Plains GP Holdings, L.P. PAGP

Competitive advantage analysis · energy

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
43/100
Developing

Ranked against 67 peers in Oil & Gas Midstream

About Plains GP Holdings, L.P.

Plains GP Holdings, L.P., through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., owns and operates midstream infrastructure systems in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). It engages in the gathering and transporting crude oil using pipelines, trucks, and barges or railcars, as well as providing terminalling, storage, and … Full PAGP analysis →

Key strengths

  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 76.7th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.95), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.

Key risks

  • Scale Without Profitability Despite scale, profitability lags peers (score 0.10), suggesting limited competitive advantage.
  • Weak or Negative Cash Flow Cash generation is weak (score 0.24), 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

Developing
43
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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 PAGP ranks in Oil & Gas Midstream

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. ranks #38 of 56 scored companies in Oil & Gas Midstream by moat score — the top 68%. The widest moat in the group is Hess Midstream LP (HESM) at 84/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
34 TOP Ships, Inc. TOPS 46/100 Developing
35 KNOT Offshore Partners LP KNOP 45/100 Developing
36 ONEOK, Inc. OKE 44/100 Developing
37 Martin Midstream Partners L.P. MMLP 44/100 Developing
38 Plains GP Holdings, L.P. PAGP 43/100 Developing
39 Enbridge Inc ENB 43/100 Developing
40 Energy Transfer LP ET 41/100 Developing
41 Plains All American Pipeline, L PAA 40/100 Developing
42 Global Partners LP GLP 39/100 Developing

See every Commodities & Mining company ranked by moat score →

How PAGP scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 43 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 55 · 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 31 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 77 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 45 · 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 22 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding PAGP's moat

What is Plains GP Holdings, L.P.'s moat score?

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (PAGP) scores 43 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #38 of 56 scored companies in Oil & Gas Midstream, the top 68%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 67 companies in Oil & Gas Midstream. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (77/100) and its weakest is Scale & Market Position (22/100).

How does Plains GP Holdings, L.P. compare with other Oil & Gas Midstream companies?

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. ranks #38 of 56 scored companies in Oil & Gas Midstream by moat score. The widest moat in Oil & Gas Midstream is Hess Midstream LP (HESM) at 84/100. The companies ranked closest are Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (MMLP) at 44 just above it and Enbridge Inc (ENB) at 43 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 67 companies in Oil & Gas Midstream. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Plains GP Holdings, L.P. 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 Plains GP Holdings, L.P.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and PAGP scores: Pricing Power (43), Cost Advantage (55), Customer Stickiness (31), Capital Efficiency (77), Resilience (45), Scale & Market Position (22). 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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