VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ WIDE MOAT STOCKS COMPARISON ★

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Stock Comparison

Adobe Inc. vs Microsoft Corporation

Compare moat strength, market structure, and segment coverage to understand how each company defends its edge.

Adobe Inc.

ADBE · NASDAQ

Market cap (USD)$108.3B
Gross margin (TTM)89.1%
Operating margin (TTM)36.6%
Net margin (TTM)30%
SectorTechnology
IndustrySoftware - Infrastructure
CountryUS
Data as of2025-12-22
Moat score
68/ 100

Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.

Full stock profile

Dive deeper into Adobe Inc.'s moat claims, evidence, and risks.

View ADBE analysis

Microsoft Corporation

MSFT · Nasdaq Global Select Market

Market cap (USD)$2.9T
Gross margin (TTM)68.6%
Operating margin (TTM)46.7%
Net margin (TTM)39%
SectorTechnology
IndustrySoftware - Infrastructure
CountryUS
Data as of2025-12-21
Moat score
84/ 100

Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.

Full stock profile

Dive deeper into Microsoft Corporation's moat claims, evidence, and risks.

View MSFT analysis

Comparison highlights

  • Moat score gap: Microsoft Corporation leads (84 / 100 vs 68 / 100 for Adobe Inc.).
  • Segment focus: Adobe Inc. has 3 segments (74.3% in Digital Media); Microsoft Corporation has 3 segments (42.9% in Productivity and Business Processes).
  • Moat breadth: Adobe Inc. has 4 moat types across 2 domains; Microsoft Corporation has 9 across 4.

Primary market context

Adobe Inc.

Digital Media

Market

Creative content creation and document productivity software subscriptions

Geography

Global

Customer

Individuals, SMB, enterprise

Role

Software platform

Revenue share

74.3%

Microsoft Corporation

Productivity and Business Processes

Market

Enterprise productivity & collaboration suites, business applications, and professional network platforms

Geography

Global

Customer

Enterprises, SMBs, consumers, recruiters/advertisers

Role

SaaS platform + professional network

Revenue share

42.9%

Side-by-side metrics

Adobe Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
Ticker / Exchange
ADBE - NASDAQ
MSFT - Nasdaq Global Select Market
Market cap (USD)
$108.3B
$2.9T
Gross margin (TTM)
89.1%
68.6%
Operating margin (TTM)
36.6%
46.7%
Net margin (TTM)
30%
39%
Sector
Technology
Technology
Industry
Software - Infrastructure
Software - Infrastructure
HQ country
US
US
Primary segment
Digital Media
Productivity and Business Processes
Market structure
Oligopoly
Oligopoly
Market share
n/a
n/a
HHI estimate
n/a
n/a
Pricing power
Strong
Strong
Moat score
68 / 100
84 / 100
Moat domains
Demand, Network
Demand, Network, Supply, Legal
Last update
2025-12-22
2025-12-21

Moat coverage

Shared moat types

Suite BundlingEcosystem ComplementsData Workflow Lockin

Adobe Inc. strengths

De Facto Standard

Microsoft Corporation strengths

Long Term ContractsTwo Sided NetworkCapex Knowhow ScaleOperational ExcellenceDefault OS GatewayContent Rights Currency

Segment mix

Adobe Inc. segments

Full profile >

Digital Media

Oligopoly

74.3%

Digital Experience

Competitive

24.7%

Publishing and Advertising

Competitive

1.1%

Microsoft Corporation segments

Full profile >

Productivity and Business Processes

Oligopoly

42.9%

Intelligent Cloud

Oligopoly

37.7%

More Personal Computing

Quasi-Monopoly

19.4%

Want the full wide moat stocks list?

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Looking for expansion-stage stocks?

Proven models entering the expansion stage with unit economics that work.

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Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.