MKS Instruments, Inc. MKSI

Competitive advantage analysis · technology

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
60/100
Moderate

Ranked against 33 peers in Scientific & Technical Instruments

About MKS Instruments, Inc.

MKS Inc. provides foundational technology solutions to semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications in the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and internationally. The company operates through Vacuum Solutions Division (VSD), Photonics Solutions Division (PSD), and Material Solutions Division (MSD) segments. Its VSD segment provides foundational technology solutions, including pressure measurement and control, flow measurement … Full MKSI analysis →

Key strengths

  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 80.0th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.73), suggesting sticky customer base.

Key risks

  • Elevated Debt Risk Debt serviceability is weak (score 0.33), raising refinancing risk.

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
57
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where MKSI ranks in Scientific & Technical Instruments

MKS Instruments, Inc. ranks #14 of 34 scored companies in Scientific & Technical Instruments by moat score — the top 41%. The widest moat in the group is Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) at 85/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
10 Trimble Inc. TRMB 66/100 Moderate
11 Itron, Inc. ITRI 66/100 Moderate
12 Novanta Inc. NOVT 62/100 Moderate
13 Sono-Tek Corporation SOTK 62/100 Moderate
14 MKS Instruments, Inc. MKSI 60/100 Moderate
15 Electro-Sensors, Inc. ELSE 54/100 Moderate
16 MIND Technology, Inc. MIND 51/100 Moderate
17 Mesa Laboratories, Inc. MLAB 51/100 Moderate
18 LGL Group, Inc. (The) LGL 49/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How MKSI scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 57 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 77 · 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 67 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 65 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 44 · 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 49 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding MKSI's moat

What is MKS Instruments, Inc.'s moat score?

MKS Instruments, Inc. (MKSI) scores 60 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #14 of 34 scored companies in Scientific & Technical Instruments, the top 41%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 33 companies in Scientific & Technical Instruments. Its strongest defense is Cost Advantage (77/100) and its weakest is Resilience (44/100).

How does MKS Instruments, Inc. compare with other Scientific & Technical Instruments companies?

MKS Instruments, Inc. ranks #14 of 34 scored companies in Scientific & Technical Instruments by moat score. The widest moat in Scientific & Technical Instruments is Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) at 84/100. The companies ranked closest are Sono-Tek Corporation (SOTK) at 62 just above it and Electro-Sensors, Inc. (ELSE) at 54 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 33 companies in Scientific & Technical Instruments. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is MKS Instruments, 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 MKS Instruments, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and MKSI scores: Pricing Power (57), Cost Advantage (77), Customer Stickiness (67), Capital Efficiency (65), Resilience (44), Scale & Market Position (49). 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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