annualized growth from the period’s beginning assets. The company offered several advisor affiliation and service models. Read case
Regions Financial — How Should It Govern Its Branch Investment Plan?
Imagine you are advising Regions Financial Corporation’s chief executive and board strategy committee on August 7, 2026. The company has announced priorities to build or open 135–150 locations and renovate more than 1,000 branches. Read case
Revvity: Where to Place the Next Three Years of Bets
In October 2026, Revvity’s hypothetical executive committee is setting priorities for the next three years. A definitive agreement to divest substantially all assets related to China Immunodiagnostics (China IDX) has been signed, but the transaction has not closed. Read case
Robinhood Markets — Paying for the Long-Term Customer
Robinhood Markets had built a large mobile brokerage by making investing easy to start and inexpensive to use. By mid-2024, the company was extending its proposition beyond active trading. Its self-directed retirement accounts were growing quickly, and a series of matching offers had brought billions of dollars of assets onto the platform. Read case
Rollins Inc.: Choosing the Next Layer of Growth
By late February 2024, Rollins had reported another year of growth across its pest-control businesses. The company operated through familiar brands such as Orkin and Fox Pest Control, serving residential and commercial customers with recurring pest, termite, and ancillary services. Read case
RTX Corporation: Where Should Pratt & Whitney Add Capacity?
In July 2026, Pratt & Whitney (P&W) was managing two time-sensitive demands on its GTF engine family. Airlines needed engines returned to service as powder-metal inspections and shop visits continued to pressure the PW1100-powered A320neo fleet. At the same time, P&W had a large GTF backlog, new orders, and a certified GTF Advantage specification moving toward production. Read case
Salesforce — Funding the Next Layer of the Customer Platform
At 4:05 p.m. on November 29, Salesforce made its third-quarter FY2024 results public. Revenue had grown 11% year over year, subscription and support revenue 13%, and current remaining performance obligation 14%. The company also reported a 17.2% GAAP operating margin and a 31.2% non-GAAP margin. Read case
SanDisk: How Much NAND Should Be Promised?
During FY2027, as of September 18, 2026, SanDisk’s CEO and board must set rules for signing or expanding New Business Model (NBM) agreements through FY2030. Should multi-year NBMs remain the predominant way SanDisk serves Datacenter and Edge customers? Read case
S&P Global: AI, data and the customer interface
S&P Global had entered a new chapter. On July 1, 2026, it separated its Mobility division into Mobility Global, leaving Ratings, Indices, Energy and Market Intelligence as its four operating segments. Read case
SBA Communications: where should the next dollar go?
On February 27, 2025, the latest numbers in SBA Communications Corporation’s annual report were less than a day old. The tower owner had just reported 2024 results, issued a 2025 outlook, and declared a higher quarterly dividend. Its acquisition of more than 7,000 Millicom sites in Central America was already under contract. Read case
Seagate — Scaling HAMR Without Losing the Ramp
Seagate Technology Holdings has entered a new phase in its transition to heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). Its Mozaic 4+ platform can support drives of up to 44 terabytes (TB), and Seagate said in March 2026 that the product was qualified and in production with two hyperscale cloud providers. More qualifications were underway. Read case
Sempra: SDG&E’s Next Wildfire-Mitigation Sequence
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), a Sempra subsidiary, already has an approved 2023–2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP). On October 13, 2023, California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (Energy Safety) approved the plan. Read case
ServiceNow: Prove the Value or Expand the Platform?
On July 24, 2024, ServiceNow reported that subscription revenue had grown 23% year over year in the second quarter. The same release said net-new annual contract value (NNACV) for Now Assist, the company's generative-AI product family, had doubled sequentially. Eleven Q2 transactions had more than $1 million in Now Assist NNACV. Read case
The Sherwin-Williams Company: Where Should the Next Store Go?
