There are four stocks I wish I could own. But I can’t, because these companies are privately held. These are great businesses. So great that they aren’t interested in taking money from investors, because they know what they’ve got, and they’re probably not going to share the wealth. 🙁

1. Cox Enterprises. Until recently, they owned a bunch of media outlets as well, but even after that divestment, this is still a fourth-generation-family-owned company that you might think of as a market dominating internet and cable provider, which of course they are, but they also possess an incredible monopoly in the American used car market. Cox Transportation, Mannheim Auctions, Kelly Blue Book, Dealer Black Book, Autotrader.com, NextGear Capital. So, they’re pricing the cars, liquidating the cars, selling the cars to the dealership, shipping the cars, financing the dealership, financing the buyer, and handling many private party sales also. It’s nearly impossible to buy or sell a car in America without indirectly giving them some money. Setting all the prices is my favorite part of this. We literally trust an all powerful automotive monopoly to tell us what cars should cost.
   
   
2. Enterprise Rent A Car. Perhaps you have a bad experience at the airport rental car counter. You clicked on a picture of a Toyota and they offer you a Kia. So you leave Enterprise in a huff and walk over to Alamo. Weirdly, the same clerk from Enterprise walks over and says “hello again, can I help you?” “Stop following me,” you say! and you storm over to the National Rent-A-Car counter. And the same clerk follows you again and stands behind that counter as well. Enterprise owns all of these brands, and you can’t buy stock in them. The Taylor family of St. Louis has managed this company since 1957, and it is the largest car rental company in the United States. It’s also arguable that they are really in the business of car sales, buying new vehicles at wholesale, and selling them at retail with just enough miles to avoid violating their fleet agreements with auto manufacturers, which means the rental business that you have a 50% chance of selecting randomly might be just the icing on the cake.
   
   
3. EssilorLuxottica. You’ve probably never heard of this brand, but you’ve most likely used their products. They make sunglasses for Arnette, Burberry, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Costa, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Ferrari, Oakley, Persol, Prada, Ray-Ban, and 25 other brands. Basically all brand name sunglasses in the US and most eyeglasses as well. Warby Parker and Zenni Optical might have made a dent in this massively profitable enterprise, but only a flesh wound. You don’t wear sunglasses? They also operate 1-800 CONTACTS, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, and Sunglass Hut. I would buy this stock in a heartbeat. Please take this public. Please.
   
   
4. In-N-Out Burger. There’s a reason every In-N-Out has a Chik-Fil-A next to it, and a reason it has been rapidly expanding in the past few years. Part of the way they keep quality high and prices low is by owning the entire supply chain. There are In-N-Out Cows, In-N-Out Slaughterhouses, In-N-Out bakeries, and they run their own logistics with company owned refrigerated trucks driven by In-N-Out Employees. Their secret menu is the worst kept secret in the world, and people wait for hours to buy their product. A company I admire, but can’t ever own. I do own shares of Shake Shack (SHAK), which probably buys all of their ingredients from Sysco Foods, (SYY) who are also an absurd monopoly, supplying basically every restaurant in America except In-N-Out.

Hmm. Maybe I’ll buy some Sysco foods. Their shares have been relatively flat, but the Houston-based company reported net earnings of $429.6 million in Q1, a 42 percent increase from the year-earlier period.

Sales increased nearly 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago and the company, which sells food to restaurants, health care facilities and schools and operates 333 distribution facilities, credited the growth to increased efficiency, improvements its digital ordering platform and investment in its supply chain. Mmmm. Delicious margins…