Matson, Inc. MATX

Competitive advantage analysis · industrials

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
56/100
Moderate

About Matson, Inc.

Matson, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia. It primarily transports dry containers of mixed commodities, refrigerated … Full MATX analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 90.3th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.75), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.

Key risks

  • Liquidity Concerns Liquidity is concerning (score 0.12), raising questions about short-term obligations.
  • Weak or Negative Cash Flow Cash generation is weak (score 0.38), limiting financial 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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Pricing Power

Moderate
61

Where MATX ranks in Marine Shipping

Matson, Inc. ranks #14 of 34 scored companies in Marine Shipping by moat score — the top 41%. The widest moat in the group is Euroseas Ltd. (ESEA) at 86/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near MATX in Marine Shipping
# Company Moat score Rating
10 Kirby Corporation KEX 62/100 Moderate
11 Navios Maritime Partners LP NMM 60/100 Moderate
12 BW LPG Limited BWLP 59/100 Moderate
13 Hafnia Limited HAFN 56/100 Moderate
14 Matson, Inc. MATX 56/100 Moderate
15 Safe Bulkers, Inc SB 55/100 Moderate
16 Diana Shipping inc. DSX 54/100 Moderate
17 Ardmore Shipping Corporation ASC 54/100 Moderate
18 SFL Corporation Ltd SFL 52/100 Moderate

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How MATX scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 61 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 48 · 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 50 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 71 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 53 · 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 48 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding MATX's moat

What is Matson, Inc.'s moat score?

Matson, Inc. (MATX) scores 56 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #14 of 34 scored companies in Marine Shipping, the top 41%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 33 companies in Marine Shipping. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (71/100) and its weakest is Cost Advantage (48/100).

How does Matson, Inc. compare with other Marine Shipping companies?

Matson, Inc. ranks #14 of 34 scored companies in Marine Shipping by moat score. The widest moat in Marine Shipping is Euroseas Ltd. (ESEA) at 86/100. The companies ranked closest are Hafnia Limited (HAFN) at 56 just above it and Safe Bulkers, Inc (SB) at 55 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 33 companies in Marine Shipping. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Matson, 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 Matson, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and MATX scores: Pricing Power (61), Cost Advantage (48), Customer Stickiness (50), Capital Efficiency (71), Resilience (53), Scale & Market Position (48). 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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