Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a telecommunications company, provides communications services to residential, commercial, and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through two segments: TDS Telecom and Array. The company offers internet connections and all-home Wi-Fi services, fiber internet, security, and support services; advanced home TV entertainment combined with a digital video recording (DVR) services; TDS TV+, an …
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Competitive advantage assessment
Key strengths
Consistent Cash GenerationCash generation is strong and consistent (score 0.86).
Cash Generation ConsistentCash generation is consistent (score 0.86), indicating reliable business model.
Key risks
Below-Peer Operating EfficiencyOperating margin at 14.0th percentile indicates below-peer efficiency.
ROIC Below WACC or PeersROIC at 15.8th percentile suggests inefficient capital deployment.
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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Telephone and Data Systems, Inc ranks #39 of 56
scored companies in Telecom Services by moat score — the top 70%.
The widest moat in the group is Iridium Communications Inc (IRDM)
at 76/100.
Moat scores for companies ranked near TDS in Telecom Services
Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.
Cost Advantage
Score 18
· 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 59
· 15% of the moat score
Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.
Capital Efficiency
Score 35
· 18% of the moat score
Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.
Resilience
Score 78
· 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 26
· 15% of the moat score
Scale matters only when it converts into economics.
What is Telephone and Data Systems, Inc's moat score?
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc (TDS) scores 39 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #39 of 56 scored companies in Telecom Services, the top 70%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 59 companies in Telecom Services. Its strongest defense is Resilience (78/100) and its weakest is Cost Advantage (18/100).
How does Telephone and Data Systems, Inc compare with other Telecom Services companies?
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc ranks #39 of 56 scored companies in Telecom Services by moat score. The widest moat in Telecom Services is Iridium Communications Inc (IRDM) at 76/100. The companies ranked closest are Ribbon Communications Inc. (RBBN) at 40 just above it and Liberty Global Ltd. (LBTYK) at 34 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 59 companies in Telecom Services. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.
Why is Telephone and Data Systems, 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 Telephone and Data Systems, Inc?
The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and TDS scores: Pricing Power (19), Cost Advantage (18), Customer Stickiness (59), Capital Efficiency (35), Resilience (78), Scale & Market Position (26). 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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