The Moat Index

Calix, Inc

CALX · Communications · $2.6B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · Shallow moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

49/ 100
Shallow moat

The four filters

Pricing power72

Median gross margin 49.6% over 10y, stable.

Returns on capital7

Median ROIC -1.4%, above the 9% hurdle in 20% of years.

Balance-sheet safety100

Net cash position — no leverage risk.

Capital discipline24

Owner earnings trend unclear, share count growing (dilution).

Margin of safety

Above valueOn sale
706% above value
Owner earnings (normalized)
$29.3M
Est. intrinsic value / share
$4.85
Recent price
$39.14
Discount to value
706% above value

Conservative model: 9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth (capped at 4%), maintenance capex ≈ min(capex, D&A).

18 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Calix, Inc booked $1.0B of revenue in FY2025 in the Communications sector and kept 56.8% of it as gross profit — a high-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 1.8% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $232.9M (FY2009) to $1.0B (FY2025) — about 9.5% a year compounded over 16 years.

It earned 1.9% on invested capital in FY2025, with a median of −8.7% across 16 filed years. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 7/100.

CALX's filings don't disclose total debt in a form the methodology can use, so leverage is treated as unmeasured — never assumed to be zero.

The share count rose 73.4% between FY2010 and FY2025 — existing owners have been diluted over the record. Capital Discipline scores it 24/100.

Put together: Balance-Sheet Safety is the strongest of the four filters (100/100) and Returns on Capital the weakest (7/100), which is how CALX lands at 49/100 — a Shallow moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2008–FY2025 · 18 fiscal years, normalized from CALX’s SEC filings

RevenueSales, as filed$1.0B FY2025
$0$500M$1B2008201420202025
Gross marginRevenue kept after cost of goods56.8% FY2025
0%25%50%2008201420202025
Return on invested capitalOperating profit on the capital employed1.9% FY2025
−50%0%2008201420202025
Owner earningsCash an owner could take out$17.9M FY2025
$0$200M2008201420202025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in CALX’s filings for that year — the series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Moat Score history

3 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale48.5 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026

Score history begins Jul 17, 2026 — the record builds from here and can’t be backfilled.

Tier changesSame-methodology crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

None yet — CALX has read Shallow moat for every logged capture since Jul 17, 2026.

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record can’t be backfilled, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Communications context

#20 of 56 scored Communications companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #18CXDO Crexendo, Inc.51.2 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
  2. #19AMCX AMC Global Media Inc.50.5 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
  3. #21TDS TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS, INC.47.6 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat
  4. #22RSVR Reservoir Media, Inc.46.9 out of 100, Shallow moatShallow moat

Compare CALX with its nearest peersAll Communications companies on the Index →

Common questions about CALX

Does Calix, Inc have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Calix, Inc (CALX) 48.5 out of 100 — a Shallow moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 72, returns on capital 7, balance-sheet safety 100, capital discipline 24.
Is CALX stock trading below its intrinsic value?
Against a deliberately conservative owner-earnings model (9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth, capped at 4%), estimated intrinsic value is $4.85 per share versus a recent price of $39.14 — 706% above value. This is an educational estimate computed from primary SEC filings, not investment advice.
How has CALX's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 3 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 48.5 out of 100 (shallow moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.
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Calix, Inc (CALX) Moat Score — The Moat Index · Buy Like Buffett