There are many textbook definitions of the word “ moat”. But what it means in simple terms is that there has to be something in a business and the management which makes it different from others and also helps it grow faster and more importantly on a sustained basis. It is not a very complicated thing, just a look at some basic numbers, a look at what the company management had said 5 years ago, whether it has been achieved or not. For example, in sectors where the debt is normally high because of the nature of business, a company which has been able to grow while keeping debt at a lower level is positive and is surely a moat, while if one goes by strict textbook definition of moat it might not fit it.
