Amadeus reinvests heavily in R&D, with a spend equivalent to its #3 competitor's total revenue. This creates a widening technology and product gap that smaller players cannot bridge, fortifying its market leadership and making it increasingly difficult for others to keep up.

GE employs a razor-and-blades model on an industrial scale, accepting losses on initial engine sales to powerful airframers like Boeing. This secures a multi-decade, high-margin stream of mandated service and parts revenue from a fragmented base of airline customers, where aftermarket sales can be 3-5 times the original engine price.

The predictable, decades-long, and regulatorily mandated stream of service revenue from an installed engine base behaves like a financial asset. During market distress, this allows the business to be valued based on the net present value of its future cash flows, much like an inflation-protected bond.

Unlike most technologies that become cheaper over time, developing a new jet engine has grown more expensive, even on an inflation-adjusted basis, with new programs costing over $10 billion. This is because engines constantly push the frontiers of material science and engineering, keeping R&D costs and barriers to entry extraordinarily high.

GE serves two distinct customers: powerful airframers for the initial sale and a fragmented base of hundreds of airlines for aftermarket services. This split forces new entrants to solve a '3D puzzle' of satisfying both technically demanding OEMs and a global user base simultaneously, creating an immense and durable barrier to entry.

Palantir commands a massive valuation premium because it is both well-run and unique, with no clear alternatives. This lack of competition dramatically reduces churn risk and increases the durability of future cash flows, justifying a higher multiple than other software companies that operate in more crowded markets.

Building hardware compliant with US defense standards (NDAA) presents a major cost hurdle. Marine robotics company CSATS notes that switching from a mass-produced Chinese component to a US-made alternative can increase the price by 8x to 15x, a significant economic challenge for re-shoring manufacturing.

Amadeus was formed by major airlines to create a neutral distribution system. This origin story provided immediate scale, credibility, and deep industry integration, creating a powerful competitive moat from day one that would be nearly impossible for a startup to replicate.

The jet engine market is not a simple free-for-all. Competition is first structured by airframers like Boeing and Airbus, who decide whether to offer a single 'sole source' engine or 'dual source' options on a new aircraft. This initial strategic decision dictates the competitive landscape before airlines ever make their choice.