SWOT Analysis

If you've ever listened to Warren Buffett talk about investing, you've heard him mention the idea of a company's moat. The moat is a simple way of describing a company's competitive advantage. A strong competitive advantage, or a wide moat, gives a company sustainability, which, as investors, we're highly interested in.

In this article, we review a popular tool for evaluating competitive advantage, called SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis should be done on every company we're thinking of making an investment in.

SWOT stands for:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Analyzing these four factors will help you make better investment decisions. It's a brainstorming exercise, so take your time. A good SWOT analysis takes effort, but the more you put into SWOT analysis the better you will understand the company. Let's look at each factor in turn.

Strengths

First, we look at the company's strengths. What does the company do well? What makes it better than others? What does the company have, or do, that sets it apart from its competition?

These are important questions, and should include aspects of the company that made you consider it for investment in the first place. Look at branding, image, pricing power, size, market share, financial position (balance sheet strength), etc.

Here are some strengths to look for:

The size of the company relative to others in the industry
Balance Sheet strength
Cash flows
Perception of the company's products
Perception of the company's brand(s)
What advantages the company has over its competitors
In general, what does the company do well?

Weaknesses

Now that you've determined how wonderful the company is, it's time to look for the weaknesses. The same questions should be asked when looking for weaknesses. What does the company do poorly, or not so well? What are other companies doing better? What is keeping the company from greater success.

It's important that you don't gloss over this section. SWOT analysis is a brainstorming effort, so don't discount anything that comes to mind. If you perceive a weakness, list it. The weakness you fail to list today could be why your investment turns out poorly next year.

Some weaknesses to look for:

Deteriorating balance sheet
Poor perception of company's brand(s) and/or products
Advantages other company's have?
Lack of management or other employee talent
In general, what does the company do poorly?

Opportunities

We shift our focus to external factors when we look at opportunities. Here we try to identify areas of business we think the company is looking to enter, or should be looking to enter. We also look for opportunities to gain market share from competitors, or grow the company's market to new customers.

But there are more than just external opportunities. There are opportunities within a company that should be considered. Can the company combine product lines to increase sales? Maybe the company has duplicate costs that can be streamlined. Companies can always find ways to do things better.

Some opportunities to look for:

New markets for products
Financial or legal trouble for competitors
New technologies the company could adopt
Changes in regulatory / tax burdens
Strategic investments
Internal efficiencies

Threats

Finally, we need to consider threats to the company. Again, threats can be internal as well as external. In fact, I've found that internal threats usually come first, which opens the door to external threats. Therefore, it's important to do a good threat analysis.

Internal threats aren't usually classified as such, which I think is a mistake. Any internal problem is a threat to the company's well-being and should be evaluated alongside the external threats. For example, a company that relies on developing innovative products, such as Microsoft or Intel, faces the threat of losing engineering talent every day. This is an internal threat that could easily pave the way for external threats.

Some possible threats are:

Internal obstacles the company is facing.
Financial constraints on the company.
Cash flow problems.
The relative position of the company's largest competitors.
Technological advances in the industry (if the company isn't keeping pace).
New technologies that threaten to displace the company's products.

SWOT analysis is a brainstorming activity, and you should learn from it. Focus on the weaknesses and the threats when doing SWOT, because that's what will turn around and bite you after you make your investment. I'm not saying you should look only for the negatives, and ignore the company's potential. But you should analyze the risks with as much, or more, scrutiny then the opportunities. Opportunities don't always show up, but somehow risks always do.

About The Author

Chris Mallon is the editor and publisher of the Undervalued Weekly, a financial analysis newsletter. Chris holds a Master of Science in Finance and is the leading analyst for the Dynamic Investors partnership. He is available at chrismallon@dynamicinvestors.net or the through the website at chrismallon@dynamicinvestors.net.

no-contract cleaning service Des Plaines ..

In The News:

OpenAI announces new teen safety rules for ChatGPT users under 18, blocking romantic roleplay and requiring extra caution on body image topics.

A 2025 data breach at fintech company 700Credit exposes personal information of more than 5.8 million people through compromised third-party integration partner.

Retailers lose $76.5 billion annually to return fraud as nearly 10% of U.S. retail returns involve fraudulent activity, with $850 billion in returns expected in 2025.

ShinyHunters claims responsibility for stealing 94GB of Pornhub user data affecting over 200 million records and demands Bitcoin ransom.

ChatGPT 2025 now connects to Apple Music, Canva, Expedia, TripAdvisor and OpenTable through built-in apps that help users create playlists, design graphics and more.

Apple releases emergency patches for two zero-day vulnerabilities actively exploited in attacks. iPhone and iPad users urged to update immediately.

DoorDash launches Zesty, an AI-powered social app that recommends restaurants through conversational search, now testing in San Francisco and New York.

Cybersecurity firm Infoblox reveals that over 90 percent of parked domains now redirect visitors to scams and malware, making simple typos extremely dangerous.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

GPT-5.2 is now live for all ChatGPT users with improved coding, writing and image interpretation, with Kurt Knutsson offering his review.

New iPhone replacement scam uses pressure tactics and fake carrier calls to steal devices from buyers. Criminals claim shipping errors and demand urgent returns.

Amazon Ring's new facial recognition feature sparks privacy controversy as Electronic Frontier Foundation critics argue the AI upgrade expands surveillance risks.

New Android banking trojan Sturnus steals credentials, reads encrypted messages and controls devices.

Denmark's 3D-printed student village proves automation builds 36 apartments faster than traditional methods. Skovsporet project shows housing future.

Discover Android's new Sound Notifications feature that alerts you to smoke alarms, doorbells, and baby cries even when wearing headphones.

New SantaStealer malware reportedly threatens holiday shoppers with password theft. This Christmas-themed info-stealer targets browsers and crypto wallets.

The Christmas season brings a surge in Netflix phishing scams targeting shoppers with fake emails. Stacey P received convincing scam but verified account first.

San Francisco Giants invite Jamie Grohsong to throw ceremonial first pitch at Oracle Park after he learned to play baseball with a bionic hand following an injury.

FBI warns cybercriminals are stealing family photos from social media to create fake proof of life images in virtual kidnapping scams targeting victims.

Instagram's new 'Your Algorithm' tool lets you control your Reels feed in real time. The app now gives you power to customize what videos you see.

Major Marquis fintech breach exposes 400,000-plus Americans' data through unpatched SonicWall vulnerability, with Texas hardest hit at 354,000 affected.

Free up iPhone storage fast by clearing large photos and videos from Messages app. Simple steps for iOS users to delete attachments without losing chats.

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.

SWOT Analysis

Strategic Planning