NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE

Competitive advantage analysis · utilities

Regulated Utilities
Overall moat score
59/100
Moderate

About NextEra Energy, Inc.

NextEra Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, generates, stores, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. It operates through Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and NEER segments. The company generates electricity from wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and other clean energy assets. It also invests in generation, storage, transmission, and distribution facilities; owns, … Full NEE analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Strong Operating Cash Generation Operating cash generation is strong (score 0.98), supporting dividend sustainability.
  • Earning the Allowed ROE Return on equity is strong vs peers (score 0.81), suggesting rate-base growth is translating into earnings.

Key risks

  • Interest Coverage Below Peers Interest coverage is weak (score 0.16), which may pressure credit ratings.
  • Leverage Above Peer Norms Leverage is elevated vs peers (score 0.23), constraining 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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Regulatory Franchise

Moderate
55

Where NEE ranks in Utilities - Regulated Electric

NextEra Energy, Inc. ranks #11 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric by moat score — the top 28%. The widest moat in the group is MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE) at 73/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near NEE in Utilities - Regulated Electric
# Company Moat score Rating
7 National Grid Transco, PLC Nati NGG 63/100 Moderate
8 Fortis Inc. FTS 63/100 Moderate
9 Duke Energy Corporation (Holdin DUK 61/100 Moderate
10 Evergy, Inc. EVRG 59/100 Moderate
11 NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE 59/100 Moderate
12 Avangrid, Inc. AGR 58/100 Moderate
13 IDACORP, Inc. IDA 57/100 Moderate
14 Enel Chile S.A. ENIC 57/100 Moderate
15 Alliant Energy Corporation LNT 56/100 Moderate

See every Regulated Utilities company ranked by moat score →

How NEE scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses

Regulatory Franchise

Score 54 · 25% of the moat score

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 68 · 20% of the moat score

A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.

Dividend Sustainability

Score 88 · 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 18 · 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 93 · 12% of the moat score

Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.

Essential Service Resilience

Score 19 · 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.

How each Regulated Utilities defense is measured, in full →

Understanding NEE's moat

What is NextEra Energy, Inc.'s moat score?

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) scores 59 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #11 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric, the top 28%. 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 Operational Efficiency (93/100) and its weakest is Capital Structure Discipline (18/100).

How does NextEra Energy, Inc. compare with other Utilities - Regulated Electric companies?

NextEra Energy, Inc. ranks #11 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 Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) at 59 just above it and Avangrid, Inc. (AGR) at 58 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 NextEra Energy, Inc. 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 NextEra Energy, Inc.?

The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and NEE scores: Regulatory Franchise (54), Rate-Base Return Quality (68), Dividend Sustainability (88), Capital Structure Discipline (18), Operational Efficiency (93), Essential Service Resilience (19). 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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