Wex Inc scores 41 for management and 34 for moat. The management score rests on a return on invested capital of 7.6% and a gross margin of 54.9% — figures that describe returns closer to the cost of the capital behind them. The balance sheet carries debt at 3.94x equity, which magnifies both the returns above and the risk beneath them. The narrow moat and mixed management are not the same judgement, and the gap between them is where the argument about this business sits.
The valuation runs on assumptions chosen to understate rather than flatter. Growth is modelled at 11.3% a year, the rate measured from the filings. The exit multiple assumed is 22.5x. That produces an intrinsic value of $162.79, a 10-CAP price of $44.36 and a payback time price of $59.12, with the value zone set at the highest of the three, $81.39. Today's price of $168.66 is 107% above it.
The price is above the value zone and the business scores 34 for moat and 41 for management. Neither test argues for paying up here.
| Price | $168.66 |
| Market cap | $5.7B |
| P/E ratio | 16.8x |
| Return on invested capital | 7.6% |
| Gross margin | 54.9% |
| Debt to equity | 3.94x |
| Free cash flow yield | 5.9% |
| Growth rate used | 11.3% |
| Growth rate measured | 11.0% |
| Exit multiple assumed | 22.5x |
| Company | Moat | Buy price |
| Amdocs Ltd (DOX) | 44 | $63.57 |
| Qualys, Inc. (QLYS) | 99 | $128.95 |
| Dlocal Ltd (DLO) | 82 | $22.78 |
| Shift4 Payments Inc-Class A (FOUR) | 79 | $106.49 |
Every number above is built on assumptions that can be changed. In Moatly you can move the growth rate, the exit multiple and the margin of safety and watch every figure recalculate, so you are testing your own view of Wex Inc rather than accepting ours.