MOATs Aren't Useful

Why is MOAT capitalized like it is an acronym? It links to article that does the same thing. The supposed acronym is never defined.

It is the word "moat".

I'm not sure why I would take the advice of some random blogger over Warren Buffett.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_moat

Moats per se are not useful. The direction is - are they strengthening or fading.

Also moats should be seen as a consequence of multiple dynamics - industry, management, etc - not as a cause.

A business that is growing and by growing is reinforcing their moat is a powerful multiplier.

Defensibility re: companies is well studied, by Hamilton Helmer who and his grad student did case studies of several hundred "defensible" companies and identified 7 "powers" that help companies defend against specific competitors. Note that each power is only applicable towards a specific competitor, and not as a blanket statement. The powers are 1. economies of scale, 2. network effects, 3. counter positioning, 4. Switching costs, 5. Branding, 6. Cornered resource and 7. process power.

I highly recommend Cedric's writing on the topic (behind a paywall) https://commoncog.com/7-powers-summary/