SO
Qual é o moat económico de The Southern Company (SO)?
The Southern Company (SO)'s economic moat is graded on the Buffett-Fit framework using two quantitative anchors and qualitative signals. The current ROIC sits at 0.0% (0.0% over 5y average) and the gross margin runs at 0.4%. Whether that constitutes a durable competitive advantage depends on whether those returns can be sustained - covered below. Educational only, not investment advice.
ROIC sustainability. The Southern Company's trailing ROIC is 0.0%, with a 5-year average of 0.0%. ROIC above 15% sustained over multiple years is the closest single quantitative proxy for moat strength - it means capital deployed in the business is earning above-average returns AND competitors haven't been able to compete those returns away. A one-year spike from a hot product cycle doesn't count; the pattern needs to hold across a full business cycle.
Gross-margin durability. The Southern Company runs a gross margin of 0.4%. Sustained gross margins above 40% in industries where peers sit lower is direct evidence of pricing power - customers are willing to pay a premium without switching, which is what a moat actually feels like in the income statement. Margin compression over multiple years signals the moat is eroding.
Qualitative signals. Beyond the numbers, moat sources include brand strength (consumer staples, luxury), switching costs (enterprise software, banking), network effects (marketplaces, payment networks), regulatory barriers (utilities, insurance), and patents (pharma, semiconductors). The Buffett-Fit verdict on /buffett/so/ identifies which of these apply to The Southern Company specifically. The moat pillar contributes roughly 25% of the overall Buffett-Fit score.
How invest-like measures this
Um moat económico é uma vantagem estrutural que permite a um negócio gerar retornos sobre o capital acima da média durante longos períodos sem que esses retornos sejam erodidos pela concorrência. O pilar moat Buffett-Fit avalia-o através de duas âncoras quantitativas (sustentabilidade do ROIC, durabilidade da margem bruta) mais sinais qualitativos como força de marca, custos de mudança, efeitos de rede, barreiras regulatórias e moats de patentes.
Um ROIC acima de 15% sustentado durante uma janela plurianual - não um único ano excecional - é o melhor proxy quantitativo isolado para a força do moat. Margens brutas sustentadas acima de 40% em indústrias onde os pares estão mais baixos é poder de pricing real. Ambos são necessários, nenhum é suficiente sozinho.
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Análise de framework apenas educacional. Não é assessoria de investimento, nem uma recomendação, nem personalizado para sua situação. Sempre faça sua própria pesquisa.