Efficient Scale Stocks

Companies scoring 7+/10 on the efficient scale pillar — markets that simply don't have room for another competitor.

Efficient scale is the moat of markets that are only big enough for a few winners. When a market’s size supports one pipeline, one stock exchange, one regional airport, or two rating agencies, rational competitors stay out — not because they cannot enter, but because entering would wreck returns for everyone, including themselves. The barrier is the market’s own economics: an entrant would have to split a fixed pie while duplicating enormous fixed costs.

This is the least intuitive of the five moat pillars because the protection comes from competitor restraint rather than company action. The tell-tale signs are niche or geographically bounded markets, high fixed-cost infrastructure, and long histories of stable market share with no serious entry attempts. MoatScan’s AI scores the efficient scale pillar from 0 to 10 on exactly those signals; every company below rates at least 7 out of 10.

Efficient scale businesses often pair modest growth with exceptional return stability, which makes valuation discipline especially important — you are buying durability, not expansion. Each linked analysis shows the full five-pillar picture plus an AI-estimated fair value to anchor what that durability is worth.

#	Company	Efficient Scale Rating	Moat Score	Moat Rating	Financial Score	Fair Value
1	ATEXAnterix Inc.	9.5/10	79	Wide Moat	62	$129.06
2	VRSNVeriSign Inc.	9.5/10	73	Wide Moat	65	$330.24
3	PCGPG&E Corporation	9.5/10	63	Narrow Moat	57	$28.66
4	CMECME Group Inc.	9/10	83	Wide Moat	76	$411.50
5	TSMTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.	9/10	80	Wide Moat	86	$297.42
6	MAMastercard Incorporated	9/10	79	Wide Moat	80	$725.55
7	TPLTexas Pacific Land Corporation	9/10	76	Wide Moat	68	$484.09
8	UNPUnion Pacific Corporation	9/10	76	Wide Moat	74	$278.53
9	WMWaste Management, Inc.	9/10	75	Wide Moat	71	$260.97
10	AMTAmerican Tower Corporation	9/10	70	Wide Moat	69	$119.04
11	AWKAmerican Water Works Company, Inc.	9/10	66	Narrow Moat	—	—
12	RYRoyal Bank of Canada	9/10	66	Wide Moat	—	—
13	DUKDuke Energy Corporation	9/10	64	Narrow Moat	—	—
14	SOSouthern Company	9/10	64	Narrow Moat	—	—
15	WECWEC Energy Group, Inc.	9/10	64	Wide Moat	—	—
16	EDConsolidated Edison, Inc.	9/10	61	Narrow Moat	56	$191.21
17	FEFirstEnergy Corp.	9/10	59	Narrow Moat	58	$49.33
18	AEPAmerican Electric Power Company, Inc.	9/10	58	Narrow Moat	62	$100.13
19	ATOAtmos Energy Corporation	9/10	56	Narrow Moat	—	—
20	PPLPPL Corporation	9/10	47	Narrow Moat	60	$29.90
21	ASMLASML Holding N.V.	8.5/10	83	Wide Moat	82	$1,353.00
22	SPGIS&P Global Inc.	8.5/10	83	Wide Moat	73	$666.80
23	METAMeta Platforms, Inc.	8.5/10	82	Wide Moat	81	$732.51
24	VVisa Inc.	8.5/10	81	Wide Moat	78	$342.74
25	CDNSCadence Design Systems Inc	8.5/10	79	Wide Moat	72	$155.89
26	SNPSSynopsys, Inc.	8.5/10	76	Wide Moat	64	$452.78
27	GEGE Aerospace	8.5/10	75	Wide Moat	71	$461.20
28	LINLinde plc	8.5/10	75	Wide Moat	73	$605.60
29	VRTXVertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	8.5/10	71	Narrow Moat	76	$566.95
30	CTASCintas Corporation	8.5/10	70	Wide Moat	80	$272.73
31	CSXCSX Corporation	8.5/10	68	Narrow Moat	61	$51.10
32	NEENextEra Energy, Inc.	8.5/10	65	Narrow Moat	66	$131.27
33	WMTWalmart Inc.	8.5/10	65	Narrow Moat	76	$144.20
34	MLMMartin Marietta Materials, Inc.	8.5/10	62	Narrow Moat	—	—
35	CNPCenterPoint Energy, Inc.	8.5/10	60	Narrow Moat	59	$39.93
36	EIXEdison International	8.5/10	58	Narrow Moat	56	$335.71
37	MCKMcKesson Corporation	8.5/10	55	Narrow Moat	69	$1,082.72
38	EXCExelon Corporation	8.5/10	52	Narrow Moat	—	—
39	XELXcel Energy Inc.	8.5/10	47	Narrow Moat	—	—
40	NVDANVIDIA Corporation	8/10	84	Wide Moat	88	$331.30
41	CPRTCopart Inc.	8/10	81	Wide Moat	78	$42.05
42	GOOGLAlphabet Inc.	8/10	81	Wide Moat	82	$401.86
43	SPCXSpace Exploration Technologies Corp.	8/10	80	Wide Moat	54	—
44	ICEIntercontinental Exchange Inc.	8/10	79	Wide Moat	74	$216.29
