Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, through its subsidiary, provides retail and wholesale electric services in the state of Arizona. The company engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity using nuclear, gas, oil, coal, and solar generating facilities. Its transmission facilities include overhead lines and underground lines; and distribution facilities consist of overhead lines and underground primary cables. The company …
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Pinnacle West Capital Corporati ranks #20 of 40
scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric by moat score — the top 50%.
The widest moat in the group is MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE)
at 73/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near PNW in Utilities - Regulated Electric
How PNW 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 42
· 20% of the moat score
A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.
Dividend Sustainability
Score 75
· 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 57
· 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 24
· 12% of the moat score
Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.
Essential Service Resilience
Score 74
· 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.
What is Pinnacle West Capital Corporati's moat score?
Pinnacle West Capital Corporati (PNW) scores 54 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #20 of 40 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Electric, the top 50%. 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 Dividend Sustainability (75/100) and its weakest is Operational Efficiency (24/100).
How does Pinnacle West Capital Corporati compare with other Utilities - Regulated Electric companies?
Pinnacle West Capital Corporati ranks #20 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 Entergy Corporation (ETR) at 55 just above it and Dominion Energy, Inc. (D) at 52 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 Pinnacle West Capital Corporati 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 Pinnacle West Capital Corporati?
The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and PNW scores: Regulatory Franchise (54), Rate-Base Return Quality (42), Dividend Sustainability (75), Capital Structure Discipline (57), Operational Efficiency (24), Essential Service Resilience (74). 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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