#CCC Computacenter, AI
Is investing even that hard?
This summary caught my eye today from a DuckDuckGo (difficult to fathom how they came up with that name, but nevermind) search:
Investors Chronicle :
Computacenter revenue skyrockets on AI demand - Investors’ Chronicle
12 Mar 2026As North American demand for AI infrastructure continues to ramp up, Computacenter (CCC) is riding the wave. The IT services provider almost doubled its profits in the region, and after completing its acquisition of California-based software solutions company Agreeya for $120mn
CCC is likely to enter the Footsie, too. So, CCC has become a bit of an AI play now. Shares are currently 4511p.
I bought CCC in three lots. One was in Feb 2023. I’ll just concentrate on that one. I paid 2257p for it. I had no idea it would be an AI play. Today it sits at 4511p. So, doubling my money in 3 years.
Am I a genius?
The answer is: of course not.
Here are some numbers I extracted from Stockopedia’s report near that date. Forward PE 14.4. Interest cover 42. Five year average ROE: 22%. 5-year CAGR revenue growth: 16%.
I ask you: if you saw those kinds of numbers, would you think it was a good company? Would you think it was a reasonable price? I hope you would say “yes” on both counts.
Now, maybe CCC wouldn’t have become such a current darling, and maybe something would have gone drastically wrong. This happens. A lot.
But I think you can see that my purchase was at least rational. Good company, reasonable price. Good things can happen when you do that. You may not know what, or indeed if, but you are at least positioning yourself sensibly.
CCC now has a forward PE of 22. Sensible folks would say it’s time to take money off the table. I will stick around for now, though, as Stockopedia gives it a value score of 32. I think the real danger zone is when the score dips below 20. Then it’s time to sell. Although I’m taking a higher risk by retaining it, I’m betting there’s till juice left in the tank. I bought it as a buy-and-hold. I don’t think you have to hop on and off the bus. Famous last words, of course.
I mention all this because my purchase reminds me of my investment in BA. (BAE Systems). I bought that in Nov 2021 at 575p. For context, Stockopedia had (around that time, not exactly) given BA a StockRank of 96. A forward PE of 11.3 (amazing in retrospect), a chunky yield of 4.6%, and interest cover of 6.6, and an average ROE of 24%.
Admittedly revenue growths were fairly lacklustre at around 3% pa over 5 years. But on the whole, a fairly solid company at quite a cheap valuation.
The Russia-Ukraine came along, and the whole dynamics of the company changed. It’s now 1900p. A 230% gain. Forward PE is 22, which is, again, not cheap. But growth is likely to be good for the foreseeable future. Perhaps we’ll get a dip if either Ukraine or Israel is sorted out. Stockopedia gives it a value score of 20, which is near the threshold, and I’m inclined to hold. I had been taking money off the table at 1839p, 2048p, 2010p and 1900p.
There’s a lesson here. I did not have brilliant foresight. I did not have any informational advantage. I did not have the kind of “deep dive” knowledge that everyone thinks is so important. I merely had a rough idea that they were decent-enough businesses, conservatively financed, and at reasonable valuations.
I wasn’t value-investing. I wasn’t doing DCF calculations. I wasn’t doing blue-sky investing. I was just investing in reasonable quality companies at reasonable prices, and with reasonable prospects for growth.
Yes, I got lucky. Things change, and you can find yourself the beneficiary of these happy circumstances. The point is that if you buy reasonable quality companies at reasonable prices when nobody is excited about them, you are loading the odds in your favour.
Food for thought, perhaps?