The Misfits: Lindsay Corporation (LNN)

A $1.5 billion agriculture company generating incredible returns for decades.

Camille Pissarro, The Harvest, 1882, tempera on canvas (National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo)

Disruption and technological innovation are the things that keep many investors up at night. Buggy whips and photographic film are reminders scarred into our brains that new technology lurks around the corner and could become obsolete in a few years.

One way I think investors can avoid such fates is to think of investments in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The things in our lives that satisfy our physiological needs – food, shelter, water – won’t change. We’re going to need to grow food, build houses, and keep our environment adequately clean to live for generations to come. The businesses that make this possible will likely have a reason to exist well beyond our lifetimes. 

Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN) is one of those businesses. For more than 70 years, it has been providing essential products that grow our food without many of us realizing it. It has also been a fabulous wealth creator for its investors. This $1.5 billion market cap company has generated a 14.7% annualized return since its IPO.

Let’s dig into how this agricultural supplier has found a compounding company in a notoriously cyclical industry and why it will likely continue to do so for decades to come. 

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