Does Merlin have an economic moat?
Maybe
Merlin earns 36.7% a year on the money invested in it: decent, but not the clear sign of a wide moat.
The numbers behind it
Return on invested capital, average of recent years36.7%
Return on invested capital, latest year-23.8%
Gross margin-591.6%Share of each sale left after production costs
Net margin-4,495.8%
How we decide
A moat shows up in the numbers as high returns that last. We call it likely when the average return on invested capital over recent years is at least 15% and the gross margin at least 40%, and possible from 10%. The numbers can't show where a moat comes from (brand, network, patents), only that one seems to exist.
More questions about Merlin
Data as of Nov 13, 2026.