Olympic Steel, Inc. ZEUS

Competitive advantage analysis · basic-materials

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
58/100
Moderate

About Olympic Steel, Inc.

As of February 13, 2026, operates as a subsidiary of Ryerson Holding Corporation. Full ZEUS analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.96), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.
  • Operating Leverage in Effect Operating leverage is evident (score 0.96), with margins expanding over time.

Key risks

  • Revenue Volatility Signals Weak Stickiness Revenue volatility is high (stability score 0.33), suggesting weak customer stickiness.
  • Elevated Debt Risk Debt serviceability is weak (score 0.38), raising refinancing 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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Pricing Power

Moderate
70

Where ZEUS ranks in Steel

Olympic Steel, Inc. ranks #9 of 27 scored companies in Steel by moat score — the top 33%. 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 ZEUS in Steel
# Company Moat score Rating
5 Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD 69/100 Moderate
6 Nucor Corporation NUE 66/100 Moderate
7 Friedman Industries Inc. FRD 66/100 Moderate
8 Gerdau S.A. GGB 58/100 Moderate
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

See every Commodities & Mining company ranked by moat score →

How ZEUS scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 70 · 20% of the moat score

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

Cost Advantage

Score 39 · 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 47 · 15% of the moat score

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

Capital Efficiency

Score 52 · 18% of the moat score

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

Resilience

Score 55 · 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 79 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding ZEUS's moat

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

Olympic Steel, Inc. (ZEUS) scores 58 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #9 of 27 scored companies in Steel, the top 33%. 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 (79/100) and its weakest is Cost Advantage (39/100).

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

Olympic Steel, Inc. ranks #9 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 Gerdau S.A. (GGB) at 58 just above it and Arcelor Mittal NY Registry Shar (MT) at 57 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 Olympic 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 Olympic Steel, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and ZEUS scores: Pricing Power (70), Cost Advantage (39), Customer Stickiness (47), Capital Efficiency (52), Resilience (55), Scale & Market Position (79). 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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