Clean Energy Fuels Corp. CLNE

Competitive advantage analysis · energy

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
38/100
Developing

Ranked against 18 peers in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing

About Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. offers natural gas as alternative fuels for vehicle fleets and related fueling solutions in the United States and Canada. It supplies renewable natural gas (RNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for medium and heavy-duty vehicles; and provides operation and maintenance services for public and private vehicle fleet customer stations. The company also … Full CLNE analysis →

Key strengths

  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.76), suggesting sticky customer base.
  • Cash Generation Consistent Cash generation is consistent (score 0.91), indicating reliable business model.

Key risks

  • Commodity Pressure / Weak Differentiation Gross margin at 17.6th percentile with high volatility suggests weak pricing power or commoditized products.
  • Below-Peer Operating Efficiency Operating margin at 5.9th percentile indicates below-peer efficiency.

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

Weak
6
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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 CLNE ranks in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. ranks #13 of 19 scored companies in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing by moat score — the top 68%. The widest moat in the group is Star Group L.P. (SGU) at 81/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
9 Phillips 66 PSX 55/100 Moderate
10 Valero Energy Corporation VLO 53/100 Moderate
11 HF Sinclair Corporation DINO 50/100 Moderate
12 Delek US Holdings, Inc. DK 44/100 Developing
13 Clean Energy Fuels Corp. CLNE 38/100 Developing
14 Icahn Enterprises L.P. - Deposi IEP 35/100 Developing
15 World Kinect Corporation WKC 31/100 Developing
16 CVR Energy Inc. CVI 29/100 Developing
17 PBF Energy Inc. PBF 22/100 Weak

See every Commodities & Mining company ranked by moat score →

How CLNE scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 6 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 6 · 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 83 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 44 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 48 · 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 44 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding CLNE's moat

What is Clean Energy Fuels Corp.'s moat score?

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) scores 38 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #13 of 19 scored companies in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing, the top 68%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 18 companies in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (83/100) and its weakest is Pricing Power (6/100).

How does Clean Energy Fuels Corp. compare with other Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing companies?

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. ranks #13 of 19 scored companies in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing by moat score. The widest moat in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing is Star Group L.P. (SGU) at 81/100. The companies ranked closest are Delek US Holdings, Inc. (DK) at 44 just above it and Icahn Enterprises L.P. - Deposi (IEP) at 35 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 18 companies in Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Clean Energy Fuels Corp. 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 Clean Energy Fuels Corp.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and CLNE scores: Pricing Power (6), Cost Advantage (6), Customer Stickiness (83), Capital Efficiency (44), Resilience (48), Scale & Market Position (44). 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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