Competitor Moat Comparison
Name the rivals. "The industry" is not a rival.
This sits next to step 2 on How to Research a Stock and section 2 on the checklist. The concept page is What Is a Moat? You can do the comparison in a notebook. Framework 11 is the same demand, written up.
When to run it
- After you can explain the business (Framework 01) and you have a one-sided story.
- When you are choosing between two names in the same fight.
- When the pitch is "category leader" and nobody has named who they lead.
Do not run Framework 11 first. A competitor table with no business description is a logo collage.
What the write-up is supposed to contain
A Framework 11 output should force:
- Two or three named rivals — tickers or product names, not "peers"
- The dimension that actually matters (switching costs, scale, distribution, cost, network)
- Who is winning that dimension now, in one sentence
- One way each rival could take it in three years
- What is not a moat (a good quarter, a brand ad, a product launch)
If the output never names a competitor, the run failed. Go write Framework 02 instead.
What this framework cannot do
- It does not replace Framework 02. One name vs itself is a different job.
- It does not value the stock. That is Framework 03.
- It does not write the thesis. That is Framework 05.
- It does not tell you market share to the first decimal. If the write-up pretends it does, distrust it.
- It is not a buy rating.
Walkthrough: AMZN as a first 11
Notes a first comparison should produce
- Do not score "Amazon vs retail." Split the fight: AWS vs Microsoft and Google; the store vs Walmart; ads vs Google.
- AWS switching costs are real and not infinite. Azure does not have to "win" for AWS to stop being the story the price is priced for.
- The store's advantage is distribution and Prime habit, not a secret product. Walmart does not need to become Amazon to make that margin thin.
- Ads sit on purchase intent. That is different from a feed. It is also not a monopoly.
Still open: a clean, current share picture for cloud that I trust without a vendor slide. Tonight that number is not on this page.
Handwritten version: How to Analyze a Stock, section 2.
Full published run: AMZN analysis.
Do it yourself, then run 11
Before a credit:
- Name two rivals out loud.
- Pick one advantage that would hurt to copy.
- Write one sentence for how each rival takes it.
- Cover the ticker. If the advantage needs the logo to sound real, it is not a moat.
Then run Framework 11.
Common questions
Can I skip 02 and only run 11?
You can. You will know who the rivals are and still have only one side of the story.
What if there are ten competitors?
Pick two. A ten-logo slide is how people avoid the sentence.
What do I run next?
Framework 02 if the bear case is still "it could go down." Framework 05 if the invalidator is missing. Stop after that.
Run Competitor Moat Comparison
Same demand as checklist section 2, with names attached. This is the optional faster pass — not a substitute for naming the rival.
Try AlphaLens Free → Use code REDDIT-FREE-TRIAL · No card required · Then $39/mo or $299/yrThen write the two names. Or admit you have not.