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Proto Labs, Inc.

PRLB · Industrials · $1.8B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · · not refreshed in 35 days · Shallow moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

Shallow moat
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The five investor questions

49

2021–2025 (latest 5 aligned FYs; v3 window cap 5): revenue $488M to $533M, increasing; diluted EPS 1.21 to 0.88, decreasing. Latest-filed diluted EPS remains usable for Business Trend, but an integer share-count change lacks enough evidence to confirm a comparable EPS basis; valuation growth therefore stays at 0%.

73

Median gross margin 47.9% over 10y, stable.

19

Median ROIC 6.9%, above the 12% hurdle in 30% of years.

100

Net cash position — no leverage risk.

55

Owner earnings changed -0.7%/yr over up to the ten most recent annual observations.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today
320% above value if growth stopped today
$39.7M
$18.65
$18.65
$78.24
320% above value if growth stopped today

What today’s price assumes: owner earnings growing ~33%/yr over 5 years. The zero-growth estimate assumes owner earnings stay flat (0% growth).

How to read this

We solve for the constant annual change in owner earnings that would make the five-year zero-growth estimate equal today’s price. This keeps the existing model inputs and calculation unchanged; it is an expectations lens, not a forecast.

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. The recent FY revenue series does not trigger the three-consecutive-declines flag.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 239% above the zero-growth estimate across 48 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Jul 26, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, META, MEDP, IBEX, MSFT, GOOGL, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, VEEV, GRMN, SSD, MNST, DOCS, MCO, CPRT, NTAP, LRCX, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, RMD, ROL, PAYC, IRMD, INTU, DECK, MORN, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, CTAS, LOPE, MRK, CMG, FAST, BKNG, ORLY

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF, BKNG.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 0% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

17 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Proto Labs, Inc. booked $533M of revenue in FY2025 in the Industrials sector and kept 44.5% of it as gross profit — a solid-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 4.0% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $64.9M (FY2010) to $533M (FY2025) — about 15.1% a year compounded over 15 years.

It earned 3.0% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2025. Across the full 14-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was 12.5%. Over the v3 recent window (10 measurable filed years), median ROIC was 6.9%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 19/100.

PRLB's latest filed year, FY2025, doesn't disclose total debt in a form the methodology can use, so current leverage is treated as unmeasured — never assumed to be zero.

Put together: Balance-Sheet Safety is the strongest of the five filters (100/100) and Returns on Capital the weakest (19/100), which is how PRLB lands at 59/100 — 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.

FY2009–FY2025 · 17 fiscal years, normalized from PRLB’s SEC filings

Sales, as filed$533M FY2025
$0$200M$400M2009201520212025
Revenue kept after cost of goods44.5% FY2025
0%25%50%2009201520212025
Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICROIC 3.0% FY2025
0%20%2009201520212025
Cash an owner could take out$40.2M FY2025
$02009201520212025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in PRLB’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.

Flagship explainer

How Proto Labs, Inc. makes its money

Start with a dollar of revenue and follow what the filing says remains.

revenueBranching filed flows with values and percentages directly labeled. Missing filing concepts are omitted rather than estimated.Revenue$533M · 100%Cost of revenue$296M · 56%Gross profit$237M · 44%Operating income$25.1M · 5%Income before tax$31.1M · 6%Income tax$9.8M · 2%Net income$21.2M · 4%As of 2025-12-31 · 1 SEC filing sourceBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com

Honest partial: the filing did not provide a normalized tag for Research and development, Selling, general and administrative; those components are omitted, not plugged.

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of revenueSource
$533M100%
Cost of revenue$296M56%
$237M44%
$25.1M5%
Income before tax$31.1M6%
Income tax$9.8M2%
$21.2M4%
Source: · event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

What Proto Labs, Inc. owns — and owes

Proto Labs, Inc.'s filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of assetsSource
Total assets$763M100%
Cash and equivalents$111M15%
Stockholders’ equity$674M88%
Source: · event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives Proto Labs, Inc.’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont return on equity factor treeReturn on equity branches into tax burden, interest burden, operating margin, asset turnover, and the equity multiplier.Return on equity3%Tax burden68%net income ÷ pretax incomeInterest burden124%pretax ÷ operating incomeOperating margin5%operating income ÷ revenueAsset turnover0.71×revenue ÷ average assetsEquity multiplier1.12×average assets ÷ average equityAs of 2025-12-31 · 1 SEC filing sourceBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com
DuPont source inputs
InputValueFiscal yearSource
$21.2MFY2025
Income before tax$31.1MFY2025
Operating income$25.1MFY2025
$533MFY2025
Ending assets$763MFY2025
Beginning assets$744MFY2024
$674MFY2025
$670MFY2024
Source:
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001443669-26-000010
· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

Where Proto Labs, Inc.'s cash went

Proto Labs, Inc.’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of cash from operationsSource
Cash from operations$74.5M100%
Depreciation and amortization$33.8M45%
Source: · event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding Proto Labs, Inc.

