Cadiz, Inc. CDZI

Competitive advantage analysis · utilities

Regulated Utilities
Overall moat score
15/100
Weak

About Cadiz, Inc.

Cadiz Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water solutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Land and Water Resources; and Water Filtration Technology. It offers water supply, water storage, water conveyance, and water filtration services. The company also provides water filtration solutions for impaired or contaminated groundwater sources. In addition, it is involved in the cultivation … Full CDZI analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Improving Operational Efficiency Efficiency trend is positive (score 1.00), suggesting ongoing operational improvement.

Key risks

  • Margin Pressure from Rate Cases Regulated margin level is weak (score 0.08), which may signal regulatory headwinds.
  • Below-Allowed ROE Return on equity is weak vs peers (score 0.08), implying the company may not be earning its allowed return.

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

Weak
8

Where CDZI ranks in Utilities - Regulated Water

Cadiz, Inc. ranks #13 of 15 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Water by moat score — the top 87%. The widest moat in the group is American Water Works Company, I (AWK) at 72/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near CDZI in Utilities - Regulated Water
# Company Moat score Rating
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
15 SJW Group SJW 0/100 Weak

See every Regulated Utilities company ranked by moat score →

How CDZI scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses

Regulatory Franchise

Score 8 · 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 8 · 20% of the moat score

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

Dividend Sustainability

Score 8 · 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 8 · 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 64 · 12% of the moat score

Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.

Essential Service Resilience

Score 8 · 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 CDZI's moat

What is Cadiz, Inc.'s moat score?

Cadiz, Inc. (CDZI) scores 15 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as weak. It ranks #13 of 15 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Water, the top 87%. 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 Operational Efficiency (64/100) and its weakest is Regulatory Franchise (8/100).

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

Cadiz, Inc. ranks #13 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 Global Water Resources, Inc. (GWRS) at 43 just above it and Cadiz, Inc. - Depositary Shares (CDZIP) at 15 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 Cadiz, 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 Cadiz, Inc.?

The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and CDZI scores: Regulatory Franchise (8), Rate-Base Return Quality (8), Dividend Sustainability (8), Capital Structure Discipline (8), Operational Efficiency (64), Essential Service Resilience (8). 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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