VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
★ WIDE MOAT STOCKS & COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES ★
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Saturday, January 10, 2026
Morningstar, Inc.
MORN · NASDAQ
Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.
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Overview
Morningstar provides investment data and analytics, private-market data (PitchBook), credit ratings (DBRS), wealth and retirement solutions, ESG research (Sustainalytics), and index licensing. Its strongest moats are workflow lock-in in data platforms (Morningstar Direct, PitchBook) and proprietary investment IP distributed via licensed data feeds. Credit ratings benefit from regulatory barriers but compete against dominant incumbents. Indexes and ESG data monetize IP through licensing and subscriptions but face heavy competition. Key erosion vectors are client in-sourcing, pricing pressure from larger platforms, and regulatory/reputational risk in ratings.
Primary segment
Morningstar Data and Analytics
Market structure
Oligopoly
Market share
—
HHI: —
Coverage
7 segments · 7 tags
Updated 2026-01-10
Segments
Morningstar Data and Analytics
Investment data, research, and analytics platforms
Revenue
34.6%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
PitchBook
Private capital markets data and research platforms
Revenue
27.2%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
Morningstar Credit
Credit ratings and credit research
Revenue
12.8%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
weak
Share
—
Peers
Morningstar Wealth
Wealth management platforms and managed portfolio solutions
Revenue
10.9%
Structure
Competitive
Pricing
weak
Share
—
Peers
Morningstar Retirement
Retirement advice, fiduciary services, and managed accounts
Revenue
5.6%
Structure
Competitive
Pricing
weak
Share
—
Peers
Morningstar Sustainalytics
ESG research and ESG risk ratings data
Revenue
5.2%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
weak
Share
—
Peers
Morningstar Indexes
Investment index benchmarks and index licensing
Revenue
3.7%
Structure
Oligopoly
Pricing
moderate
Share
—
Peers
Moat Claims
Morningstar Data and Analytics
Investment data, research, and analytics platforms
Revenue share from FY2024 segment revenue: $788.1m of total $2,275.1m (10-K FY ended 2024-12-31).
Data Workflow Lockin
Demand
Data Workflow Lockin
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Products like Morningstar Direct are embedded in portfolio analytics and reporting workflows; renewal rate around 101 percent suggests high switching friction.
Erosion risks
- In-house tooling by large institutions
- Pricing pressure from larger data/terminal platforms
Leading indicators
- Morningstar Direct renewal rate
- Net seat and license growth
Counterarguments
- Data feeds and analytics can be replaced if a client invests in internal data engineering
- Incumbent platforms (Bloomberg/FactSet) remain strong alternatives
De Facto Standard
Network
De Facto Standard
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Morningstar distributes proprietary fund classification and rating constructs via licensed feeds, embedding its IP into client reporting and tools.
Erosion risks
- Shift to alternative taxonomies or factor models
- Clients normalizing multiple schemas
Leading indicators
- Renewal of IP-based data packages
- Adoption of data-feed products
Counterarguments
- Large institutions may rely on custom factor models instead of Morningstar constructs
PitchBook
Private capital markets data and research platforms
Revenue share from FY2024 segment revenue: $618.4m of total $2,275.1m (10-K FY ended 2024-12-31).
Data Workflow Lockin
Demand
Data Workflow Lockin
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
PitchBook is positioned as a central research platform for private markets; reported renewal around 107 percent signals strong workflow dependence and expansion.
Erosion risks
- Private-market activity downturn reducing usage
- Customer multi-homing across vendors
Leading indicators
- PitchBook renewal rate
- Licensed user growth
Counterarguments
- Private data gaps lead many customers to keep multiple vendors
- Bundled data suites can pressure standalone pricing
Morningstar Credit
Credit ratings and credit research
Revenue share from FY2024 segment revenue: $291.1m of total $2,275.1m (10-K FY ended 2024-12-31).
Regulated Standards Pipe
Legal
Regulated Standards Pipe
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Participation in regulated credit ratings markets is gated by registration and oversight; DBRS has long-standing SEC NRSRO status.
