Top 10 Wide-Moat Stocks: Costco, ASML, and More

Wide-moat stocks are companies whose competitive advantages are so structural that rivals cannot dislodge them, even with unlimited capital. The 10 names below cover all five moat types Morningstar tracks, grouped here by which advantage protects each business.

These are starting points for research, not buy recommendations. Most wide-moat names trade at premium multiples; the S&P 500 ROE heatmap shows which earn moat-grade return on capital.

How We Selected These Stocks

Three filters: a wide-moat rating from at least one major equity research desk (Morningstar's framework anchors the list), the moat type identified explicitly so readers can see which advantage protects which business, and a market cap above 50 billion USD so the names are accessible to most investors. As of May 2026, ranked by moat depth and durability rather than expected return.

At-a-Glance Comparison

Intangible Assets

ASML Holding (ASML)

ASML is the only company on Earth that builds extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, the equipment required to print every leading-edge chip.

The data: 100% market share in EUV. Three decades of research, 800+ specialist suppliers, and Zeiss optics that took 15 years to develop push replication out of reach.

Watch out: Sales tied to one industry's capex cycle.

Stock page: ASML

Moody's (MCO)

Moody's is one half of a regulated duopoly with S&P Global, protected by the SEC's Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization designation.

The data: ~40% global ratings share alongside S&P, with Fitch a distant third near 15%. Thirty years of attempted competition has left the structure intact.

Watch out: Antitrust pressure on rating-agency conflicts of interest is rising.

Stock page: Moody's

Coca-Cola (KO)

Buffett's classic case study. The brand drives a global price premium that survives in 200 countries.

The data: 60+ consecutive years of dividend increases, distribution in over 200 territories, and pricing power that holds through input-cost spikes.

Watch out: Long-term shifts away from sugar erode share by single digits per decade.

Stock page: Coca-Cola

Cost Advantage

Costco Wholesale (COST)

Costco runs merchandise at near-cost margins and books its profit on annual membership fees, an inversion of standard retail economics.

The data: 76.2 million paid households, a 90.5% global renewal rate, and 5.6 billion USD in fee revenue in fiscal 2024 funding a 12.8% gross merchandise margin.

Watch out: A premium one-star Morningstar rating implies the price already reflects the moat.

Stock page: Costco

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM)

TSMC's yield rates compound over time: better yields lower per-chip cost, which funds the next process node, which deepens the lead.

The data: Roughly 70% of global foundry revenue and over 60% of leading-edge node share. Advanced processes (7nm and below) generated 69% of revenue in 2024.

Watch out: Concentration risk on Taiwan as a manufacturing base.

Stock page: TSMC

Switching Costs

Microsoft (MSFT)

Migrating an enterprise off Microsoft is not a software change, it is a restructuring: data migration, integration rewrites, retraining, and security reconfiguration usually exceed the licensing savings of moving.

The data: Office and Azure footprints turn renewal revenue into something close to an annuity. Enterprise Office 365 retention sits in the high 90s.

Watch out: Antitrust risk around Azure bundling and Teams integration.

Stock page: Microsoft

Apple (AAPL)

The iOS ecosystem turns each new Apple device into another switching anchor: iMessage, iCloud, Watch pairing, AirPods continuity.

The data: Over 90% of iOS users stay on iOS year over year. Multi-device owners (iPhone + Watch + AirPods) churn at roughly 87% lower rates than single-device owners.

Watch out: Regulators in the EU and US targeting App Store fees and sideloading.

Stock page: Apple

Network Effect

Visa (V)

Every new bank or merchant on the rails increases the value of the rails to every other bank and merchant. The flywheel has held for 60 years.

The data: About 4.9 billion Visa cards in circulation in 2025 and roughly 52% of global card volume outside China, with Mastercard taking the other half of the duopoly.

Watch out: Stablecoins and account-to-account payment rails are early but real challengers.

Stock page: Visa

Alphabet (GOOGL)

Search compounds in two directions: each query feeds ranking models that improve subsequent results, and the better results pull more queries and more advertisers.

The data: Google Search and YouTube together generated about 66% of revenue in 2024 (Search ~57%, YouTube ~9%).

Watch out: AI search interfaces are the first credible threat to the moat in 20 years.

Stock page: Alphabet

Efficient Scale

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)

ICE owns the NYSE plus a vertically integrated chain of clearing, data, and mortgage analytics. Once liquidity concentrates on one venue, traders cannot afford to move it.

The data: Derivatives clearing is a regulated, mandated function. Data subscriptions on top compound at single-digit rates with bond-like predictability.

Watch out: Regulatory action could cap clearing-fee economics over time.

Stock page: ICE

What These Stocks Have in Common

Three traits run through the list. Each business earns a return on capital well above its cost of capital, year after year. Each one would cost a competitor more to recreate than the market values them at, the structural definition of a moat. And every one is expensive most of the time, because the market sees the same advantages.

The investing job is not finding moats: those are visible. The job is paying a fair price for one. Wide-moat names spend years above fair value, and the discipline of waiting separates good outcomes from bad.

For a structured way to spot moats from outside, scan the S&P 500 ROE heatmap, which ranks every name by return on equity: real moats sit at the top of that ranking year after year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a wide economic moat? A wide moat is a sustainable competitive advantage that lets a company earn excess returns for 20 years or more before competition catches up. Morningstar uses the term to describe companies with one or more of five structural advantages: cost advantage, intangible assets, network effects, switching costs, and efficient scale.

Are wide-moat stocks always good investments? No. The moat protects the business; the price determines the return. A wide-moat stock at a 40% premium to its fair value can lose money for years while a narrow-moat stock at a 30% discount delivers double-digit returns. Pair the moat rating with valuation before sizing any position.

Can a moat erode? Yes, and it has happened often. Kodak's brand, Nokia's distribution scale, and Sears' real estate footprint were all once labelled wide moats. Technology shifts, regulation, and shifting customer preferences can compress a moat in under a decade. Track the moat trend, not just the rating.

How do I check if a stock has a moat? Look for sustained returns on capital well above the cost of capital, pricing power that survives input-cost spikes, and customer behaviour that repeats without marketing pressure. Morningstar publishes moat ratings, but a quick fundamentals check, return on equity, gross margin stability, and free cash flow consistency, often surfaces the same names.