Consolidated Edison, Inc. ED

Competitive advantage analysis · utilities

Regulated Utilities
Overall moat score
48/100
Developing

About Consolidated Edison, Inc.

Consolidated Edison, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. The company offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,490 customers in … Full ED analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Investment-Grade Interest Coverage Interest coverage is strong (score 0.76), supporting investment-grade credit metrics.
  • Highly Stable Essential-Service Revenue Revenue stability is high (score 0.68), reflecting inelastic demand for essential services.

Key risks

  • Margin Pressure from Rate Cases Regulated margin level is weak (score 0.26), which may signal regulatory headwinds.
  • Below-Allowed ROE Return on equity is weak vs peers (score 0.33), 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.

Upgrade to unlock the signals and evidence behind each defense.

Premium access

Unlock full defense analysis

Get key signals, strengths, and risks for every moat dimension.

Upgrade to Premium Unlock all moat defenses and evidence.

Regulatory Franchise

Developing
47

Where ED ranks in Utilities - Regulated Electric

Consolidated Edison, Inc. ranks #25 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric by moat score — the top 62%. The widest moat in the group is MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE) at 73/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near ED in Utilities - Regulated Electric
# Company Moat score Rating
21 Dominion Energy, Inc. D 52/100 Moderate
22 Portland General Electric Co POR 50/100 Developing
23 Via Renewables, Inc. - 8.75% Se VIASP 50/100 Developing
24 Eversource Energy (D/B/A) ES 49/100 Developing
25 Consolidated Edison, Inc. ED 48/100 Developing
26 Exelon Corporation EXC 46/100 Developing
27 PPL Corporation PPL 46/100 Developing
28 Xcel Energy Inc. XEL 43/100 Developing
29 CMS Energy Corporation CMS 42/100 Developing

See every Regulated Utilities company ranked by moat score →

How ED scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses

Regulatory Franchise

Score 47 · 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 43 · 20% of the moat score

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

Dividend Sustainability

Score 54 · 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 75 · 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 15 · 12% of the moat score

Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.

Essential Service Resilience

Score 45 · 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 ED's moat

What is Consolidated Edison, Inc.'s moat score?

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED) scores 48 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #25 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric, the top 62%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 46 companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric. Its strongest defense is Capital Structure Discipline (75/100) and its weakest is Operational Efficiency (15/100).

How does Consolidated Edison, Inc. compare with other Utilities - Regulated Electric companies?

Consolidated Edison, Inc. ranks #25 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric by moat score. The widest moat in Utilities - Regulated Electric is MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE) at 73/100. The companies ranked closest are Eversource Energy (D/B/A) (ES) at 49 just above it and Exelon Corporation (EXC) at 46 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 46 companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Consolidated Edison, 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 Consolidated Edison, Inc.?

The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and ED scores: Regulatory Franchise (47), Rate-Base Return Quality (43), Dividend Sustainability (54), Capital Structure Discipline (75), Operational Efficiency (15), Essential Service Resilience (45). 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.

Send Feedback
Please select a category.
0/1000