Worthington Steel, Inc. WS

Competitive advantage analysis · basic-materials

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
53/100
Moderate

About Worthington Steel, Inc.

Worthington Steel, Inc. operates as a steel processor in North America. The company offers carbon flat-rolled steel and tailor welded blanks, as well as automotive and electrical steel lamination stampings; and aluminum tailor welded blanks. It serves automotive, construction, machinery and equipment, heavy truck, agriculture, and energy sectors. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Full WS analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 1.00), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
  • Cash Generation Consistent Cash generation is consistent (score 0.75), indicating reliable business model.

Key risks

  • ROIC Below WACC or Peers ROIC at 27.3th percentile suggests inefficient capital deployment.
  • Liquidity Concerns Liquidity is concerning (score 0.25), raising questions about short-term obligations.

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
58

Where WS ranks in Steel

Worthington Steel, Inc. ranks #13 of 27 scored companies in Steel by moat score — the top 48%. The widest moat in the group is Grupo Simec, S.A.B. de C.V. (SIM) at 79/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near WS in Steel
# Company Moat score Rating
9 Olympic Steel, Inc. ZEUS 58/100 Moderate
10 Arcelor Mittal NY Registry Shar MT 57/100 Moderate
11 Hongli Group Inc. HLP 56/100 Moderate
12 POSCO Holdings Inc. PKX 55/100 Moderate
13 Worthington Steel, Inc. WS 53/100 Moderate
14 Ternium S.A. Ternium S.A. TX 49/100 Developing
15 Metallus Inc. MTUS 48/100 Developing
16 Huadi International Group Co., HUDI 47/100 Developing
17 Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SID 43/100 Developing

See every Commodities & Mining company ranked by moat score →

How WS scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 58 · 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 60 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 42 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 45 · 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 67 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding WS's moat

What is Worthington Steel, Inc.'s moat score?

Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS) scores 53 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #13 of 27 scored companies in Steel, the top 48%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 26 companies in Steel. Its strongest defense is Scale & Market Position (67/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (42/100).

How does Worthington Steel, Inc. compare with other Steel companies?

Worthington Steel, Inc. ranks #13 of 27 scored companies in Steel by moat score. The widest moat in Steel is Grupo Simec, S.A.B. de C.V. (SIM) at 79/100. The companies ranked closest are POSCO Holdings Inc. (PKX) at 55 just above it and Ternium S.A. Ternium S.A. (TX) at 49 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 26 companies in Steel. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Worthington Steel, 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 Worthington Steel, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and WS scores: Pricing Power (58), Cost Advantage (44), Customer Stickiness (60), Capital Efficiency (42), Resilience (45), Scale & Market Position (67). 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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