Sherwin-Williams built its Paint Stores Group (PSG) around company-operated specialty paint stores, sales representatives, knowledgeable employees, controlled distribution and digital tools. At the end of 2023 it operated 4,694 PSG stores. Management’s stated objective was to expand the store base by an approximate average of 2% annually, primarily through organic growth. Read case
Skyworks and Qorvo: Integrating the Work, Protecting the Edge
On September 19, 2026, Skyworks Solutions' leadership team was preparing for a possible combination with Qorvo. Shareholders had approved the transaction, but the merger had not closed. Regulatory and customary closing conditions remained, and the latest public update did not say otherwise. Read case
SLB at the Data-Center Edge: Can Kelvion Make the Offer More Strategic?
On August 31, 2026, SLB announced an agreement to acquire Kelvion, a global provider of thermal-management and heat-exchange technologies. The transaction would add cooling capabilities to SLB’s growing Data Center Solutions (DCS) business. Read case
Smurfit Westrock: How should a five-year growth-capex plan be governed?
On the morning of July 29, 2026, Smurfit Westrock plc (SW) had just released its second-quarter results. The company was in the middle of a five-year plan to expand earnings, improve returns and generate cash. That plan included roughly $4 billion of growth capital expenditure over 2026–2030. Read case
Snowflake: Funding the Next Layer of the Data Platform
On September 29, Snowflake priced $3.75 billion of zero-coupon convertible senior notes, split between notes due in 2029 and 2031. The company estimated net proceeds of $3.70 billion and expected the transaction to close on October 1, two days after the information cutoff for this case. Read case
Solaris Energy Infrastructure: How fast should the fleet grow?
On November 7, 2024, Solaris Energy Infrastructure filed its third-quarter report. The company had spent the previous year moving beyond its oilfield-services roots. In July it agreed to acquire Mobile Energy Rentals (MER), a mobile power-generation business. Read case
Solid Power — How Much Cell Capability to Keep In-House?
On 28 February 2024, Solid Power filed its 2023 annual report. It described a strategy built around selling sulfide solid electrolyte and licensing cell designs and manufacturing processes. The company said it did not intend to manufacture cells over the long term or build gigafactories; its pilot lines were expected to support development and research. Read case
Solstice Advanced Materials: When to Commit to More Uranium Conversion Capacity?
On 10 February 2026, Solstice Advanced Materials said it expected uranium hexafluoride (UF6) production at Metropolis Works to exceed 10,000 metric tonnes in 2026, about 20% above its planned 2024 output. The company attributed the increase to debottlenecking work already under way. Read case
Soluna Holdings: What Should the Next Kati 2 Commitment Require?
Soluna Holdings had a clear development ambition for Project Kati 2: develop a large AI and high-performance computing campus beside wind generation in South Texas. By the end of September 2026, the company had formed a joint venture with Metrobloks, advanced design, engaged a prospective tenant and signed supplier letters of intent. Read case
Case: Somnigroup and Leggett & Platt — Integrating the Spring
On August 26, Somnigroup International completed its all-stock acquisition of Leggett & Platt, a diversified component manufacturer and long-time Somnigroup supplier. Read case
Sonoco: When Is High Utilization Enough?
Sonoco Products Company had spent several years reshaping its portfolio. It had acquired Eviosys, sold TFP and ThermoSafe, and reorganized consumer packaging operations. Read case
Sonos: Opening the Door to AI Agents
In September, Sonos began positioning its connected audio system as an “audio operating system.” Sonos 27 introduced a way for outside AI assistants and agents to control a Sonos system, alongside the company’s own music-focused assistant and a preview of user-created “Custom Agents.” Sonos 27mcp was in Early Access; Sonos 27voice was planned for a later-fall Early Access… Read case
SoundHound AI: How Fast Should LivePerson Move into OASYS?
SoundHound AI completed its acquisition of LivePerson on September 4, 2026. In the closing announcement, SoundHound said LivePerson’s digital-engagement platform would be integrated into OASYS, its conversational-AI platform, to support interactions across voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels. Read case
The Southern Company: How Much Credit for Flexible Demand?
