Education & Consumer Services covers schools and online learning, funeral services, tax preparation, home warranties and other personal services. MoatScope covers 77 companies here. None has a wide moat; 17 have a narrow moat and 60 none.
How the industry makes money
These businesses earn tuition, subscriptions, service fees and contract income. Many benefit from repeat customers, such as annual tax filers and home-warranty holders.
Where the moats are
Brands and accreditations, counted as intangible assets, appear in 14 of the 17 moat-rated companies, and switching costs in 12.
The narrow-moat group includes New Oriental Education, Service Corporation International, Pearson, Duolingo, Laureate Education, Frontdoor and H&R Block. Companies without a moat include Youdao, Perdoceo Education and TAL Education. Frontdoor scores 70 on MoatScope's quality scale.
What wears moats down
Regulation can reshape education markets overnight, software can do work people once paid services for, and demographic shifts change demand for schooling.
What to watch
- Enrollment and subscriber trends.
- Education regulation.
- Competition from low-cost digital services.
Moat ratings and quality scores on this page update as companies report. Price versus fair value for every company in the industry is in the screener.