What Are Porter's 5 Forces?

By Jeremy Bowman – Updated Nov 13, 2025 at 11:28 AM

Key Points

Porter's Five Forces analyzes industry strength for potential investment.
A strong industry has low buyer/supplier power and barriers to entry.
Investors use this model to assess profitability and competitive edge.

In the business world, there is no shortage of frameworks for examining businesses and industries.

You may have heard of the SWOT analysis, the industry life cycle, or the hype cycle, for example.

One of the most popular frameworks for understanding the competitive forces in an industry is Porter's Five Forces, developed by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter.

People working in an office. — Image source: Getty Images.

What are Porter's Five Forces?

According to Porter, there are five forces within an industry that shape the competitive dynamics: competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitution, and threat of new entry or barriers to entry.

Porter's Five Forces is often taught in business school as a way of breaking down an industry to gain an understanding of how competition works inside of it. It also offers a way for investors and operators to decide whether it's a good idea to start a business in a particular industry.

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What's an example of Porter's Five Forces?

The media industry, which is undergoing a transition from linear TV to streaming, is a good one to examine with Porter's Five Forces.

Competitive rivalry in the industry is high, with a number of companies angling to provide video entertainment. Supplier power is relatively high in the case of sports rights and licensed content. Increasingly, streamers are relying on their own content.

Buyer power is low in the case of streaming but higher when dealing with intermediaries like cable companies. Substitutes are high since there are a number of other options for entertainment, including social media and gaming, and barriers to entry are high because producing shows and movies is expensive.

Social Media

Social media are internet platforms that facilitate the creation, sharing, and discovery of user-generated content.

If you're new to investing, the Porter's Five Forces framework offers a good place to begin when you're looking into a new industry. Whether you're investing in a bull market or a bear market, it's worth considering factors like substitutes and barriers to entry when you analyze a stock and make a decision whether to invest or not.

About the Author

Jeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011. Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

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Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

How to use Porter's Five Forces

Porter's Five Forces is useful for both investors and business owners as a guide to industries that can generate the best returns.

Tobacco, for example, generated excellent returns for generations, and a review of the five forces shows why. Tobacco has no good substitutes. Barriers to entry in the industry are high since a global supply chain and distribution, as well as processing facilities, are needed.

Buyers in the tobacco industry have essentially no power since these companies are selling to thousands of retailers and millions of users. Similarly, suppliers have little power since the industry is vertically integrated, or sourced from independent farmers. Finally, competitive rivalry is low since the industry is dominated by a few major players. Altria (MO +0.60%), the domestic owner of Marlboro, has more than a 50% market share.

Alternatively, the airline industry has historically struggled. Airlines have few good substitutes and high barriers to entry. However, price competition is high, indicating strong competitive rivalry, and supplier power exists in the form of fuel and labor unions. Buyer power is relatively low, though regulation is also a factor.