Erosion risks
- Regulatory findings or sanctions harming credibility
- Incumbent dominance limiting share gains
Leading indicators
- Regulatory actions affecting DBRS/MCR
- Mandate wins in key categories
Counterarguments
- Regulatory status is necessary but not sufficient; Moody's/S&P/Fitch dominate many mandates
Morningstar Wealth
Wealth management platforms and managed portfolio solutions
Revenue share from FY2024 segment revenue: $248.4m of total $2,275.1m (10-K FY ended 2024-12-31).
Suite Bundling
Demand
Suite Bundling
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Wealth offering bundles managed portfolios with advisor software components (planning, proposal, aggregation), which can improve retention when adopted as a suite.
Erosion risks
- Custodians/broker-dealers building in-house tools
- Best-of-breed ecosystems displacing suites
Leading indicators
- Platform adoption by firms/advisors
- Managed portfolio AUMA trend
Counterarguments
- Advisor tech is often modular; suites can be swapped with limited disruption
Morningstar Retirement
Retirement advice, fiduciary services, and managed accounts
Revenue share from FY2024 segment revenue: $127.1m of total $2,275.1m (10-K FY ended 2024-12-31).
Training Org Change Costs
Demand
Training Org Change Costs
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Retirement solutions integrate into plan/provider operations; implementation and change management create switching friction once deployed.
Erosion risks
- Fee pressure and consolidation in retirement services
- Bundling by recordkeepers and large asset managers
Leading indicators
- Retirement AUMA trends
- Client retention in retirement solutions
Counterarguments
- Retirement advice can be commoditized and heavily price-driven in RFPs
Morningstar Sustainalytics
ESG research and ESG risk ratings data
Revenue share from FY2024 Corporate and All Other revenue: Sustainalytics $117.3m of total $2,275.1m (10-K FY ended 2024-12-31).
Data Workflow Lockin
Demand
Data Workflow Lockin
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
ESG datasets can embed into investment workflows, but a renewal rate around 89 percent indicates relatively weaker lock-in and heightened competition.
Erosion risks
- Methodology/regulatory shifts in ESG
- Clients multi-sourcing and normalizing ESG data
Leading indicators
- License renewal rate
- Company coverage growth
Counterarguments
- ESG data is often multi-homed and substitutable across providers
Morningstar Indexes
Investment index benchmarks and index licensing
Revenue share from FY2024 Corporate and All Other revenue: Indexes $84.7m of total $2,275.1m (10-K FY ended 2024-12-31).
IP Choke Point
Legal
IP Choke Point
Strength
Durability
Confidence
Evidence
Indexes monetize proprietary methodologies and branding via licensing for product creation, often with fees tied to AUM or minimums.
Erosion risks
- Dominance of larger index providers and benchmark commoditization
- Fee compression in index licensing
Leading indicators
- AUM linked to Morningstar indexes
- Net new index licensing wins
Counterarguments
- Benchmark selection often favors larger incumbents for distribution/legacy reasons
Evidence
Annual revenue renewal rate for Morningstar Direct was approximately 101 percent in 2024 and 2023.
Renewal over 100 percent implies stickiness and expansion inside the installed base.
We distribute our proprietary statistics, including the Morningstar Category, Morningstar Style Box, and Morningstar Rating, through licensed data feeds.
Supports IP embeddedness via data distribution.
Annual revenue renewal rate for PitchBook was 107 percent in 2024.
Indicates strong retention and net expansion.
DBRS has been registered with the Commission as an NRSRO since 2007.
Supports regulatory barrier and eligibility in regulated ratings frameworks.
Software platforms that combine data and analytics with proposal tools, planning, data aggregation, and research.
Supports suite breadth across advisor workflows.
Showing 5 of 8 sources.
Risks & Indicators
Erosion risks
- In-house tooling by large institutions
- Pricing pressure from larger data/terminal platforms
- Shift to alternative taxonomies or factor models
- Clients normalizing multiple schemas
- Private-market activity downturn reducing usage
- Customer multi-homing across vendors
Leading indicators
- Morningstar Direct renewal rate
- Net seat and license growth
- Renewal of IP-based data packages
- Adoption of data-feed products
- PitchBook renewal rate
- Licensed user growth
Curation & Accuracy
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