Georgia Power serves a fast-growing state while planning resources years ahead of when they can operate. A newly announced, very large customer brings a second question: how much should a utility count a customer’s promise to reduce electricity use when it plans for peak demand? Read case
Southwest Airlines — Rebuilding the Seat Experience
Southwest Airlines had spent more than fifty years letting passengers choose any open seat after boarding. On 25 July 2024, the company announced that it would adopt assigned seating and offer premium seats with extra legroom. Read case
Starbucks: testing technology for the green apron
Starbucks entered 2024 with a broad reinvention agenda. Its November 2023 “Triple Shot” strategy named three priorities—elevate the brand, scale digital capabilities and expand globally—supported by two “pumps”: operating efficiency and partner culture. The company described technology as one part of the plan. Read case
Steel Dynamics — Qualifying the Columbus Mill
Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI) was building a recycled-aluminum flat-rolled mill in Columbus, Mississippi. The company expected operations to begin in mid-2025. The mill was designed for 650,000 tonnes of annual finished-product capacity, serving beverage packaging, automotive and common-alloy industrial markets. Read case
STERIS: Governing the Mentor manufacturing transition
On May 11, STERIS announced that it would invest approximately $60 million over two years in a new sterility-assurance manufacturing plant in Mentor, Ohio. The plant is intended to consolidate existing U.S. production and was expected to be operational in late calendar 2027. The investment is announced; the operating transition still has to be designed. Read case
Stryker: Who Owns the Customer Relationship?
The second-quarter operating review had left Stryker's leadership with a question that the published numbers could not answer. The company's reported Vascular sales were nearly flat year over year in the quarter, but the U.S. and international lines moved in opposite directions. Inari Medical, acquired in February 2025, now sat within Stryker's Peripheral Vascular business. Read case
Supermicro: building the AI data center
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro) had grown rapidly as customers invested in AI computing. Its strategy was to broaden beyond servers and storage into a more integrated data-center offering: computing, networking, power, cooling, software, deployment and support. The company called this approach Data Center Building Block Solutions (DCBBS). Read case
Synopsys: Who Owns the Engineering Agent?
On September 28, 2026, Synopsys announced AgentEngineer, a portfolio of long-horizon engineering agents, and Autopilot, a platform intended to orchestrate agents, tools, models, and engineering workflows. The company said more than 50 customer engagements were underway and that general availability was planned by year-end. Read case
Sysco — Filling the Route, Protecting the Margin
In October 2024, Sysco faced a familiar distribution question in an unusually visible form: where should the next increment of attention and operating capacity go? The company wanted to grow its local customer business, while keeping a large delivery network productive and improving profitability. Read case
T-Mobile US: How Far Should Home Internet Grow?
At the end of February 2024, T-Mobile’s High Speed Internet (HSI) service had become a visible part of the company’s customer-growth story. The fixed-wireless service uses T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network and is offered to households in locations where the company says excess capacity is available. Read case
Tapestry — Integrating Capri Without Flattening Its Brands
On 10 August 2023, Tapestry announced an agreement to acquire Capri Holdings for $57 per share in cash, at an enterprise value of approximately $8.5 billion. The companies expected closing in calendar 2024, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and customary conditions. One week later, Tapestry filed its FY2023 results and annual report. Read case
TE Connectivity: Is industrial growth becoming durable?
By October 2026, TE Connectivity’s Industrial Solutions segment was growing rapidly. The company attributed much of its digital-data-network growth to AI applications and cited strength in grid hardening, data centers, factory automation, and aerospace. Its Transportation Solutions segment remained a large business, anchored by automotive connectivity and sensors. Read case
Teradyne — Where to Place the Next Bet
On 31 July 2026, Teradyne filed its second-quarter Form 10-Q. The quarter showed a sharp increase in Semiconductor Test revenue and a smaller but improving Robotics business. Management said strategic investment had contributed to Semiconductor Test results and that judicious additional investment would be needed to support growth in 2027. Read case
Texas Pacific Land: Where Should the Next Water-Service Effort Go?
