DBA Sempra SRE

Competitive advantage analysis · utilities

Regulated Utilities
Overall moat score
52/100
Moderate

About DBA Sempra

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides natural gas and electric services to Southern California and part of central California. As of December 31, 2024, it offered electric services to approximately 3.6 million population and natural … Full SRE analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Strong Regulated Margins Regulated margin level is strong (score 0.82), indicating favourable rate-case outcomes.
  • Strong Operating Cash Generation Operating cash generation is strong (score 0.93), supporting dividend sustainability.

Key risks

  • Below-Allowed ROE Return on equity is weak vs peers (score 0.30), implying the company may not be earning its allowed return.
  • Volatile Payout Coverage Cash flow coverage stability is poor (score 0.07), elevating dividend risk.

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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Regulatory Franchise

Moderate
70

Where SRE ranks in Utilities - Diversified

DBA Sempra ranks #8 of 13 scored companies in Utilities - Diversified by moat score — the top 62%. The widest moat in the group is Brookfield Infrastructure Partn (BIP) at 69/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near SRE in Utilities - Diversified
# Company Moat score Rating
4 Comp En De Mn Cemig CIG-C 58/100 Moderate
5 Allete, Inc. ALE 56/100 Moderate
6 Avista Corporation AVA 54/100 Moderate
7 Comp En De Mn Cemig CIG 54/100 Moderate
8 DBA Sempra SRE 52/100 Moderate
9 Companhia Paranaense de Energia ELP 49/100 Developing
10 Companhia Paranaense de Energia ELPC 43/100 Developing
11 Algonquin Power & Utilities Cor AQN 42/100 Developing
12 The AES Corporation AES 39/100 Developing

See every Regulated Utilities company ranked by moat score →

How SRE scores on the Regulated Utilities defenses

Regulatory Franchise

Score 70 · 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 56 · 20% of the moat score

A utility earns an allowed return on the capital invested in its network, the rate base.

Dividend Sustainability

Score 42 · 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 19 · 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 63 · 12% of the moat score

Efficiency is unusually consequential under regulation.

Essential Service Resilience

Score 33 · 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.

How each Regulated Utilities defense is measured, in full →

Understanding SRE's moat

What is DBA Sempra's moat score?

DBA Sempra (SRE) scores 52 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #8 of 13 scored companies in Utilities - Diversified, the top 62%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 14 companies in Utilities - Diversified. Its strongest defense is Regulatory Franchise (70/100) and its weakest is Capital Structure Discipline (19/100).

How does DBA Sempra compare with other Utilities - Diversified companies?

DBA Sempra ranks #8 of 13 scored companies in Utilities - Diversified by moat score. The widest moat in Utilities - Diversified is Brookfield Infrastructure Partn (BIP) at 69/100. The companies ranked closest are Comp En De Mn Cemig (CIG) at 54 just above it and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (ELP) at 49 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 14 companies in Utilities - Diversified. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is DBA Sempra 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 DBA Sempra?

The Regulated Utilities template measures 6 defenses, and SRE scores: Regulatory Franchise (70), Rate-Base Return Quality (56), Dividend Sustainability (42), Capital Structure Discipline (19), Operational Efficiency (63), Essential Service Resilience (33). 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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