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q2—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

0 holding0 exited1 not holding1/19 resolved18 not retrieved

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
ManagerReported positionQuarter-over-quarterFiling accession
Markel / Markel-GaynerNo position reportedNo position reported
Abrams CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Akre CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Baupost GroupNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Berkshire HathawayNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Brave Warrior AdvisorsNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Dodge & CoxNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
First EagleNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
FundsmithNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gardner Russo & QuinnNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gates Foundation TrustNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Mairs & PowerNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Oakmark / Harris AssociatesNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Pershing SquareNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Polen CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Sequoia / Ruane CunniffNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Southeastern Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Tweedy, BrowneNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Yacktman Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source: · event Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026

Flagship explainer

What Proto Labs, Inc. insiders reported

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Aug 30, 2026.

Partial coverage: the incomplete Form 4 walk cannot establish no activity, an activity date, or zero counts.

Moat Score history

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

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale59.3 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026Jul 26, 2026

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

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

  1. Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)moat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
  2. Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0moat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
  3. Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0moat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

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

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

This machine-readable surface covers SEC ownership filings from 2003; it does not represent earlier paper-era records.

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Aug 30, 2026.

Trailing-12-month totals and the 90-day cluster result are withheld because this issuer walk is incomplete.

No reported Form 4 rows were captured for PRLB; the incomplete walk cannot establish zero activity, zero counts, or a negative cluster result.

A filing source-event date will appear when a Form 4 row is captured.

Retrieved .

Track record

How Proto Labs, Inc.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

Point-in-time scores 2012–2025, one methodology version · reconstructed from filings on file each Dec 31 — never with hindsight

Point-in-time Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored PRLB on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatPoint-in-time Moat Score100200Indexed price · log scale (2013 = 100)201220152018202120242026

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the 9 years PRLB rated Wide-moat (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021), the median forward total return that followed — measured only after each year’s filings were public — was:

  • 1 year −7% vs the S&P 500’s 12% (price basis) · median over 9 years
  • 3 years −25% vs the S&P 500’s 28% (price basis) · median over 9 years
  • 5 years −30% vs the S&P 500’s 82% (price basis) · median over 8 years

These are medians computed from the data, not a claim about any one year. The company figures are total returns (dividends reinvested); the S&P 500 is the price-only ^GSPC index, which excludes dividends and so understates the index — the gap flatters the company. A quality rating is not a return forecast, and past returns don’t predict future ones. Educational only, not investment advice.

Industrials context

#116 of 446 scored Industrials companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #114ALG ALAMO GROUP INC.59.8Shallow moat
  2. #115GENC GENCOR INDUSTRIES, INC.59.7Shallow moat
  3. #117STRL Sterling Infrastructure, Inc.59.2Shallow moat
  4. #118ZBRA ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION58.9Shallow moat

Compare PRLB with its nearest peers →All Industrials companies on the Index →

Common questions about PRLB

Does Proto Labs, Inc. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Proto Labs, Inc. (PRLB) 59.3 out of 100 — a Shallow moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 49, pricing power 73, returns on capital 19, balance-sheet safety 100, capital allocation 55.
Is PRLB trading below the conservative owner-earnings estimate?
The value if growth stopped today — a zero-growth baseline — is $18.65 per share. It capitalizes normalized owner earnings at a 9% rate and assumes 0% growth. Versus a recent price of $78.24, that is 320% above value if growth stopped today. The model also publishes a capped-growth comparison, but the zero-growth estimate is the cautious baseline. It assumes trailing owner earnings persist and is unreliable for declining businesses. This is an educational estimate from primary SEC filings, not intrinsic value as a fact or investment advice.
How has PRLB's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 16 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 59.3 out of 100 (shallow moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell PRLB. See the disclaimer.