Devoted to understanding the basics and fundamentals of investing

A couple days ago I wrote about Warren Buffett's economic moat, and how you could use it as an investor. Now I want to take it a step farther and show you some of the companies with the most economic moat. This list has nothing to do with the stocks current valuation, and everything to do with the amount of moat the company has.

1. The Coca Cola Company (NYSE:KO)- The king of wide economic moat. The company has built a brand name that is second to none. No wonder Warren Buffett has a huge position in Coca Cola.

2. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)- No debating the moat that this huge conglomerate has. The company has top ranked divisions in numerous industries and is a cash flow king.

3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)- No other technology company has the moat of Microsoft. The brand name here is very strong, and the balance sheet is terrific.

4. Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)- This company is one of the most diversified companies on the planet. This company makes money in any economic environment.

5. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE)- Nike has a great brand name and consistent revenue growth. Gross margins stand at an amazing 44%. The company is second to none in their industry in free cash flow growth.

6. Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO)- The market leader in its industry for years on end. Market share of Altria cigarette products simply cannot be eaten into despite numerous attempts from competitors.

7. McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)- One of the most well-known brands around the entire globe. The company has been able to be successful both domestically and internationally thanks to its brand name.

8. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)- Warren Buffett has been making big buys in this banking behemoth. The bank has a retail branch network that is the industry standard.

9. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO)- Cisco has established itself as the dominant networking company in the world. Margins and cash flow are both very strong points at Cisco.

10. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)- Lockheed Martin is the world's largest defense company and has built up an extremely strong balance sheet. Lockheed is an extremely well diversified defense company.

These are what I believe to be the top 10 wide moat stocks. There are plenty of other names out there who have wide moats, but these 10 have in my estimation, the widest of all. There are certainly some notable names missing from the list, such as Google and Apple, names that have been extremely succesful in the past couple of years. Why are these names not on the list? They simply haven't shown a sustainable competitive advantage over a long period of time yet. It is certainly possible that in another couple of years both of those companies would make this list, but they haven't proven it just yet.

These 10 stocks are not necesarily the cheapest stocks in the market, though some are quite cheap. These are simply the stocks that have strongest of brand names and the best competitive advantages. If you'll notice, there are lots of names on this particular list which appear as top holdings in Warren Buffett's investment portfolio. Buffett has made it completely clear that wide moat companies are the way to go in investing. Long-term investors would do very well with a portfolio of wide moat stocks such as these ten.

If you enjoyed this article, please sign up for the RSS Feed from GrowYourFunds