ORLYO'Reilly Automotive, Inc.

O'Reilly sells car parts, and its revenue grows as the cars on the road get older.

Demand is counter-cyclical: the longer people drive old cars instead of buying new ones, the more repair is needed. In hard years the business therefore does better rather than worse — a rare property in retail.

There are two buyers: the do-it-yourself owner and the professional workshop. The second matters more and demands availability: a mechanic waits an hour for a part, not a day, so the winner is whoever has the denser distribution network. Logistics is the competitive advantage here.

Online retail interferes little: the part is needed today and selecting it requires knowledge. The company has bought back its own shares very aggressively for years, cutting the count by multiples, and pays no dividend.