Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. The company generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 459,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona, including the greater Tucson metropolitan area; and 107,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona with an aggregate capacity of 3, 443 megawatts (MW). It also sells wholesale …
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Fortis Inc. ranks #8 of 40
scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric by moat score — the top 20%.
The widest moat in the group is MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE)
at 73/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near FTS in Utilities - Regulated Electric
How FTS scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses
Regulatory Franchise
Score 76
· 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 48
· 20% of the moat score
A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.
Dividend Sustainability
Score 76
· 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 43
· 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 66
· 12% of the moat score
Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.
Essential Service Resilience
Score 66
· 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.
Fortis Inc. (FTS) scores 63 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #8 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric, the top 20%. 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 Regulatory Franchise (76/100) and its weakest is Capital Structure Discipline (43/100).
How does Fortis Inc. compare with other Utilities - Regulated Electric companies?
Fortis Inc. ranks #8 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 National Grid Transco, PLC Nati (NGG) at 63 just above it and Duke Energy Corporation (Holdin (DUK) at 61 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 Fortis 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 Fortis Inc.?
The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and FTS scores: Regulatory Franchise (76), Rate-Base Return Quality (48), Dividend Sustainability (76), Capital Structure Discipline (43), Operational Efficiency (66), Essential Service Resilience (66). 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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