BUTLER NATIONAL CORP
Moat Score — Butler National Corporation
Total Moat Score
9 / 30
| Moat Factor | Score | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Intangible Assets Patents, trademarks, brand strength, or regulatory licenses that protect a company's products or services from being freely copied by competitors. | 2 / 5 | Decades of FAA-authorized repair-station status and platform-specific engineering knowledge on Learjet and Textron aircraft, plus a state gaming license for Boot Hill Casino, give Butler National some regulatory and know-how based intangible advantages, though neither business carries strong consumer brand equity. |
| Cost Advantage A durable ability to produce goods or services more cheaply than competitors — through scale, unique access to cheap inputs, location, or process — that lets a company undercut rivals or out-earn them at the same price. | 1 / 5 | As a small aerospace supplier and single-property casino operator, Butler National has no meaningful scale-driven cost advantage over larger aerostructure manufacturers or multi-property casino operators. |
| Pricing Power The ability to raise prices without losing meaningful business, because the product or service is differentiated, mission-critical, or has few good substitutes. | 1 / 5 | Roughly half of Aerospace Products revenue is earned under fixed-price contracts that cap upside, and rising customer concentration (39.1% of fiscal 2026 revenue from five customers) limits pricing leverage; casino pricing is largely set by state-regulated gaming economics rather than company discretion. |
| Network Effect The product or service becomes more valuable to every user as more people or organizations use it, making an established leader harder to displace. | 0 / 5 | Neither aircraft component manufacturing nor casino gaming carries a network effect; one customer's or gambler's patronage does not make the offering more valuable to another. |
| Switching Costs The money, time, or operational disruption a customer would face switching to a competitor, which locks in existing customers and supports renewals. | 2 / 5 | Aerospace customers face real switching costs once Butler National's components are certified and integrated into specific aircraft platforms, and casino patrons in southwest Kansas face geographic/travel friction to reach alternative gaming venues, providing moderate stickiness in both businesses. |
| Efficient Scale A market that can only profitably support a small number of players, so incumbents face limited threat from new entrants even without other defenses. | 3 / 5 | Boot Hill Casino benefits from a state-licensed, geographically limited gaming market in southwest Kansas where new competing licenses are unlikely, giving it a local efficient-scale position, while the Aerospace segment's small scale offers no comparable barrier. |