Aris Water Solutions, Inc. ARIS

Competitive advantage analysis · utilities

Regulated Utilities
Overall moat score
48/100
Developing

About Aris Water Solutions, Inc.

Aris Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold properties in Canada, Colombia, and Guyana. It also explores for silver and copper deposits. The company was formerly known as GCM Mining Corp. and changed its name to Aris Mining Corporation in September 2022. Aris Mining Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada. Full ARIS analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Strong Operating Cash Generation Operating cash generation is strong (score 0.85), supporting dividend sustainability.
  • Best-in-Class Cost Discipline Operational cost discipline is strong (score 1.00), supporting margin quality.

Key risks

  • Unstable Regulated Margins Margin stability is low (score 0.23), raising questions about rate-case predictability.
  • Volatile Rate-Base Returns ROE stability is poor (score 0.23), reflecting inconsistent regulatory outcomes.

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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Regulatory Franchise

Developing
36

Where ARIS ranks in Utilities - Regulated Water

Aris Water Solutions, Inc. ranks #10 of 15 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Water by moat score — the top 67%. The widest moat in the group is American Water Works Company, I (AWK) at 72/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near ARIS in Utilities - Regulated Water
# Company Moat score Rating
6 The York Water Company YORW 62/100 Moderate
7 Companhia de saneamento Basico SBS 58/100 Moderate
8 Pure Cycle Corporation PCYO 52/100 Moderate
9 California Water Service Group CWT 49/100 Developing
10 Aris Water Solutions, Inc. ARIS 48/100 Developing
11 Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. CWCO 48/100 Developing
12 Global Water Resources, Inc. GWRS 43/100 Developing
13 Cadiz, Inc. CDZI 15/100 Weak
14 Cadiz, Inc. - Depositary Shares CDZIP 15/100 Weak

See every Regulated Utilities company ranked by moat score →

How ARIS scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses

Regulatory Franchise

Score 36 · 25% of the moat score

The franchise is the moat, granted rather than earned: an exclusive right to serve a territory in exchange for regulated prices and an obligation to supply.

Rate-Base Return Quality

Score 34 · 20% of the moat score

A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.

Dividend Sustainability

Score 61 · 18% of the moat score

Utilities are owned largely for income, and the dividend is only as safe as the operating cash flow behind it.

Capital Structure Discipline

Score 84 · 17% of the moat score

Regulated utilities carry more debt than almost any other sector, which suits how predictable their revenue is but makes credit quality a core competitive asset.

Operational Efficiency

Score 44 · 12% of the moat score

Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.

Essential Service Resilience

Score 57 · 8% of the moat score

Electricity, gas and water are bought in a recession at close to the volume bought in an expansion, which is why utility revenue barely tracks the economic cycle.

How each Regulated Utilities defense is measured, in full →

Understanding ARIS's moat

What is Aris Water Solutions, Inc.'s moat score?

Aris Water Solutions, Inc. (ARIS) scores 48 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #10 of 15 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Water, the top 67%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 14 companies in Utilities - Regulated Water. Its strongest defense is Capital Structure Discipline (84/100) and its weakest is Rate-Base Return Quality (34/100).

How does Aris Water Solutions, Inc. compare with other Utilities - Regulated Water companies?

Aris Water Solutions, Inc. ranks #10 of 15 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Water by moat score. The widest moat in Utilities - Regulated Water is American Water Works Company, I (AWK) at 72/100. The companies ranked closest are California Water Service Group (CWT) at 49 just above it and Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO) at 48 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Regulated Utilities 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 14 companies in Utilities - Regulated Water. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Aris Water Solutions, Inc. scored with the Regulated Utilities template?

A regulated utility is a legal monopoly whose prices are set by a regulator rather than by a market. It cannot raise prices at will and it cannot be undercut, so most of the usual questions about competitive advantage barely apply. What matters is the quality of the regulatory bargain: whether the company earns the return it is allowed, funds its capital programme cheaply, and sustains the dividend investors own it for.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Aris Water Solutions, Inc.?

The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and ARIS scores: Regulatory Franchise (36), Rate-Base Return Quality (34), Dividend Sustainability (61), Capital Structure Discipline (84), Operational Efficiency (44), Essential Service Resilience (57). 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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