ULH
Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. (ULH) Economic Moat Analysis (2026)
Overall Score
Pricing Power
Gross margin remains low at 10.7%, indicating limited pricing power in a competitive trucking market.
Negative net margin of -6.0% suggests the company is still struggling to pass through costs enough to generate profits.
Scale Network Effects
No evidence of meaningful network effects or durable scale advantages in the latest financials.
Revenue per share of 58.0 and EV/sales of 0.91 imply a small, low-multiple operator rather than a moat-rich franchise.
Switching Costs
The business appears highly commoditized, with no clear signs of customer lock-in or switching friction in the reported metrics.
Receivables days of 63.8 and a 63.8-day operating cycle point to normal working-capital dynamics rather than sticky contractual economics.
Cost Advantage
Operating margin is slightly negative at -0.4%, showing no durable cost advantage versus peers.
High leverage and weak interest coverage further suggest the company is not converting scale into a structural cost edge.
Intangible Assets
No R&D spend and no visible intangible-heavy asset base indicate limited proprietary technology or brand-based moat support.
Tangible book value per share of 13.37 versus book value per share of 21.28 suggests the asset base is mostly conventional rather than moat-defining intangibles.
Efficient Scale
The company does not appear to operate in a niche where efficient scale protects returns, based on the weak profitability profile.
Return on invested capital of -0.4% indicates the business is not earning excess returns that would signal a protected market position.
Sources
- Company filings (10-K, 10-Q, investor presentations)
- Financial and market data providers
- Public news and industry information
🔒 Go Beyond This Framework
This is one of 10 institutional-grade frameworks Invetso runs on Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc.. Unlock the complete analysis — SWOT, Economic Moat, Porter’s Five Forces, Management, PESTLE and the Invetso Quality Score.

