Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility business in the United States. It operates through Electric Utility and Other segments. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu; Hawaii; and Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. This segment's renewable energy sources and potential sources …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Leverage Within Regulated NormsLeverage level is well-managed vs peers (score 0.84).
Hawaiian Electric Industries, I ranks #39 of 40
scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric by moat score — the top 98%.
The widest moat in the group is MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE)
at 73/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near HE in Utilities - Regulated Electric
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 6
· 20% of the moat score
A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.
Dividend Sustainability
Score 42
· 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 54
· 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 3
· 12% of the moat score
Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.
Essential Service Resilience
Score 41
· 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.
What is Hawaiian Electric Industries, I's moat score?
Hawaiian Electric Industries, I (HE) scores 22 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as weak. It ranks #39 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric, the top 98%. 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 (54/100) and its weakest is Regulatory Franchise (2/100).
How does Hawaiian Electric Industries, I compare with other Utilities - Regulated Electric companies?
Hawaiian Electric Industries, I ranks #39 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 Empresa Distribuidora Y Comerci (EDN) at 30 just above it and Oklo Inc. (OKLO) at 2 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 Hawaiian Electric Industries, I 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 Hawaiian Electric Industries, I?
The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and HE scores: Regulatory Franchise (2), Rate-Base Return Quality (6), Dividend Sustainability (42), Capital Structure Discipline (54), Operational Efficiency (3), Essential Service Resilience (41). 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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