WiseTech (WTC) H1'25 CEO and Business Update
Status of global rollout, customers churn, resilience and long-term focus amid leadership instability.
Hi friends,
This is a quick update on H1’25 and the situation on the founder CEO, Richard White, of Wisetech, our recent first position (<3%, from selling Floor and Decor) and the leader in logistics SaaS.
While on logistics, I’d like to suggest you read Hayden’s FY2024 investor letter. In it, he touches on investing in ‘emerging growth’ and the path to domination for Sea Limited (SE) in Southeast Asia by transforming from a “customer habits” moat to a logistics-based, “low-cost” moat.
Both discussions are highly relevant to our Sleep Well Portfolio, as 50% of our ownership is emerging growth (SE, GRAB, MELI, DNP.WA, CRWD), and in particular, logistic infrastructure is also our core thesis for SE and MELI.
WiseTech Primer
Wisetech is a unified SaaS platform facilitating the delivery of goods and documents from manufacturers to the consumer and everything in between, such as warehousing, fulfillment, landside logistics, cross-border freight, and customs & compliance. It solves the most complex logistic problems in a highly regulated industry. There isn’t any player that captures a broad spectrum of logistics like Wisetech, and it stands to benefit from a very long-run way of growth in the industry. I’ll let Wisetech's track record speak for itself:
+30% revenue per share CAGR since IPO in 2016
+48% free cash flow per share CAGR
85%+ gross margin and 40%+ EBIT margin
>90% of the top players in the industry are its customer
manages over half of the global manufactured trade flow
close to <1% attrition for the past 12.5 years
Check out my Jan 2024 SWI deep dive, CEO update, FY24 update, for more details.
**Links to thesis updates, buy-and-sell, and deep dives are all in the Sleep Well Portfolio spreadsheet.
Messy CEO situation
Richard White, a ~40% owner of shares and co-founder of WiseTech, has had a tumultuous year. His scandals involved an ex-lover opening the floodgate, where Richard White was allegedly found gifting millions to multiple employees in exchange for sexual favors.
White stepped down as CEO on October 24, 2024, amid the mounting scandals, announcing a transition to a 10-year consulting role as “Founder and Founding CEO” at AUD 1 million annual salary. This triggered a 20% share price drop from AUD 140/share.
However, his continued influence as a consultant and major shareholder sparked friction. On February 24, 2025, four independent directors—Chair Richard Dammery, Lisa Brock, Michael Malone, and Fiona Pak-Poy—resigned, citing “intractable differences” over White’s ongoing role. This triggered another 21% share price drop.
The company reported H1’25 results and announced White's reinstallment as the Executive Chair, marking his return to power.
The board exodus reflected a split: some directors favored stricter oversight, while others supported White’s entrepreneurial vision, given his pivotal role in product development.
Which camp are you in?
While the situation is messy and exposes corporate governance flaws, given WiseTech is a product-led company and his direct involvement in the technical and acquisition execution, I believe White's exit entirely would be less favorable for the business. More importantly, as we will see, H1’25 results show the driver for growth remains strong and within Wisetech’s hand.
Nevertheless, Wisetech’s 70x free cash flow valuation is still ‘expensive,’ so I have taken a more prudent approach to buy in my position. I started with a 3% position a few days ago and will add slowly on weakness.
H1’25 results, stickiness, and guidance
Wisetech’s results always have much to unpack, so I recommend you review the slides and conference call if you have time. In light of the CEO situation and the uncertainties it brings to the business, I am focused on two things only.