Proto Labs, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. It offers manufacturing services, such as molding, computer numerical control machining, 3D printing, and sheet metal to developers, engineers, and supply chain teams. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Strong Interest Coverage & Conservative LeverageDebt serviceability is strong (score 0.89), with robust interest coverage.
Consistent Cash GenerationCash generation is strong and consistent (score 0.79).
Key risks
Volatile Margins Suggest CyclicalityMargin volatility is high (stability score 0.26), 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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Proto Labs, Inc. ranks #8 of 20
scored companies in Metal Fabrication by moat score — the top 40%.
The widest moat in the group is Mueller Industries, Inc. (MLI)
at 83/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near PRLB in Metal Fabrication
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 36
· 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 87
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 44
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 84
· 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 80
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
Proto Labs, Inc. (PRLB) scores 62 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #8 of 20 scored companies in Metal Fabrication, the top 40%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 19 companies in Metal Fabrication. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (87/100) and its weakest is Cost Advantage (36/100).
How does Proto Labs, Inc. compare with other Metal Fabrication companies?
Proto Labs, Inc. ranks #8 of 20 scored companies in Metal Fabrication by moat score. The widest moat in Metal Fabrication is Mueller Industries, Inc. (MLI) at 82/100. The companies ranked closest are ATI Inc. (ATI) at 70 just above it and Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (WOR) at 56 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 19 companies in Metal Fabrication. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Proto Labs, 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 Proto Labs, Inc.?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and PRLB scores: Pricing Power (47), Cost Advantage (36), Customer Stickiness (87), Capital Efficiency (44), Resilience (84), Scale & Market Position (80). 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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