Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail marketing and distribution of propane, renewable propane, renewable natural gas, fuel oil, and refined fuels in the United States. It operates through four segments: Propane, Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels, Natural Gas and Electricity, and All Other. The Propane segment is involved in the retail distribution of propane for …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Highly Stable Essential-Service RevenueRevenue stability is high (score 0.88), reflecting inelastic demand for essential services.
Predictable Regulated Cash FlowsMargin stability is high (score 0.94), reflecting the contractual nature of regulated tariffs.
Key risks
Interest Coverage Below PeersInterest coverage is weak (score 0.31), which may pressure credit ratings.
Cost Discipline Lags PeersOperational cost discipline is weak (score 0.19), dragging on margins.
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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Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. ranks #5 of 16
scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas by moat score — the top 31%.
The widest moat in the group is Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO)
at 70/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near SPH in Utilities - Regulated Gas
How SPH scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses
Regulatory Franchise
Score 69
· 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 100
· 20% of the moat score
A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.
Dividend Sustainability
Score 64
· 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 41
· 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 26
· 12% of the moat score
Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.
Essential Service Resilience
Score 90
· 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 Suburban Propane Partners, L.P.'s moat score?
Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (SPH) scores 62 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #5 of 16 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas, the top 31%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 16 companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas. Its strongest defense is Rate-Base Return Quality (100/100) and its weakest is Operational Efficiency (26/100).
How does Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. compare with other Utilities - Regulated Gas companies?
Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. ranks #5 of 16 scored companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas by moat score. The widest moat in Utilities - Regulated Gas is Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) at 70/100. The companies ranked closest are RGC Resources Inc. (RGCO) at 64 just above it and NewJersey Resources Corporation (NJR) at 61 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 16 companies in Utilities - Regulated Gas. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. 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 Suburban Propane Partners, L.P.?
The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and SPH scores: Regulatory Franchise (69), Rate-Base Return Quality (100), Dividend Sustainability (64), Capital Structure Discipline (41), Operational Efficiency (26), Essential Service Resilience (90). 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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