45	KSPIJoint Stock Company Kaspi.kz	8/10	78	Narrow Moat	69	$639.00
46	BNYThe Bank of New York Mellon Corporation	8/10	75	Narrow Moat	73	$127.57
47	KLACKLA Corporation	8/10	75	Wide Moat	77	$603.54
48	VEEVVeeva Systems Inc.	8/10	75	Wide Moat	82	$206.22
49	FICOFair Isaac Corporation	8/10	74	Wide Moat	69	$942.33
50	BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway Inc.	8/10	72	Wide Moat	68	$595.00
51	TDGTransDigm Group Incorporated	8/10	72	Wide Moat	—	—
52	ARMArm Holdings plc	8/10	71	Narrow Moat	71	$43.46
53	MSIMotorola Solutions, Inc.	8/10	71	Narrow Moat	72	$627.78
54	EFXEquifax Inc.	8/10	70	Narrow Moat	67	$279.75
55	WMBThe Williams Companies, Inc.	8/10	70	Narrow Moat	63	$79.21
56	NOCNorthrop Grumman Corporation	8/10	69	Narrow Moat	67	$956.25
57	BKThe Bank of New York Mellon Corporation	8/10	68	Narrow Moat	—	—
58	CATCaterpillar Inc.	8/10	66	Narrow Moat	71	$1,088.80
59	WFCWells Fargo & Company	8/10	66	Narrow Moat	68	$63.78
60	CCICrown Castle Inc.	8/10	65	Narrow Moat	—	—
61	UPSUnited Parcel Service, Inc.	8/10	63	Narrow Moat	58	$121.20
62	TMUST-Mobile US, Inc.	8/10	62	Narrow Moat	73	$224.23
63	RSGRepublic Services, Inc.	8/10	61	Narrow Moat	72	$326.95
64	GDGeneral Dynamics Corporation	8/10	60	Narrow Moat	—	—
65	MOAltria Group, Inc.	8/10	60	Narrow Moat	—	—
66	TDToronto-Dominion Bank	8/10	60	Narrow Moat	—	—
67	RCLRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.	8/10	59	Narrow Moat	—	—
68	SRESempra	8/10	59	Narrow Moat	56	$68.38
69	SYYSysco Corporation	8/10	57	Narrow Moat	66	$102.50
70	VZVerizon Communications Inc.	8/10	56	Narrow Moat	64	$31.95
71	CAHCardinal Health, Inc.	8/10	54	Narrow Moat	58	$240.24
72	VMCVulcan Materials Company	8/10	54	Narrow Moat	74	$422.72
73	OGEOGE Energy Corp.	8/10	50	Narrow Moat	60	$56.51
74	AAPLApple Inc.	7.5/10	81	Wide Moat	80	$243.24
75	AMZNAmazon.com Inc.	7.5/10	79	Wide Moat	77	$355.01
76	MCDMcDonald's Corporation	7.5/10	77	Wide Moat	66	$338.61
77	MELIMercadoLibre, Inc.	7.5/10	77	Wide Moat	80	$2,577.49
78	COSTCostco Wholesale Corporation	7.5/10	75	Wide Moat	79	$1,542.62
79	ISRGIntuitive Surgical, Inc.	7.5/10	75	Wide Moat	83	$514.00
80	DEDeere & Company	7.5/10	73	Narrow Moat	67	$830.21
81	JKHYJack Henry & Associates, Inc.	7.5/10	71	Narrow Moat	75	$234.20
82	ITGartner, Inc.	7.5/10	70	Wide Moat	60	$227.03
83	LYVLive Nation Entertainment, Inc.	7.5/10	69	Narrow Moat	59	$334.63
84	DGXQuest Diagnostics Inc.	7.5/10	62	Narrow Moat	66	$218.50
85	EXRExtra Space Storage Inc.	7.5/10	62	Narrow Moat	63	$113.05
86	HCAHCA Healthcare, Inc.	7.5/10	62	Narrow Moat	—	—
87	TRGPTarga Resources Corp.	7.5/10	62	Narrow Moat	66	$372.40
88	URIUnited Rentals, Inc.	7.5/10	62	Narrow Moat	73	$699.28
89	VICIVICI Properties Inc.	7.5/10	62	Narrow Moat	70	$27.69
90	CPNGCoupang, Inc.	7.5/10	61	Narrow Moat	65	$32.67
91	PEPPepsiCo, Inc.	7.5/10	61	Narrow Moat	71	$169.83
92	TTETotalEnergies SE	7.5/10	61	Narrow Moat	—	—
93	APDAir Products and Chemicals, Inc.	7.5/10	60	Narrow Moat	56	$195.85
94	KMIKinder Morgan, Inc.	7.5/10	60	Narrow Moat	65	$33.07
95	KOThe Coca-Cola Company	7.5/10	60	Wide Moat	72	$101.38
96	CEGConstellation Energy Corporation	7.5/10	59	Narrow Moat	—	—
97	ACLSAxcelis Technologies, Inc.	7.5/10	56	Narrow Moat	65	$128.92
98	ASTSAST SpaceMobile Inc.	7.5/10	56	Narrow Moat	—	—
99	DVADaVita Inc.	7.5/10	56	Narrow Moat	—	—
100	WDCWestern Digital Corporation	7.5/10	52	Narrow Moat	64	$203.31

100 companies · List refreshed July 22, 2026 · Scores and fair values are AI-generated from each company's latest MoatScan analysis.

More curated stock lists

Wide Moat Stocks Narrow Moat Stocks Undervalued Moat Stocks Network Effects Switching Costs Intangible Assets Cost Advantages Full Analysis Database →

Disclaimer: This list is generated by AI from archived analyses and is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendations, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Always conduct your own due diligence before making investment decisions.