Backtest · 2022 cohort
The widest moats of 2022, scored with only what was filed then.
Scored as of 2022-12-31 from the 10-Ks on file at that date — no later restatements, no hindsight. 1,757 companies scored; the table lists the 100 widest by as-of moat composite. The forward returns below were joined afterward: entry is the first market close on or after Jan 1, 2023.
| # | Company | Moat | As-of score | 1-yr return | 3-yr return | 5-yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medifast, Inc.MEDfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 100.0 | −35% | −90% | — |
| 2 | Moody’s CorporationMCOfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 100.0 | 39% | 85% | — |
| 3 | MICROSOFT CORPORATIONMSFTfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 98.3 | 56% | 102% | — |
| 4 | WINMARK CORPORATIONWINAfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 98.1 | 77% | 85% | — |
| 5 | MANNATECH INCMTEXfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 96.9 | −52% | −50% | — |
| 6 | ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.ALGNfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 96.9 | 27% | −26% | — |
| 7 | TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATEDTXNfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 96.8 | 7% | 19% | — |
| 8 | REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.REGNfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 96.0 | 26% | 8% | — |
| 9 | COPART, INC.CPRTfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 96.0 | 55% | 23% | — |
| 10 | Doximity, Inc.DOCSfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 96.0 | −13% | 32% | — |
| 11 | Arista Networks, Inc.ANETfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 96.0 | 91% | 342% | — |
| 12 | TRADE DESK, INC.TTDfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 96.0 | 60% | −14% | — |
| 13 | MORNINGSTAR, INC.MORNfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 95.6 | 28% | −1% | — |
| 14 | PUBMATIC, INC.PUBMfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 95.6 | 22% | −35% | — |
| 15 | Estee Lauder Companies IncELfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 95.1 | −42% | −56% | — |
| 16 | Omega Flex, Inc.OFLXfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 94.8 | −22% | −66% | — |
| 17 | S&P Global Inc.SPGIfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 94.3 | 31% | 57% | — |
| 18 | Monster Beverage CorpMNSTfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 94.3 | 16% | 50% | — |
| 19 | F5, INC.FFIVfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 94.2 | 22% | 77% | — |
| 20 | NetApp, Inc.NTAPfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 94.1 | 46% | 88% | — |
| 21 | Veeva Systems Inc.VEEVfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 94.1 | 19% | 38% | — |
| 22 | Paychex, Inc.PAYXfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 94.0 | 5% | 3% | — |
| 23 | QUALCOMM INC/DEQCOMfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 93.7 | 34% | 73% | — |
| 24 | O Reilly Automotive IncORLYfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 93.5 | 12% | 61% | — |
| 25 | INTUIT INC.INTUfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 93.4 | 55% | 64% | — |
| 26 | IDEXX LABORATORIES INC /DEIDXXfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 93.3 | 35% | 65% | — |
| 27 | Capri Holdings LtdCPRIfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 93.2 | −13% | −58% | — |
| 28 | SLEEP NUMBER CORPORATIONSNBRQfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 92.9 | — | — | — |
| 29 | DECKERS OUTDOOR CORPDECKfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 92.8 | 73% | 65% | — |
| 30 | ROLLINS INCROLfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 91.8 | 20% | 68% | — |
| 31 | NVIDIA CORPNVDAfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 91.6 | 237% | 1220% | — |
| 32 | Corpay, IncCPAYfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 91.4 | 54% | 64% | — |
| 33 | Robert Half Inc.RHIfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 91.3 | 20% | −58% | — |
| 34 | SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.SSTKfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 91.3 | −9% | −61% | — |
| 35 | UTAH MEDICAL PRODUCTS INCUTMDfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 91.1 | −13% | −39% | — |
| 36 | C.H. ROBINSON WORLDWIDE, INC.CHRWfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 91.0 | −1% | 96% | — |
| 37 | ResMed Inc.RMDfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 90.8 | −17% | 20% | — |
| 38 | Booking Holdings Inc.BKNGfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 90.8 | 71% | 166% | — |
| 39 | Intuitive Surgical, Inc.ISRGfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 90.7 | 25% | 112% | — |
| 40 | SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS, INC.SWKSfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 90.6 | 24% | −22% | — |
