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Acquired · Today · 3 hr 35 min

Home Depot

Home Depot's founding story is like an Avengers movie… if the Avengers got fired, went broke, and stacked empty paint cans ten feet high to look legitimate. After being unceremoniously fired from their previous hardware chain at ages 48 and 35, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank took the words of their New York banker Ken Langone (who had also just accidentally caused their firings) to heart: they'd just been "kicked in the ass with a golden horseshoe.” They proceeded to author the greatest compounding story in American retail history, helped by some legendary cameos along the way from Sol Price, Jamie Dimon, and Ross Perot (to name a few). And the ending is as good as any superhero film: from its 1981 IPO to today, Home Depot has been the single highest-returning equity in the entire US stock market — higher than Apple, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway, and everything else! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall '26 Season partners: Sierra WorkOS Anthropic Sentry Links: Sign up for email updates, get our takeaways and research photos from each episode, and vote on future topics! The Official Acquired Meetup on Sept 17th with our friends at Sentry. Join us! The Acquired Home Depot Companion PDF Our Visual Artifacts page for Home Depot Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank Kick Up Some Dust by Bernie Marcus The Board Wore Chicken Suits by Joe Nocera, The New York Times Frank Blake on Invest Like the Best Ken Langone's interview with Arvind Navaratnam Worldly Partners' Multi-Decade Home Depot Study All episode sources Carve Outs: Silo Season 3 Tires Season 3 Ratio 8 Coffee Maker Trade Coffee Quarterback Comedian More Acquired: Get email updates and vote on future episodes! Join the Slack Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! 00:00:00 Start 00:00:43 Intro 00:05:32 Bernie Marcus's Early Career and meeting Arthur Blank (1972) 00:15:58 Ken Langone & Handy Dan (1970s) 00:33:08 Ken Buys Handy Dan, Bernie & Arthur Fired 00:43:55 Ross Perot Almost Buys Home Depot 00:51:20 Pat Farrah & The HomeCo Interlude 01:05:03 First Stores & Early Model (1979) 01:14:16 Home Depot Goes Public & Expands (1981) 01:24:35 Home Depot's Unique Operating System 01:46:01 Arthur Blank Takes CEO & Early Cracks (1997) 01:56:07 The Bob Nardelli Era (2000-2007) 02:12:09 Nardelli's Public Downfall & Firing (2006-2007) 02:24:24 Frank Blake's Turnaround: Crisis & Culture (2007) 02:42:30 E-commerce & Distribution Revolution 02:59:57 Home Depot Today: Pro & DIY (2024) 03:12:04 Analysis: The Paradox of Specialness 03:16:18 7 Powers: Home Depot's Competitive Advantages 03:19:17 Quintessence: Why It Got So Big 03:26:27 Carve-Outs + Outro ‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

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Home Depot's founding story is like an Avengers movie… if the Avengers got fired, went broke, and stacked empty paint cans ten feet high to look legitimate. After being unceremoniously fired from their previous hardware chain at ages 48 and 35, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank took the words of their New York banker Ken Langone (who had also just accidentally caused their firings) to heart: they'd just been "kicked in the ass with a golden horseshoe.” They proceeded to author the greatest compounding story in American retail history, helped by some legendary cameos along the way from Sol Price, Jamie Dimon, and Ross Perot (to name a few). And the ending is as good as any superhero film: from its 1981 IPO to today, Home Depot has been the single highest-returning equity in the entire US stock market — higher than Apple, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway, and everything else!

Sponsors:

Many thanks to our fantastic Fall '26 Season partners:

Links:

Carve Outs:

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00:00:00 Start
00:00:43 Intro
00:05:32 Bernie Marcus's Early Career and meeting Arthur Blank (1972)
00:15:58 Ken Langone & Handy Dan (1970s)
00:33:08 Ken Buys Handy Dan, Bernie & Arthur Fired
00:43:55 Ross Perot Almost Buys Home Depot
00:51:20 Pat Farrah & The HomeCo Interlude
01:05:03 First Stores & Early Model (1979)
01:14:16 Home Depot Goes Public & Expands (1981)
01:24:35 Home Depot's Unique Operating System
01:46:01 Arthur Blank Takes CEO & Early Cracks (1997)
01:56:07 The Bob Nardelli Era (2000-2007)
02:12:09 Nardelli's Public Downfall & Firing (2006-2007)
02:24:24 Frank Blake's Turnaround: Crisis & Culture (2007)
02:42:30 E-commerce & Distribution Revolution
02:59:57 Home Depot Today: Pro & DIY (2024)
03:12:04 Analysis: The Paradox of Specialness
03:16:18 7 Powers: Home Depot's Competitive Advantages
03:19:17 Quintessence: Why It Got So Big
03:26:27 Carve-Outs + Outro

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

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