Texas Pacific Land Corporation (TPL) is a landowner and owner of oil-and-gas royalty interests in West Texas. Its Water Services and Operations business, conducted through Texas Pacific Water Resources (TPWR), provides water sourcing, produced-water treatment, infrastructure development and disposal solutions to operators in the Permian Basin. Read case
Textron’s Bell: Where Should the Talent Go After FARA?
The Army had ended development of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) after the current prototyping phase. It planned to continue the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), with a first operational unit then planned for fiscal 2030. For Bell, the two programs represented different demands on engineering and program-management capacity. Read case
Thermo Fisher and Olink — Scaling Proteomics Through Access or Integration?
On 17 October 2023, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that both boards had approved its proposal to acquire Olink Holding for $26 per share or American depositary share in cash. The announcement valued the transaction at approximately $3.1 billion, including $143 million of Olink net cash, and represented a 74% premium to Olink’s closing share price the prior day. Read case
Tractor Supply: Is the “Life Out Here” Growth Model Still on Track?
In July 2026, Tractor Supply Company (Tractor Supply) lowered its fiscal-year outlook after reporting a decline in comparable-store sales for the second quarter. The company also withdrew the long-term financial framework it had introduced in 2024 and said it planned to provide an updated framework with its fourth-quarter results. Read case
Travelers — Scaling AI Without Losing the Judgment
By the end of June 2026, Travelers had launched an AI voice assistant for auto claim intake, an AI claims-intelligence feature for commercial risk managers, employee assistants developed with Anthropic, and an insurance-focused large language model trained on internal documents. Read case
Trimble Inc. — Sequencing the AGCO Joint-Venture Interfaces
On September 28, 2023, Trimble and AGCO signed an agreement to combine much of Trimble’s precision-agriculture business with AGCO’s JCA Technologies business in a joint venture. Trimble agreed to contribute its precision-agriculture business, excluding certain GNSS and guidance technologies, and AGCO agreed to contribute JCA. AGCO would own 85% and Trimble 15% after closing. Read case
Uber: How Deep Should the Platform Go in Autonomous Mobility?
Uber had spent years building a marketplace that connected riders with independent drivers. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) introduced a different kind of supply: vehicles and software supplied by partners, often with their own capital needs, operating requirements and customer relationships. Read case
Ulta Beauty — Where Should Growth Capacity Go?
On October 16, Ulta Beauty set out a new three-year plan: open 200 net new stores, work toward a long-term U.S. footprint of 1,800 or more stores, and grow Ulta Beauty Rewards to 50 million members by 2028. The company described four connected priorities—assortment, experience, access and loyalty—and reiterated its financial targets. Read case
Union Pacific: How Should It Balance Reliability and Productivity?
In October 2023, Union Pacific (UP) reported a quarter in which several service measures improved while revenue, earnings and reported operating ratio moved in the opposite direction. CEO Jim Vena, who had recently taken the role, described the company’s focus as safety, service and operational excellence to drive growth. Read case
UPS: What should a global operating model standardize?
On August 31, 2026, UPS announced a global operating model effective the next day. A new Chief Global Operations Officer would oversee global air and gateways, surface operations, buildings and engineering, and the Intelligent Network. A Chief U.S. Domestic Officer would lead U.S. domestic operations. Read case
U.S. Bancorp — Where Should the Next Customer Dollar Go?
On July 16, 2026, U.S. Bancorp reported second-quarter Consumer and Business Banking (CBB) revenue of $2.373 billion, essentially unchanged from a year earlier, and segment net income of $589 million, down 4.4%. The bank’s broader results were stronger: consolidated net revenue was $7.712 billion and net income attributable to U.S. Bancorp was $2.177 billion. Read case
Veralto: How tightly should TraceGains connect with Esko?
On October 23, Veralto's hypothetical integration steering team was preparing its first 12–18-month plan for TraceGains, the food-industry software company it had acquired earlier that month. The transaction was complete. The next question was how the two organizations should work together. Read case
Verisk Analytics: Who should own the next layer of insurance AI?