| 41 | LAM RESEARCH CORPORATIONLRCXfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 90.6 | 83% | 361% | — |
| 42 | PACIFIC HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION, INC.PFHOfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 90.6 | 4% | 91% | — |
| 43 | Cognex CorporationCGNXfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 90.3 | −15% | −21% | — |
| 44 | Meta Platforms, Inc.METAfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 90.2 | 178% | 425% | — |
| 45 | FASTENAL COFASTfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 90.1 | 38% | 84% | — |
| 46 | GRACO INC.GGGfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 90.0 | 27% | 26% | — |
| 47 | ADOBE INC.ADBEfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 89.9 | 72% | −1% | — |
| 48 | ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.EAfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 89.8 | 11% | 69% | — |
| 49 | GARMIN LTDGRMNfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 89.8 | 39% | 130% | — |
| 50 | FORTINET, INC.FTNTfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 89.7 | 19% | 61% | — |
| 51 | IRADIMED CORPORATIONIRMDfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 89.6 | 74% | 259% | — |
| 52 | NORDSON CORPORATIONNDSNfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 89.3 | 10% | 5% | — |
| 53 | AUTOZONE INCAZOfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 89.2 | 6% | 36% | — |
| 54 | NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP /DE/NOCfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 89.2 | −12% | 14% | — |
| 55 | WD-40 COMPANYWDFCfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 89.1 | 51% | 27% | — |
| 56 | Simulations Plus, Inc.SLPfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 89.0 | 21% | −51% | — |
| 57 | ALPHABET INC.GOOGLfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 89.0 | 55% | 256% | — |
| 58 | CROCS, INC.CROXfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 88.9 | −12% | −19% | — |
| 59 | WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.WSMfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 88.6 | 83% | 249% | — |
| 60 | lululemon athletica inc.LULUfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 88.5 | 56% | −35% | — |
| 61 | REVOLVE GROUP, INC.RVLVfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 88.3 | −26% | 31% | — |
| 62 | NU SKIN ENTERPRISES, INC.NUSfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 88.0 | −49% | −74% | — |
| 63 | ULTA BEAUTY, INC.ULTAfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 87.9 | 3% | 31% | — |
| 64 | GILEAD SCIENCES, INC.GILDfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 87.8 | 1% | 58% | — |
| 65 | TRACTOR SUPPLY CO /DE/TSCOfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 87.8 | −1% | 20% | — |
| 66 | TERADYNE, INC.TERfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 87.7 | 22% | 145% | — |
| 67 | Cirrus Logic, Inc.CRUSfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 86.9 | 13% | 65% | — |
| 68 | YETI Holdings, Inc.YETIfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.9 | 25% | 11% | — |
| 69 | OXFORD INDUSTRIES, INC.OXMfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 86.6 | 11% | −56% | — |
| 70 | USANA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC.USNAfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.5 | −0% | −64% | — |
| 71 | Tapestry, Inc.TPRfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 86.5 | 2% | 260% | — |
| 72 | KULICKE AND SOFFA INDUSTRIES, INC.KLICfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 86.4 | 25% | 19% | — |
| 73 | BRUKER CORPORATIONBRKRfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.3 | 5% | −30% | — |
| 74 | CarGurus, Inc.CARGfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.3 | 64% | 162% | — |
| 75 | MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES, INC.MANHfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.2 | 71% | 38% | — |
| 76 | Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.CBRLfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 86.2 | −13% | −68% | — |
| 77 | Snap-on IncSNAfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.1 | 29% | 66% | — |
| 78 | COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR COMPANYCOLMfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.1 | −9% | −34% | — |
| 79 | IPG PHOTONICS CORPIPGPfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.1 | 10% | −22% | — |
| 80 | UNITED THERAPEUTICS CorpUTHRfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 86.0 | −17% | 82% | — |
| 81 | KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.KEYSfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 86.0 | −9% | 21% | — |
| 82 | MSCI INC.MSCIfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 85.9 | 22% | 27% | — |
| 83 | JACK HENRY & ASSOCIATES, INC.JKHYfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 85.8 | −5% | 5% | — |
| 84 | APPLIED MATERIALS INC /DEAMATfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 85.2 | 61% | 186% | — |
