W&L Students Finish Fourth at The BIG Pitch Comp Stock Pitch Competition Preston Childress ’26 and Nat Fisher ’27 were among 16 finalists selected from nearly 300 applicants to participate in the event held at Southern Methodist University.

By Brian Laubscher
April 23, 2026

Washington and Lee University students Preston Childress ’26 and Nat Fisher ’27 were among 16 finalists selected to participate in The BIG Pitch Comp national stock pitch competition held April 10-11 on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

The event, organized by the Boulevard Investment Group (BIG), began in February with teams submitting a pitch deck and video explaining their investment thesis. Childress and Fisher pitched CoStar Group (NYSE: CSGP), the dominant provider of digital real estate data, analytics and online marketplaces such as Apartments.com and Homes.com.

After Childress, an accounting major from Atlanta, identified CoStar as a mispriced opportunity, the duo began preparing their initial pitch, which was selected from among 90 team submissions and nearly 300 total applicants.

“Following weak Q4 earnings, a broader software sell-off tied to AI-related concerns, a segment reclassification and two separate activist campaigns, CSGP had declined approximately 55% from its 2025 peak,” said Fisher, an economics and mathematics double major from Dallas. “We believed these headwinds were temporary and that the stock had sold off too aggressively relative to the strength of its core business and Apartments.com. In short, we viewed the market dislocation, driven by activist uncertainty and mixed messaging around Homes.com, as an opportunity to acquire a high-quality core business at a discount while receiving additional assets at little to no implied value.”

The two-day event included a welcoming reception, a keynote address and two rounds of stock pitches. Childress and Fisher were among 16 finalists selected to deliver the initial 10-minute pitch and subsequent eight-minute Q&A with a panel of judges. The teams were split into two groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the final pitch round. The W&L tandem advanced but finished fourth overall, one spot from securing a prize from the $20,000 total prize pool.

“Overall, the experience was outstanding,” said Fisher. “It was a privilege to represent W&L at a national level, and the inaugural BIG Pitch Comp was exceptionally well organized.”

A team from the University of Chicago took home the top prize of $10,000, while a team from Georgetown University finished second ($6,500) and a team from Cornell University placed third ($3,500).

“We would like to thank Dean (Rob) Straughan, Misty Snider and the Williams School faculty and staff for their support — this opportunity would not have been possible without them,” said Childress and Fisher. “We are also grateful to Professor (Aliaa) Bassiouny for her mentorship and continued support of the Williams Investment Society. Additionally, we would like to thank Miles Merlin, Jonah Swann, Caed Barron and the entire BIG team for organizing such a thoughtful and well-executed event. Finally, thank you to Dean Milbourn and the SMU Cox School of Business for supporting BIG and helping bring this competition to life.”

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