Danaos Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates containerships and drybulk vessels in Australia, Europe, and the United States. It operates in two segments, Container Vessels and Drybulk Vessels. The company provides seaborne transportation services by operating vessels in the containership and drybulk sectors of the shipping industry. As of February 28, 2025, it had a fleet of 74 containerships …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Margins Consistently Above PeersGross margin at 58.2% (top 6%) and operating margin at 47.8% (top 16%) indicate strong pricing power.
Margins Stable Across CyclesOperating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.81), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
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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Danaos Corporation ranks #3 of 34
scored companies in Marine Shipping by moat score — the top 9%.
The widest moat in the group is Euroseas Ltd. (ESEA)
at 86/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near DAC in Marine Shipping
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 71
· 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 88
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 64
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 84
· 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 77
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
Danaos Corporation (DAC) scores 78 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as strong. It ranks #3 of 34 scored companies in Marine Shipping, the top 9%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 33 companies in Marine Shipping. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (88/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (64/100).
How does Danaos Corporation compare with other Marine Shipping companies?
Danaos Corporation ranks #3 of 34 scored companies in Marine Shipping by moat score. The widest moat in Marine Shipping is Euroseas Ltd. (ESEA) at 86/100. The companies ranked closest are Costamare Inc. (CMRE) at 82 just above it and StealthGas, Inc. (GASS) at 75 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 33 companies in Marine Shipping. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Danaos 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 Danaos Corporation?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and DAC scores: Pricing Power (86), Cost Advantage (71), Customer Stickiness (88), Capital Efficiency (64), Resilience (84), Scale & Market Position (77). 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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