The Companies That Control the Bottlenecks Control the Profits
Some businesses don't need to win every customer. They just need to control something everyone else depends on.
From chipmaking equipment and payment networks to cloud infrastructure and credit ratings, these companies operate in markets where competition is limited, switching costs are high, and challengers face enormous barriers to entry.
Here’s a look at some of the most powerful monopolies, duopolies, and oligopolies in the global economy.
🏰 Monopolies (near-total control of a critical bottleneck)
• $ASML Holding NV(ASML)$ — EUV lithography (100%)
• $Verizon(VZ)$ — .com domain registry
• $CoStar(CSGP)$ — US commercial real estate data
• $Illumina(ILMN)$ — high-throughput DNA sequencing
⚔️ Duopolies (two dominant players)
• $Visa(V)$ $MasterCard(MA)$ — card payment networks
• $Airbus SE(EADSY)$ $Boeing(BA)$ — commercial aircraft
• $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ — discrete GPUs
• $Novo-Nordisk A/S(NVO)$ $Eli Lilly(LLY)$ — GLP-1 weight-loss drugs
• $Apple(AAPL)$ $Alphabet(GOOG)$ — mobile operating systems
• $Intercontinental Exchange(ICE)$ $NASDAQ(.IXIC)$ — major US exchange operators
• $TransDigm(TDG)$ $Heico(HEI)$ — aerospace aftermarket components
• $Cadence Design(CDNS)$ $Synopsys(SNPS)$ — chip design software (EDA)
• $Fair Isaac(FICO)$ / VantageScore — US credit scoring models
🧱 Oligopolies (a handful of dominant players)
• Cloud infrastructure — $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ AWS / $Microsoft(MSFT)$ Azure / $Alphabet(GOOG)$ Google Cloud
• Advanced semiconductor manufacturing — $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$ $Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.(SSNLF)$ $Intel(INTC)$
• Credit ratings — $S&P Global(SPGI)$ $Moody's(MCO)$ Fitch
• Consumer credit bureaus — $Experian plc(EXPGF)$ / $Equifax(EFX)$ / $TransUnion(TRU)$
• Industrial gases — $Linde PLC(LIN)$ / $L'Air Liquide SA(AIQUF)$ / $Air Products & Chemicals(APD)$
• US wireless telecom — $AT&T Inc(T)$ $Verizon(VZ)$ $T-Mobile US(TMUS)$
• Online travel — $Booking Holdings(BKNG)$ / $Expedia(EXPE)$ / $Airbnb, Inc.(ABNB)$
The real attraction isn't simply market share. It's the ability to protect pricing power, defend margins, and make customers dependent on infrastructure that's difficult to replace.
Which companies would you add to the list?
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