Imperial Oil Limited IMO

Competitive advantage analysis · energy

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
60/100
Moderate

Ranked against 21 peers in Oil & Gas Integrated

About Imperial Oil Limited

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates in three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil; blends refined products; and distributes and markets refined products. … Full IMO analysis →

Key strengths

  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 84.2th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
  • Strong Interest Coverage & Conservative Leverage Debt serviceability is strong (score 0.92), with robust interest coverage.

Key risks

  • Scale Without Profitability Despite scale, profitability lags peers (score 0.26), suggesting limited competitive advantage.
  • Inconsistent Cash Generation Cash generation is inconsistent (score 0.47), indicating operational challenges.

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

Moderate
56
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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 IMO ranks in Oil & Gas Integrated

Imperial Oil Limited ranks #9 of 22 scored companies in Oil & Gas Integrated by moat score — the top 41%. The widest moat in the group is Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) at 73/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
5 National Fuel Gas Company NFG 65/100 Moderate
6 Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petro PBR-A 65/100 Moderate
7 TotalEnergies SE TTE 62/100 Moderate
8 Shell PLC SHEL 61/100 Moderate
9 Imperial Oil Limited IMO 60/100 Moderate
10 Cenovus Energy Inc CVE 58/100 Moderate
11 Equinor ASA EQNR 57/100 Moderate
12 Ecopetrol S.A. EC 56/100 Moderate
13 Chevron Corporation CVX 56/100 Moderate

See every Commodities & Mining company ranked by moat score →

How IMO scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 56 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 61 · 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 46 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 75 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 74 · 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 45 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding IMO's moat

What is Imperial Oil Limited's moat score?

Imperial Oil Limited (IMO) scores 60 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #9 of 22 scored companies in Oil & Gas Integrated, the top 41%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 21 companies in Oil & Gas Integrated. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (75/100) and its weakest is Scale & Market Position (45/100).

How does Imperial Oil Limited compare with other Oil & Gas Integrated companies?

Imperial Oil Limited ranks #9 of 22 scored companies in Oil & Gas Integrated by moat score. The widest moat in Oil & Gas Integrated is Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) at 73/100. The companies ranked closest are Shell PLC (SHEL) at 60 just above it and Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE) at 58 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 21 companies in Oil & Gas Integrated. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Imperial Oil Limited 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 Imperial Oil Limited?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and IMO scores: Pricing Power (56), Cost Advantage (61), Customer Stickiness (46), Capital Efficiency (75), Resilience (74), Scale & Market Position (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.

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