RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. RICK

Competitive advantage analysis · consumer-cyclical

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
53/100
Moderate

Ranked against 56 peers in Restaurants

About RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc.

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the hospitality and related businesses in the United States. The company operates through Nightclubs, Bombshells, and Other segments. It owns and/or operates upscale adult nightclubs under the Rick's Cabaret, Jaguars Club, Tootsie's Cabaret, XTC Cabaret, Club Onyx, Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar, Scarlett's Cabaret, Diamond Cabaret, Cheetah Gentlemen's Club, PT's Showclub, … Full RICK analysis →

Key strengths

  • Margins Consistently Above Peers Gross margin at 57.0% (top 6%) and operating margin at 10.8% (top 22%) indicate strong pricing power.
  • Cash Generation Consistent Cash generation is consistent (score 0.82), indicating reliable business model.

Key risks

  • Elevated Debt Risk Debt serviceability is weak (score 0.38), raising refinancing risk.
  • Revenue Volatility Signals Weak Stickiness Revenue volatility is high (stability score 0.32), suggesting weak customer stickiness.

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
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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 RICK ranks in Restaurants

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. ranks #29 of 57 scored companies in Restaurants by moat score — the top 51%. The widest moat in the group is Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) at 83/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
25 Portillo's Inc. PTLO 57/100 Moderate
26 Papa John's International, Inc. PZZA 56/100 Moderate
27 BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI 56/100 Moderate
28 CAVA Group, Inc. CAVA 54/100 Moderate
29 RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. RICK 53/100 Moderate
30 Denny's Corporation DENN 50/100 Developing
31 Cracker Barrel Old Country Stor CBRL 48/100 Developing
32 First Watch Restaurant Group, I FWRG 45/100 Developing
33 Chanson International Holding CHSN 45/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How RICK scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 60 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 44 · 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 62 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 44 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 50 · 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 55 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding RICK's moat

What is RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc.'s moat score?

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (RICK) scores 53 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #29 of 57 scored companies in Restaurants, the top 51%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 56 companies in Restaurants. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (62/100) and its weakest is Cost Advantage (44/100).

How does RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. compare with other Restaurants companies?

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. ranks #29 of 57 scored companies in Restaurants by moat score. The widest moat in Restaurants is Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) at 83/100. The companies ranked closest are CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA) at 54 just above it and Denny's Corporation (DENN) at 50 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 56 companies in Restaurants. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is RCI Hospitality Holdings, 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 RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and RICK scores: Pricing Power (60), Cost Advantage (44), Customer Stickiness (62), Capital Efficiency (44), Resilience (50), Scale & Market Position (55). 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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