Fortress balance sheets.

Wide or Narrow tier (score 60+) · balance-sheet-safety sub-score 90+

A wide moat on a fragile balance sheet isn’t a Buffett business — leverage is how good companies produce bad outcomes. The balance-sheet-safety sub-score reads net debt against EBITDA and interest coverage straight from the filings; scoring 90 or better generally means little or no net debt and interest payments the business could shrug off. This screen keeps only Wide and Narrow moats (composite 60+) that clear that bar.

The point of a fortress balance sheet isn’t avoiding excitement — it’s optionality. A business that owes little can survive a bad stretch without dilution and act when others can’t. Note what this screen doesn’t test: price. Many of these names trade above value if growth stopped today, so pair it with Quality on sale for the intersection. Full formulas in the methodology.

Open these filters in the interactive screener →

That link pre-sets the screener to: Wide and Narrow tiers, balance-sheet safety at least 90.

Matches today

236

Wide moats

100

Median Moat Score

78

The Index API serves the top 500 companies by Moat Score, and right now that read doesn’t provably reach every score this screen’s rules could admit — so a qualifying name below that cutoff would be missing here. The interactive screener works over the same read.

6 Wide- or Narrow-moat companies can’t be listed because the balance-sheet sub-score isn’t measurable from their filings — that’s an honest “unknown”, not a pass or a fail.

A screen is a starting point for reading, not a recommendation. Scores reflect business quality as read from primary SEC filings; the disclosed owner-earnings range is model-dependent, not intrinsic value as fact or a price target. Sector labels are derived from SEC SIC codes and can differ from GICS classifications. Educational only — not investment advice. See the methodology and disclaimer.