How to find companies with moats that are worth investigating

Seeing the conversations that have been stimulated by our recent stock research pieces, I thought it might be helpful to make this post as a forum to discuss promising companies that display moat-like characteristics. The scope can be international. Any comments or research ideas are welcomed. At the moment, I have a list of candidates that is a hybrid of my own picks, subscriber suggestions and companies that qualify for various screens. Below you’ll find a quick refresher on economic moats followed by a compilation of recent notable activity in the moat candidates I’ve found so far. Moat economics Warren Buffett once said: ‘put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio’s market value.’ It sounds simple. The challenge lies in identifying and sticking with these companies. This is partly because highly profitable firms attract competition. Capital is drawn to the areas of the economy that have the highest expected returns. These competitors often undercut the incumbent on price. As a result of this pattern, most highly profitable companies become less profitable over time. When you dig down to the individual company level, however, you can find candidates…