APA Corporation APA

Competitive advantage analysis · energy

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
67/100
Moderate

About APA Corporation

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally. APA Corporation was incorporated in … Full APA analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.87), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 92.3th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.

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
68

Where APA ranks in Oil & Gas E&P

APA Corporation ranks #16 of 93 scored companies in Oil & Gas E&P by moat score — the top 17%. The widest moat in the group is Texas Pacific Land Corporation (TPL) at 84/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near APA in Oil & Gas E&P
# Company Moat score Rating
12 CKX Lands, Inc. CKX 70/100 Moderate
13 Kimbell Royalty Partners KRP 70/100 Moderate
14 SandRidge Energy, Inc. SD 68/100 Moderate
15 PermRock Royalty Trust Trust PRT 68/100 Moderate
16 APA Corporation APA 67/100 Moderate
17 Gulfport Energy Corporation GPOR 67/100 Moderate
18 Matador Resources Company MTDR 66/100 Moderate
19 Permian Resources Corporation PR 66/100 Moderate
20 Coterra Energy Inc. CTRA 65/100 Moderate

See every Commodities & Mining company ranked by moat score →

How APA scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 68 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 76 · 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 70 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 66 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 61 · 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 62 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding APA's moat

What is APA Corporation's moat score?

APA Corporation (APA) scores 67 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #16 of 93 scored companies in Oil & Gas E&P, the top 17%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 92 companies in Oil & Gas E&P. Its strongest defense is Cost Advantage (76/100) and its weakest is Resilience (61/100).

How does APA Corporation compare with other Oil & Gas E&P companies?

APA Corporation ranks #16 of 93 scored companies in Oil & Gas E&P by moat score. The widest moat in Oil & Gas E&P is Texas Pacific Land Corporation (TPL) at 84/100. The companies ranked closest are PermRock Royalty Trust Trust (PRT) at 68 just above it and Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR) at 67 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 92 companies in Oil & Gas E&P. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is APA 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 APA Corporation?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and APA scores: Pricing Power (68), Cost Advantage (76), Customer Stickiness (70), Capital Efficiency (66), Resilience (61), Scale & Market Position (62). 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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