Alcoa Corporation AA

Competitive advantage analysis · basic-materials

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
70/100
Moderate

Ranked against 85 peers in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining

About Alcoa Corporation

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminum production, and energy generation business in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Spain, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It operates bauxite and other aluminous ores mining; and processes bauxite into alumina for sale to aluminum smelter customers and … Full AA analysis →

Key strengths

  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 66.2th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.90), suggesting sticky customer base.

Key risks

  • Liquidity Concerns Liquidity is concerning (score 0.27), raising questions about short-term obligations.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
64
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where AA ranks in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining

Alcoa Corporation ranks #14 of 86 scored companies in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining by moat score — the top 16%. The widest moat in the group is Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) at 90/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
10 Reliance, Inc. RS 74/100 Moderate
11 VALE S.A. VALE 72/100 Moderate
12 Mesabi Trust MSB 72/100 Moderate
13 Ero Copper Corp. ERO 70/100 Moderate
14 Alcoa Corporation AA 70/100 Moderate
15 Teck Resources Ltd TECK 69/100 Moderate
16 Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD 66/100 Moderate
17 Constellium SE CSTM 66/100 Moderate
18 Century Aluminum Company CENX 65/100 Moderate

See every Commodities & Mining company ranked by moat score →

How AA scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 64 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 80 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 82 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 72 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 62 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 59 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding AA's moat

What is Alcoa Corporation's moat score?

Alcoa Corporation (AA) scores 70 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #14 of 86 scored companies in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining, the top 16%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 85 companies in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (82/100) and its weakest is Scale & Market Position (59/100).

How does Alcoa Corporation compare with other Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining companies?

Alcoa Corporation ranks #14 of 86 scored companies in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining by moat score. The widest moat in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining is Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) at 90/100. The companies ranked closest are Ero Copper Corp. (ERO) at 70 just above it and Teck Resources Ltd (TECK) at 69 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 85 companies in Materials: Industrial Metals & Mining. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Alcoa Corporation scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Alcoa Corporation?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and AA scores: Pricing Power (64), Cost Advantage (80), Customer Stickiness (82), Capital Efficiency (72), Resilience (62), Scale & Market Position (59). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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