Brad Jacobs has built eight separate companies into billion-dollar-plus successes.1
I know of few other operators with as decorated a track record as him.
Every one of them used the same playbook. Find a fragmented industry, acquire and integrate the best players. Upgrade operations with technology and process discipline.
Over his career he has completed approximately 500 M&A transactions.
Here’s his 3 most recent successes:
United Waste Systems: Founded in 1989 and sold in 1997 for $2.2B to USA Waste (now Waste Management) after delivering a 55% CAGR for shareholders.
United Rentals: Founded in 1997 and delivered a lifetime 200x return.
XPO Logistics: Took control in 2011 and by 2025 had delivered a 50x return.
Now he’s doing it again, this time in building supply with QXO.
The Company
QXO was founded with the goal of modernizing the $800B building supply industry and reaching $50 billion in annual revenue by 2034. To achieve this the CEO Brad Jacobs raised billions in cash via equity, debt, and his own personal wealth to go out and buy quality companies, roll them together, implement tech improvements, and share costs.
So far two acquisitions have been made, already making them the largest public roofing company in the US.
Beacon Roofing (Closed April 29, 2025 for $11B)
Kodiak Building Partners (Closed April 1, 2026 for $2.25B)
Both companies solve the same problem, serving as the distribution between massive manufacturers and local/regional contractors. The massive manufacturers don’t have the logistics for hundreds of thousands of customers and the contractors don’t have capacity to hold large inventories.
They earn the spread between what they pay for bulk manufacturer pricing and what they charge retail minus costs.
Beacon Roofing generated almost $10B in revenue in 2024 operating out of 600 branches in all 50 states supplying residential and non residential roofing plus complementary products like siding, windows, gutters, plywood, and more.
Kodiak Building Partners generated $2.4B in revenue in 2025 from 110 branches across 26 states. While Beacon is run under a single brand Kodiak’s acquired companies retained their local identities and relationships. Essentially Kodiak serves as a back office allowing shared costs and centralized supplier negotiation.
They offer almost any product you would need to build the bones of a house from lumber and windows to flooring and drywall.
While QXO and the man behind it make this an interesting opportunity, even in a scenario where things go meaningfully wrong it still produces a positive return.
To read my full disclaimer click here. Past results are not a promise of future performance.
