Wide moat stocks: what the label actually means.
A "wide moat" describes a company whose competitive advantage is hard for rivals to erode for many years. It is a statement about business structure — not about whether a stock is cheap, or where its price is going next.
Four tests of a wide moat
Moatscope checks every company against the same structural questions:
CONCENTRATION
How few credible competitors can do this at scale? Count real, named peers — not the size of the category.
SWITCHING COST
How painful is it for a paying customer to move to the next option? Retooling, requalification, and contract lock-in all widen a moat.
BARRIER TO ENTRY
Could a well-funded newcomer replicate the position in about five years? Capital, IP, permits, and know-how all count.
CRITICALITY
What breaks downstream if this company stopped shipping tomorrow? The more essential the output, the stronger the position.
Wide vs. narrow
A company that passes all four tests clearly tends to score 70+ on the Moat Score. Most real companies don't — the score is deliberately conservative at the top, because true monopolies and tight oligopolies are rare. A narrow moat usually passes one or two tests but has named competitors or low switching costs.
Wide today isn't the same as widening
A moat can be wide and eroding, or narrow and building. That's why each analysis also shows a Moat Trajectory — building, stable, or eroding — based on signed contracts, granted licenses, capacity under construction, and new entrants.
Check a company yourself
Type any ticker on the homepage to see its Moat Score, the reasoning behind each dimension, and live fundamentals. Full scoring details are on the methodology page.
Score a ticker →Research and education only. Moat Scores are AI estimates and can be wrong. Not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.