VET
Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET) Economic Moat Analysis (2026)
Overall Score
Profitability Returns
ROIC is modest at 8.4% and ROCE is 9.3%, indicating only average returns on capital.
ROE remains negative at -19.5% and net margin is -24.0%, showing the business is still not producing consistent bottom-line profitability.
EBIT margin is 15.5% and EBITDA margin is 58.0%, but the gap to net income remains wide due to non-operating and financing drag.
Scale Cost Advantage
Gross margin is 30.5%, which is respectable but not strong enough on its own to imply a durable cost advantage.
SG&A is only 5.9% of revenue, suggesting a relatively lean overhead structure.
Revenue per share of 12.1 and operating cash flow per share of 6.0 indicate decent operating scale, but not a clear moat-level cost edge.
Balance Sheet Resilience
Net debt to EBITDA is 1.18x, which is manageable and supports financial flexibility.
Current ratio is 1.00x and quick ratio is 0.90x, leaving limited liquidity cushion.
Interest coverage is 4.0x, adequate but not especially strong for a cyclical business.
Cash Conversion Capital Efficiency
Operating cash flow is solid at 4.0x EV and free cash flow is 10.7x EV, supporting valuation and capital returns.
Cash conversion cycle is -43.1 days, reflecting efficient working-capital management.
Capex remains meaningful at 31.3% of revenue, which limits the durability of free cash flow conversion.
Moat Durability Intangibles
There is no clear evidence of strong intangible assets or network effects in the current financial profile.
Book value per share of 14.1 and price-to-book near 1.1x suggest the market is valuing the company close to asset value rather than assigning a premium moat multiple.
The business appears operationally efficient, but the returns profile does not yet indicate a wide or durable moat.
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 Vermilion Energy Inc.. Unlock the complete analysis — SWOT, Economic Moat, Porter’s Five Forces, Management, PESTLE and the Invetso Quality Score.

