CDW Corporation CDW

Competitive advantage analysis · technology

Software & SaaS Specialized
Overall moat score
57/100
Moderate

About CDW Corporation

CDW Corporation provides information technology (IT) solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Commercial, Government, and Education. The company offers discrete hardware and software products and services, as well as integrated IT solutions, including on-premise and cloud capabilities across hybrid infrastructure, digital experience, and security. It also provides hardware products comprising notebooks/mobile … Full CDW analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Asset-Light Returns Return profile is strong (score 0.83), supporting a capital-efficient model.
  • Returns Hold Over Time Return durability is healthy (score 0.93), indicating durable capital efficiency.

Key risks

  • Liquidity Cushion Looks Thin Liquidity position is weak (score 0.29), leaving less room for error.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
64

Where CDW ranks in Information Technology Services

CDW Corporation ranks #30 of 78 scored companies in Information Technology Services by moat score — the top 38%. The widest moat in the group is Mastercard Incorporated (MA) at 84/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near CDW in Information Technology Services
# Company Moat score Rating
26 TSS, Inc. TSSI 62/100 Moderate
27 Leidos Holdings, Inc. LDOS 61/100 Moderate
28 Globant S.A. GLOB 60/100 Moderate
29 Parsons Corporation PSN 57/100 Moderate
30 CDW Corporation CDW 57/100 Moderate
31 Fidelity National Information S FIS 57/100 Moderate
32 Western Union Company (The) WU 56/100 Moderate
33 Science Applications Internatio SAIC 55/100 Moderate
34 The Hackett Group, Inc. HCKT 53/100 Moderate

See every Software & SaaS company ranked by moat score →

How CDW scores on the Software & SaaS Specialized defenses

Pricing Power

Score 64 · 20% of the moat score

In software, pricing power is visible in gross margin: a vendor that has to discount in order to renew gives it up first.

Recurring Revenue Stickiness

Score 49 · 18% of the moat score

Recurring revenue is the model's central claim, and it is a moat only when customers renew and expand without being re-sold each year.

Innovation Engine

Score 47 · 16% of the moat score

Software is competed away rather than depreciated, so a vendor that stops investing loses its category.

Cash Scalability

Score 46 · 18% of the moat score

The test of a software business is whether growth eventually stops consuming cash.

Capital Efficiency

Score 86 · 16% of the moat score

A software platform employs very little capital, so a genuine franchise should produce high returns on it without leverage.

Balance Sheet Resilience

Score 45 · 12% of the moat score

Software companies fund years of customer acquisition before those customers pay back, which makes access to capital a strategic variable rather than a treasury detail.

How each Software & SaaS Specialized defense is measured, in full →

Understanding CDW's moat

What is CDW Corporation's moat score?

CDW Corporation (CDW) scores 57 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #30 of 78 scored companies in Information Technology Services, the top 38%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 77 companies in Information Technology Services. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (86/100) and its weakest is Balance Sheet Resilience (45/100).

How does CDW Corporation compare with other Information Technology Services companies?

CDW Corporation ranks #30 of 78 scored companies in Information Technology Services by moat score. The widest moat in Information Technology Services is Mastercard Incorporated (MA) at 84/100. The companies ranked closest are Parsons Corporation (PSN) at 57 just above it and Fidelity National Information S (FIS) at 57 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Software & SaaS Specialized in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 77 companies in Information Technology Services. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is CDW Corporation scored with the Software & SaaS Specialized template?

Software costs almost nothing to reproduce, so the entire economic question is whether customers keep paying. Revenue is a subscription rather than a sale, the cost of winning a customer is paid years before that customer becomes profitable, and margins arrive only if renewals hold. The Software & SaaS template scores retention, reinvestment, and the point at which growth turns into cash.

Which competitive defenses are measured for CDW Corporation?

The Software & SaaS Specialized template measures 6 defenses, and CDW scores: Pricing Power (64), Recurring Revenue Stickiness (49), Innovation Engine (47), Cash Scalability (46), Capital Efficiency (86), Balance Sheet Resilience (45). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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