Quad/Graphics, Inc. provides marketing solutions in North America, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Asia. The company operates through United States Print and Related Services, and International segments. It offers printing services, such as retail inserts, long-run publications, catalogs, special interest publications, journals, direct mail, directories, in-store marketing and promotion, packaging, newspapers, custom …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
ROIC Sustainably Above PeersROIC at 89.5th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
Margins Stable Across CyclesOperating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.84), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
Key risks
Liquidity ConcernsLiquidity is concerning (score 0.23), raising questions about short-term obligations.
Weak or Negative Cash FlowCash generation is weak (score 0.39), 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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Quad Graphics, Inc ranks #20 of 41
scored companies in Specialty Business Services by moat score — the top 49%.
The widest moat in the group is Copart, Inc. (CPRT)
at 81/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near QUAD in Specialty Business Services
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 60
· 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 49
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 68
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 35
· 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 47
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
Quad Graphics, Inc (QUAD) scores 52 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #20 of 41 scored companies in Specialty Business Services, the top 49%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 40 companies in Specialty Business Services. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (68/100) and its weakest is Resilience (35/100).
How does Quad Graphics, Inc compare with other Specialty Business Services companies?
Quad Graphics, Inc ranks #20 of 41 scored companies in Specialty Business Services by moat score. The widest moat in Specialty Business Services is Copart, Inc. (CPRT) at 81/100. The companies ranked closest are ABM Industries Incorporated (ABM) at 53 just above it and Aramark (ARMK) at 52 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 40 companies in Specialty Business Services. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Quad Graphics, 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 Quad Graphics, Inc?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and QUAD scores: Pricing Power (54), Cost Advantage (60), Customer Stickiness (49), Capital Efficiency (68), Resilience (35), Scale & Market Position (47). 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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