# Why our investing criteria have changed again

**URL:** <https://discussion.fool.com/t/why-our-investing-criteria-have-changed-again/123416>\
**Category:** Saul’s Investing Discussions\
**Created:** [February 16, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/why-our-investing-criteria-have-changed-again/123416 "2026-02-16T15:32:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 5

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**Author:** ![PaulWBryant](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/paulwbryant/32/3362_2.png) [@PaulWBryant](https://discussion.fool.com/u/PaulWBryant)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/why-our-investing-criteria-have-changed-again/123416/5 "2026-02-17T18:28:54Z")

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> [@PaulWBryant](#):
>
> We may be prone to misremember how conservative this statement was at the time. Not only were there many SaaS companies growing in the 40-60% range, but there were many growing at faster

I’m sensing confusion, because people are bringing up profitability, durability of growth, debt, competition, potential disruption, and other factors and risks. Of course that all matters and my post was not suggesting we ignore any of that. Let me try to restate what I was saying in other words:

Two of the major criteria Saul saw and valued back in 2018 were:

- Recurring (subscription) revenue
- Really high growth rates

For a brief time, we could have both of these. Now, we can’t, so my post was not just prescriptive, but descriptive. **This is the way the world is now, and we must choose.** Or as Saul put it:

> [@Why my investing criteria have changed](https://discussion.fool.com/t/why-my-investing-criteria-have-changed/44594/1):
>
> After some reflection, I think I’d say that **it isn’t so much that I have changed** , but that the world has changed

For my part, I’m letting go of the **recurring revenue** requirement and holding onto the **really**  **high growth** requirement.

Another way to say this is that I’m going with the **big potential** over the **seemingly safe**. In the last few years, I (to give just one example) watched APP go from $30 to $300 while I held Zscaler as it went nowhere (even with increasing revenue/profits). I ignored potential because I preferred predictable. I’m changing this.

If I can get both, amazing. But if this is a fork in the road (as my buddy Drowsy put it), and I have to pick one or the other, then I’m picking growth.

Bear

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