Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies for gastrointestinal (GI) and rare diseases in the United States and internationally. It markets linaclotide, a guanylate cyclase type-C (GC-C) agonist for the treatment of adults suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation, as well as for pediatric patients suffering from functional …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Margins Consistently Above PeersGross margin at 99.4% (top 6%) and operating margin at 33.3% (top 2%) indicate strong pricing power.
Cost Leadership PositionOperating margin at 97.5th percentile with strong OpEx control demonstrates cost leadership.
Key risks
Liquidity ConcernsLiquidity is concerning (score 0.20), raising questions about short-term obligations.
Volatile Margins Suggest CyclicalityMargin volatility is high (stability score 0.28), suggesting cyclical exposure or competitive pressure.
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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Where IRWD ranks in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ranks #11 of 91
scored companies in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic by moat score — the top 12%.
The widest moat in the group is Zoetis Inc. (ZTS)
at 85/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near IRWD in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 88
· 15% of the moat score
A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.
Customer Stickiness
Score 86
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 71
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 51
· 17% of the moat score
Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.
Scale & Market Position
Score 64
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
What is Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s moat score?
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IRWD) scores 71 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #11 of 91 scored companies in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic, the top 12%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 90 companies in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic. Its strongest defense is Cost Advantage (88/100) and its weakest is Resilience (51/100).
How does Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. compare with other Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic companies?
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ranks #11 of 91 scored companies in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic by moat score. The widest moat in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic is Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) at 85/100. The companies ranked closest are Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (LNTH) at 73 just above it and ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANIP) at 69 just below it.
How is the moat score calculated?
Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default 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 90 companies in Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?
Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.
Which competitive defenses are measured for Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and IRWD scores: Pricing Power (69), Cost Advantage (88), Customer Stickiness (86), Capital Efficiency (71), Resilience (51), Scale & Market Position (64). 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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