| 85 | BIOGEN INC.BIIBfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 85.2 | −2% | −35% | — |
| 86 | La-Z-Boy IncorporatedLZBfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 85.0 | 63% | 73% | — |
| 87 | A. O. Smith CorporationAOSfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.9 | 41% | 22% | — |
| 88 | CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.CSCOfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 84.9 | 9% | 74% | — |
| 89 | Paycom Software, Inc.PAYCfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.8 | −33% | −49% | — |
| 90 | ITT INC.ITTfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.6 | 44% | 119% | — |
| 91 | ADVANCE AUTO PARTS, INC.AAPfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.6 | −58% | −73% | — |
| 92 | ACUITY INC.AYIfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 84.5 | 21% | 124% | — |
| 93 | ALARM.COM HOLDINGS, INC.ALRMfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.5 | 29% | 4% | — |
| 94 | Viemed Healthcare, Inc.VMDfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.5 | 6% | −4% | — |
| 95 | SYNOPSYS INCSNPSfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 84.4 | 56% | 50% | — |
| 96 | COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANYCLfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.3 | 5% | 5% | — |
| 97 | Carter's, Inc.CRIfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.3 | 5% | −49% | — |
| 98 | NVE CorporationNVECfrom FY2022 10-K | Wide moat | 84.1 | 22% | 10% | — |
| 99 | BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.BLMNfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.1 | 39% | −64% | — |
| 100 | LEVI STRAUSS & CO.LEVIfrom FY2021 10-K | Wide moat | 84.0 | 8% | 46% | — |
| Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B, total return)benchmark · total return (same basis) | — | — | 17% | 60% | — | |
| S&P 500 (price return)benchmark · price return | — | — | 24% | 79% | — |
Two benchmarks, and we’re careful about the basis. Company returns are total returns (dividends reinvested). Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B, total return) is on the same total-return basis — the fair, like-for-like comparison (Berkshire pays no dividend, so its dividend-adjusted and price series coincide). The S&P 500 (price return) is a price index that excludes dividends and so understates the market by roughly its dividend yield — shown for reference, not as a fair bar. A “—” is an unfinished forward window or a name without joined returns, never a zero. Where a name stopped trading mid-window it reports null with a note, never a guessed return.
The caveats, in the engine’s own words
- Point-in-time reconstruction: each score uses only SEC filings on file by Dec 31 of the cohort year; restatements filed later are ignored, and filers with December fiscal year-ends are scored off the prior fiscal year (their 10-K arrives the following spring).
- Survivorship bias: unless delisted companies were ingested explicitly by CIK, the cohort is drawn from companies still filing with the SEC today — names that failed or delisted since are missing, which flatters any forward-looking comparison. Companies whose filings had already gone stale at the cutoff are computed but excluded from the ranking (the stale count). The same caveat extends to returns: a name that stopped trading mid-window reports null with a note, never a guessed return through its delisting. Price histories are keyed by each company's ticker symbol as of today; a symbol that changed hands between issuers during a window can misattribute price history.
- Scores are business-quality only: no prices feed them, so valuation, margin of safety, and price-dependent verdicts are absent. Forward returns are a separate join of market data made after scoring and never influence any score.
- Forward returns start strictly after the information cutoff: entry is the first trading close on or after Jan 1 of the year following the cohort year, and each 1y/3y/5y window runs anchor-to-anchor to the first trading close of the corresponding later year. Windows that have not fully elapsed are null — never annualized or extrapolated from a partial period.
- Return basis honesty: company returns are total returns (split-adjusted closes with dividends reinvested at the ex-date); the S&P 500 benchmark is the ^GSPC price index, which excludes dividends and therefore understates the index by roughly its dividend yield in any comparison. A second benchmark, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), is computed on the SAME total-return basis as the companies — Berkshire pays no dividend, so its dividend-adjusted series equals its price series, and the same code path is used so the comparison is strictly like-for-like. Each record labels its own returnBasis.
- Educational, not investment advice. Hindsight makes every backtest look wiser than anyone could have been at the time.