Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment. …
Full WSO-B analysis →
Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Strong Interest Coverage & Conservative LeverageDebt serviceability is strong (score 0.92), with robust interest coverage.
Consistent Cash GenerationCash generation is strong and consistent (score 0.74).
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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Watsco, Inc. ranks #4 of 21
scored companies in Industrial Distribution by moat score — the top 19%.
The widest moat in the group is Fastenal Company (FAST)
at 91/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near WSO-B in Industrial Distribution
How WSO-B scores on the Corporate Default defenses
Pricing Power
Score 74
· 20% of the moat score
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 78
· 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 63
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 67
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 88
· 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 55
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
Watsco, Inc. (WSO-B) scores 70 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #4 of 21 scored companies in Industrial Distribution, the top 19%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 20 companies in Industrial Distribution. Its strongest defense is Resilience (88/100) and its weakest is Scale & Market Position (55/100).
How does Watsco, Inc. compare with other Industrial Distribution companies?
Watsco, Inc. ranks #4 of 21 scored companies in Industrial Distribution by moat score. The widest moat in Industrial Distribution is Fastenal Company (FAST) at 91/100. The companies ranked closest are Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) at 76 just above it and Watsco, Inc. (WSO) at 70 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 20 companies in Industrial Distribution. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Watsco, 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 Watsco, Inc.?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and WSO-B scores: Pricing Power (74), Cost Advantage (78), Customer Stickiness (63), Capital Efficiency (67), Resilience (88), Scale & Market Position (55). 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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