Leslie's, Inc. LESL

Competitive advantage analysis · consumer-cyclical

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
29/100
Developing

Ranked against 51 peers in Specialty Retail

About Leslie's, Inc.

Leslie's, Inc. operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, and cleaning accessories, as well as safety, recreational, and fitness related products. In addition, the company … Full LESL analysis →

Key risks

  • ROIC Below WACC or Peers ROIC at 16.3th percentile suggests inefficient capital deployment.
  • Elevated Debt Risk Debt serviceability is weak (score 0.19), raising refinancing risk.

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

Weak
24
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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 LESL ranks in Specialty Retail

Leslie's, Inc. ranks #45 of 52 scored companies in Specialty Retail by moat score — the top 87%. The widest moat in the group is Winmark Corporation (WINA) at 83/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
41 Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporatio BGFV 32/100 Developing
42 GrowGeneration Corp. GRWG 31/100 Developing
43 Nuvve Holding Corp. NVVE 30/100 Developing
44 Nuvve Holding Corp. NVVEW 30/100 Developing
45 Leslie's, Inc. LESL 29/100 Developing
46 EVgo Inc. Warrants EVGOW 27/100 Developing
47 EVgo Inc. EVGO 27/100 Developing
48 Fitell Corporation FTEL 26/100 Developing
49 Creative Global Technology Hold CGTL 21/100 Weak

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How LESL scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 24 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 34 · 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 47 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 12 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 34 · 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 28 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding LESL's moat

What is Leslie's, Inc.'s moat score?

Leslie's, Inc. (LESL) scores 29 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #45 of 52 scored companies in Specialty Retail, the top 87%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 51 companies in Specialty Retail. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (47/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (12/100).

How does Leslie's, Inc. compare with other Specialty Retail companies?

Leslie's, Inc. ranks #45 of 52 scored companies in Specialty Retail by moat score. The widest moat in Specialty Retail is Winmark Corporation (WINA) at 83/100. The companies ranked closest are Nuvve Holding Corp. (NVVEW) at 30 just above it and EVgo Inc. Warrants (EVGOW) at 27 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 51 companies in Specialty Retail. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Leslie's, Inc. 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 Leslie's, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and LESL scores: Pricing Power (24), Cost Advantage (34), Customer Stickiness (47), Capital Efficiency (12), Resilience (34), Scale & Market Position (28). 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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