Licensing, Deliberately SmallerNarrow moat

Ferrari (RACE) — moat facet

Ferrari has spent a decade making its licensing business smaller, which is the opposite of what a brand under pressure does.

Ferrari's brand earns money in categories that require no factory, and it has spent a decade making that business smaller and better.

A licensing business made deliberately smallerThe direction of travelCategories pruned, not added, for a decadeWhere the businesses sitMerchandise, restaurants, theme parks - at the edgeWhat the line earned, FY2025Part of €820M, up 22.4%What growth on a stable set meansPricing powerWhat growth on an expanding set meansThe brand being spentCount categories, not revenue - that is where over-extension would show first.
A brand under commercial pressure adds licensing categories. Ferrari has spent ten years subtracting them.

Lifestyle, merchandising, licensing and royalties sit inside the sponsorship, commercial and brand line, which was €820 million in 2025.1 The strategy has been counter-intuitive: rather than maximising royalty income by licensing broadly, Ferrari has narrowed the number of partners and moved toward owned retail and directly controlled product, on the reasoning that a brand diluted across cheap merchandise is worth less on a €400,000 car.

The 2030 plan continues it, with new Tailor Made centres announced for Tokyo and Los Angeles — physical spaces whose purpose is to sell specification rather than volume.2

The comparison that makes the potential legible is LVMH, elsewhere in this collection: a house of brands whose pricing power is monetised across categories with no manufacturing constraint. Ferrari has one brand, and it is arguably stronger than any single maison.

The constraint is deliberate self-restraint. Ferrari could licence its name onto far more than it does, and the reason it does not is that the licensing revenue would be smaller than the damage.

The measure is growth in this line against the car line. 22.4% versus 4.8% says the brand is being monetised faster than the metal.3

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Ferrari has spent a decade pruning licensing categories rather than adding them. Revenue growth on a deliberately stable set of categories is the whole point, and it means the line does not widen by extension.

The number that tests this moat
Moat Explorer calc
Sponsorship, commercial and brand share of revenue
11% in H1 2026 (€427M of €3,786M)

Ferrari cut back licensing to protect the brand. A share that grows through sponsorships and lifestyle rather than wider licensing would show the brand earning more without being diluted.

How it's calculated: Sponsorship, commercial and brand revenue (€427M) ÷ net revenues (€3,786M), first half 2026.
Source: Ferrari Q2 2026 results ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
The Only Growth Line With No Volume Constraint
Licensing is the only growth line with no volume constraint — which is precisely why the pressure to over-extend it never stops rising.
References
  1. ReportedLifestyle, merchandising, licensing and royalties sit inside the sponsorship, commercial and brand line, which was €820 million in 2025. The strategy has been counter-intuitive: rather than maximising royalty income by licensing broadly, Ferrari has narrowed the number of partners and moved toward owned retail and directly controlled product, on the reasoning that a brand diluted across cheap m...
    Ferrari N.V., Form 20-F FY2025 — Item 5, Operating and Financial Review. Total shipments of 13,640 cars against 13,752 in 2024 and 13,663 in 2023; shipment figures exclude strictly limited racing cars such as those in the XX Programme and the 499P Modificata, as well as one-off, pre-owned and other special sales. Net revenues of EUR7,146M, up 7.0%. Net revenues from cars and spare parts were EUR6,005M, an increase of EUR277M or 4.8% on EUR5,728M in 2024 and EUR5,119M in 2023, attributed primarily to a richer product and country mix as well as a higher contribution from personalization, more than offsetting the lower contribution from the Daytona SP3 whose limited series deliveries concluded in the third quarter of 2025; foreign currency effects including hedging were negative. Sponsorship, commercial and brand revenues were EUR820M, up 22.4% from EUR670M and EUR572M in the two prior years, comprising sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari share of the Formula 1 World Championship commercial revenues distributed to teams, and lifestyle, merchandising, licensing and royalty income; other net revenues were EUR321M, up EUR42M. Selling, general and administrative costs were EUR642M in 2025, an increase of EUR81M or 14.5% on EUR561M, and 9.0% of net revenues against 8.4%, attributed primarily to racing expenses and brand investments as well as organizational development. Net revenues by year run EUR3,105M (2016), EUR3,417M, EUR3,420M, EUR3,766M, EUR3,460M (2020), EUR4,271M, EUR5,095M, EUR5,970M, EUR6,677M and EUR7,146M (2025). — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe 2030 plan continues it, with new Tailor Made centres announced for Tokyo and Los Angeles — physical spaces whose purpose is to sell specification rather than volume. The comparison that makes the potential legible is LVMH, elsewhere in this collection: a house of brands whose pricing power is monetised across categories with no manufacturing constraint.
    Ferrari N.V., Capital Markets Day 2030 Strategic Plan — business section, filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 6-K on 9 October 2025. An average of four new car launches per year is planned between 2026 and 2030. The Ferrari elettrica will be an addition to the range product offering. In 2030 the product line-up will be 40% ICE, 40% hybrid and 20% electric. Ferrari targets 90,000 active clients, a 20% increase compared to 2022. New Tailor Made centers will open in Tokyo and Los Angeles to get closer to clients, and two new flagship stores in London and New York. The audience is described as ranging from 180,000 Ferraristi to more than 400 million tifosi. Strategic electric components are designed, engineered and handcrafted in Maranello. — October 2025 · publ. 2025-10-09 · source ↗
  3. Moat Explorer calc22.4% versus 4.8% says the brand is being monetised faster than the metal.
    Ferrari N.V., Form 20-F FY2025 — Item 5, Operating and Financial Review. Total shipments of 13,640 cars against 13,752 in 2024 and 13,663 in 2023; shipment figures exclude strictly limited racing cars such as those in the XX Programme and the 499P Modificata, as well as one-off, pre-owned and other special sales. Net revenues of EUR7,146M, up 7.0%. Net revenues from cars and spare parts were EUR6,005M, an increase of EUR277M or 4.8% on EUR5,728M in 2024 and EUR5,119M in 2023, attributed primarily to a richer product and country mix as well as a higher contribution from personalization, more than offsetting the lower contribution from the Daytona SP3 whose limited series deliveries concluded in the third quarter of 2025; foreign currency effects including hedging were negative. Sponsorship, commercial and brand revenues were EUR820M, up 22.4% from EUR670M and EUR572M in the two prior years, comprising sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari share of the Formula 1 World Championship commercial revenues distributed to teams, and lifestyle, merchandising, licensing and royalty income; other net revenues were EUR321M, up EUR42M. Selling, general and administrative costs were EUR642M in 2025, an increase of EUR81M or 14.5% on EUR561M, and 9.0% of net revenues against 8.4%, attributed primarily to racing expenses and brand investments as well as organizational development. Net revenues by year run EUR3,105M (2016), EUR3,417M, EUR3,420M, EUR3,766M, EUR3,460M (2020), EUR4,271M, EUR5,095M, EUR5,970M, EUR6,677M and EUR7,146M (2025). — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026