Verisk sells data, analytics, and software to insurers. Its products support decisions in underwriting, claims, catastrophe risk, and related workflows. Verisk says these products combine proprietary and contributory data, insurance expertise, statistical models, analytics, and software, often embedded in customers’ workflows. Read case
Verizon — Where Should the Next Dollar and Management Attention Go?
Verizon entered the second half of 2026 with three competing demands on capital and executive attention. Its C-Band build-out was approaching management's expected completion window; the January call had described the build-out as about 90% complete and covering approximately 300 million people, or POPs. Read case
Vertiv: How Fast Should Capacity Grow?
On August 1, 2024, Vertiv Holdings Co. had just filed its second-quarter Form 10-Q. Orders had accelerated sharply, and management had raised its full-year outlook. June backlog stood at $7.0 billion. Read case
Visa: Where Should the Next Increment of Attention Go?
Visa’s card network was still growing. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, payments volume rose 10% in constant dollars and Visa processed 71.7 billion transactions, up 10% from a year earlier. Read case
Walmart: Scaling Convenience Without Losing the Economics
Walmart entered the holiday quarter with strong momentum. In its third-quarter fiscal 2025 release, the company reported 27% global e-commerce growth and 22% growth in Walmart U.S. e-commerce. Store-fulfilled pickup and delivery, marketplace, and advertising all contributed to digital growth. Read case
Waste Management and Stericycle: Designing the Integration
On June 3, 2024, Waste Management, Inc. (WM) and Stericycle announced a definitive agreement under which WM would acquire Stericycle for $62 per share in cash. Both boards had unanimously approved the transaction. The announced enterprise value was approximately $7.2 billion, including about $1.4 billion of Stericycle net debt. Read case
WEC Energy Group — Committing Capital to a Changing Load
On August 4, 2026, WEC Energy Group had just filed its second-quarter Form 10-Q. The filing, accepted by the SEC at 9:01:42 a.m. Eastern Time, was the latest company disclosure available for this exercise. Read case
Wells Fargo: allocating the next increment of customer capacity
When Wells Fargo's asset cap was lifted in June 2025, the bank regained room to grow its balance sheet. The company was pursuing that opportunity through several routes at once: digital products and customer acquisition, branch refurbishment and relationship capacity, and targeted expansion in Commercial Banking. Read case
West Pharmaceutical Services — Capacity Before the Rebound?
West Pharmaceutical Services had maintained its 2023 capital-spending guidance at $350 million. That plan included incremental capacity expansions at existing high-value product (HVP) facilities. Through September, the company had spent $253.3 million on capital expenditures. Read case
Wabtec: Simplify the Portfolio Without Losing the Railway?
On February 12, 2025, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec) reported record 2024 sales of $10.387 billion and announced three distinct strategic programs with different scopes and economics. The additional 2025 Portfolio Optimization initiative targets about $100 million of low-margin revenue exits, with approximately $40 million of expected net exit charges. Read case
Workday — How Far Should AI Agents Go?
Workday had made its Sana Self-Service Agent available to customers through Flex Credits and announced a partnership that would put Workday agents into Google’s Gemini Enterprise environment. These moves offered routes to broader access. Read case
W.W. Grainger: Where Should Digital Self-Service End?
Grainger had built a business in which digital ordering and specialist support were both part of the offer. Its March 2026 investor presentation reported that 75% of High-Touch Solutions U.S. (HTS U.S.) orders flowed through digital channels, while describing a sales team of more than 4,000, technical product support, inventory management and onsite services. Read case
Xcel Energy — Funding the Next Generation of Power
On the morning of January 25, 2024, Xcel Energy presented a five-year capital plan totaling $39 billion for 2024–2028. The plan covered transmission, distribution, generation, natural gas and other investment. Separately, the company identified approximately $5 billion of potential renewable-generation additions across three utility systems. Read case
Zumiez: Where Should the Next Stores Go?
On the afternoon of June 6, 2024, Zumiez reported results for its first quarter of fiscal 2024. The company’s release described its North American region as having “inflected positive” in the quarter. Read case