Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on delivering full-cycle and superior investment performance for shareholders through the ownership, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of quality apartment communities primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2025, MAA had ownership interest in 104,945 …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Strong NOI MarginsNOI margins are strong (score 0.75), demonstrating rent pricing power.
Conservative LeverageLeverage is conservative (score 0.62), providing refinancing flexibility.
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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Mid-America Apartment Communiti ranks #7 of 21
scored companies in REIT - Residential by moat score — the top 33%.
The widest moat in the group is Millrose Properties, Inc. (MRP)
at 97/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near MAA in REIT - Residential
For a REIT, pricing power is the ability to raise rents at renewal and still keep the space occupied.
AFFO Strength
Score 65
· 18% of the moat score
AFFO — adjusted funds from operations — is the cash a REIT can actually distribute after the recurring capital spending buildings need in order to stay leasable.
Balance Sheet & Cost of Capital
Score 65
· 20% of the moat score
Real estate is bought with borrowed money, so a REIT's cost of capital is its competitive advantage.
Capital Recycling & Growth
Score 55
· 16% of the moat score
REITs grow by issuing shares and debt to buy more property, which creates value only when the yield on the asset exceeds the cost of the capital raised.
Operational Efficiency
Score 75
· 14% of the moat score
Running property — leasing, maintenance, taxes, management — is the part of the business a REIT genuinely controls.
Portfolio Quality & Diversification
Score 52
· 12% of the moat score
Portfolio quality is really a question about what happens when a tenant fails.
What is Mid-America Apartment Communiti's moat score?
Mid-America Apartment Communiti (MAA) scores 63 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #7 of 21 scored companies in REIT - Residential, the top 33%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 24 companies in REIT - Residential. Its strongest defense is Operational Efficiency (75/100) and its weakest is Portfolio Quality & Diversification (52/100).
How does Mid-America Apartment Communiti compare with other REIT - Residential companies?
Mid-America Apartment Communiti ranks #7 of 21 scored companies in REIT - Residential by moat score. The widest moat in REIT - Residential is Millrose Properties, Inc. (MRP) at 97/100. The companies ranked closest are Invitation Homes Inc. (INVH) at 69 just above it and UDR, Inc. (UDR) at 61 just below it.
How is the moat score calculated?
Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — REIT Specialized 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 24 companies in REIT - Residential. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Mid-America Apartment Communiti scored with the REIT Specialized template?
A REIT is a portfolio of buildings financed with debt and required to distribute most of its taxable income. Reported earnings are dominated by depreciation on assets that often appreciate, so net income says very little; the real question is how much cash the properties distribute, and how securely. The REIT template scores what determines that: rent pricing, distributable cash, cost of capital, and the discipline behind growth.
Which competitive defenses are measured for Mid-America Apartment Communiti?
The REIT Specialized template measures 6 defenses, and MAA scores: Rent Pricing Power (67), AFFO Strength (65), Balance Sheet & Cost of Capital (65), Capital Recycling & Growth (55), Operational Efficiency (75), Portfolio Quality & Diversification (52). 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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