Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK

Competitive advantage analysis · industrials

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
53/100
Moderate

Ranked against 19 peers in Airlines

About Alaska Air Group, Inc.

Alaska Air Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Regional. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network … Full ALK analysis →

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.71), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.71), suggesting sticky customer base.

Key risks

  • Inconsistent Cash Generation Cash generation is inconsistent (score 0.47), indicating operational challenges.

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
52
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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 ALK ranks in Airlines

Alaska Air Group, Inc. ranks #9 of 20 scored companies in Airlines by moat score — the top 45%. The widest moat in the group is SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) at 72/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
5 Sun Country Airlines Holdings, SNCY 65/100 Moderate
6 LATAM Airlines Group S.A. LTM 65/100 Moderate
7 United Airlines Holdings, Inc. UAL 59/100 Moderate
8 Azul S.A. AZUL 56/100 Moderate
9 Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK 53/100 Moderate
10 Southwest Airlines Company LUV 52/100 Moderate
11 American Airlines Group, Inc. AAL 46/100 Developing
12 Controladora Vuela Compania de VLRS 46/100 Developing
13 JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU 43/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How ALK scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 52 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 70 · 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 60 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 55 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 44 · 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 41 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding ALK's moat

What is Alaska Air Group, Inc.'s moat score?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) scores 53 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #9 of 20 scored companies in Airlines, the top 45%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 19 companies in Airlines. Its strongest defense is Cost Advantage (70/100) and its weakest is Scale & Market Position (41/100).

How does Alaska Air Group, Inc. compare with other Airlines companies?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. ranks #9 of 20 scored companies in Airlines by moat score. The widest moat in Airlines is SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) at 72/100. The companies ranked closest are Azul S.A. (AZUL) at 56 just above it and Southwest Airlines Company (LUV) at 52 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 19 companies in Airlines. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Alaska Air Group, Inc. 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 Alaska Air Group, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and ALK scores: Pricing Power (52), Cost Advantage (70), Customer Stickiness (60), Capital Efficiency (55), Resilience (44), Scale & Market Position (41). 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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