HAM (Highwood Asset Management Ltd) vs S&P TSX Composite Index (Canada) Comparison

Stock intrinsic value is the real worth of a company's stock, based on its financial health and performance.

Instead of looking at the stock's current market price, which can change due to people's opinions and emotions, intrinsic value helps us understand if a stock is truly a good deal or not.

By focusing on the company's actual financial strength, like its earnings and debts, we can make better decisions about which stocks to buy and when.

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The most important thing to me is figuring out how big a moat there is around the business. What I love, of course, is a big castle and a big moat with piranhas and crocodiles.

Economic Moat is a concept popularized by Warren Buffett to describe a company's durable competitive advantage. It represents the 'moat' that protects a company from competitors and helps it sustain profitability over the long term. Our analysis of the past 10 years showed that companies with a wide economic moat significantly outperformed the market, delivering +645% returns compared to +189% for the S&P 500.

Our research into Economic Moat performance spans the past 10 years and focuses on companies with a wide economic moat. For this analysis, we calculated the average stock price returns of these companies, comparing them to the performance of the S&P 500 index over the same period.

The results were compelling: wide moat stocks achieved a remarkable +645% average return, compared to +188% for the broader market. This difference highlights the long-term benefits of investing in businesses that can maintain their market position and pricing power over time.

Note: This research does not account for survivorship bias. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Determining whether a company has an economic moat requires both a deep dive into financial metrics and a qualitative assessment of its competitive position. Our analysts conduct a rigorous evaluation that focuses on identifying structural advantages that enable a company to sustain profitability and defend its market share over the long term.

The process begins with an analysis of a company’s historical financial performance. We assess how consistently the company has generated returns above its cost of capital and whether those returns have been stable or improving. However, financial performance alone doesn’t reveal the full picture. To understand the sources of these advantages, we evaluate five key drivers of economic moats:

Network Effect: We analyze whether the value of a company’s product or service grows as its user base expands. Platforms like payment systems or marketplaces benefit from this self-reinforcing.

Switching Costs: We assess whether customers face significant costs or disruptions when switching to a competitor’s product or service. High switching costs create customer stickiness and provide pricing power.

Intangible Assets: Strong brands, patents, and regulatory licenses can protect a company’s market position by creating barriers for competitors or enabling premium pricing. For example, a well-recognized consumer brand may command higher customer loyalty and margins.

Efficient scale: Occurs when a market is optimally served by one or a few players, making it unprofitable for new entrants to compete. This typically happens in industries with high fixed costs or geographic constraints, such as utilities or pipelines.

Cost Advantage: Companies with structural cost advantages can produce goods or services at a lower cost than their competitors, enabling them to offer competitive pricing or maintain higher margins. These advantages often arise from economies of scale, superior supply chain management, or proprietary technology. Firms like Walmart leverage their massive scale to negotiate better terms with suppliers, allowing them to undercut competitors on price.

By examining these factors in combination with a company’s financial performance and market positioning, we classify each company into one of three categories:

This rigorous evaluation ensures that our moat ratings are both comprehensive and reliable, giving investors the tools they need to make well-informed, long-term decisions.

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210.2 SEK

0.14%

Companies most frequently analyzed and tracked by Alpha Spread users.

	Johnson & Johnson NYSE:JNJ	201.83 USD -2.66%
	Berkshire Hathaway Inc NYSE:BRK.A	752 876.57 USD 1.18%
	Bank of America Corp NYSE:BAC	57.23 USD 2.29%
	Mastercard Inc NYSE:MA	573.59 USD 1.86%
	UnitedHealth Group Inc NYSE:UNH	342.46 USD 1.8%
	Exxon Mobil Corp NYSE:XOM	125.71 USD 2.49%

View Most Popular Stocks Full List

Every business has a fair value, its true price. Where market price tells you the price other people are willing to pay, fair value shows the value of a stock based on an analysis of the company’s actual financials (such as cash balance, revenue, operating margin, etc).

	Franklin Covey Co NYSE:FC	16.64 USD -0.83%
	Mohawk Industries Inc NYSE:MHK	111.19 USD 1.53%
	Ardmore Shipping Corp NYSE:ASC	10.68 USD 2.2%
	ASGN Inc NYSE:ASGN	46.66 USD -3.13%
	Skyworks Solutions Inc NASDAQ:SWKS	65.43 USD 1.61%
	Weatherford International PLC NASDAQ:WFRD	80.89 USD 3.36%

View Most Undervalued Stocks Full List

Economic Moat is a concept popularized by Warren Buffett to describe a company's durable competitive advantage. It represents the 'moat' that protects a company from competitors and helps it sustain profitability over the long term.

	Johnson & Johnson NYSE:JNJ	201.83 USD -2.66%
	Bank of America Corp NYSE:BAC	57.23 USD 2.29%
	Mastercard Inc NYSE:MA	573.59 USD 1.86%
	Salesforce Inc NYSE:CRM	258.33 USD 1.86%
	Abbvie Inc NYSE:ABBV	220.18 USD -3.98%
	Home Depot Inc NYSE:HD	346.42 USD 0.17%

View Wide Economic Moat Stocks Full List

Companies demonstrating exceptional profitability and efficient operations.

	Monolithic Power Systems Inc NASDAQ:MPWR	961.28 USD 2.67%
	Applovin Corp NASDAQ:APP	633.68 USD 2.48%
	Apple Inc NASDAQ:AAPL	268.06 USD -1.09%
	NVIDIA Corp NASDAQ:NVDA	188.93 USD 0.04%
	Cal-Maine Foods Inc NASDAQ:CALM	79.05 USD 0.74%
	Pro Medicus Ltd ASX:PME	215.3 AUD -1.69%

View High Profitability Stocks Full List

Companies with the lowest probability of bankruptcy.

	Salesforce Inc NYSE:CRM	258.33 USD 1.86%
	Accenture PLC NYSE:ACN	265.47 USD 2.12%
	ServiceNow Inc NYSE:NOW	149.17 USD 1.17%
	Spotify Technology SA NYSE:SPOT	605.66 USD 5.33%
	TJX Companies Inc NYSE:TJX	154.68 USD 0.26%
	Applied Materials Inc NASDAQ:AMAT	285.73 USD 6.27%