The Moat Index

Spire Inc.

SR · Utilities · $4.8B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · No moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

33/ 100
No moat

The four filters

Pricing power80

Median gross margin 52.5% over 3y, stable.

Returns on capital0

Median ROIC 5.1%, above the 9% hurdle in 0% of years.

Balance-sheet safety1

Net debt/EBITDA 6.3x, interest coverage 3x.

Capital discipline43

Owner earnings +7.3%/yr, share count growing (dilution).

Margin of safety

Above valueOn sale
72% above value
Owner earnings (normalized)
$250.9M
Est. intrinsic value / share
$47.25
Recent price
$81.41
Discount to value
72% above value

Conservative model: 9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth (capped at 4%), maintenance capex ≈ min(capex, D&A).

19 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Spire Inc. booked $2.5B of revenue in FY2025 in the Utilities sector and kept 58.8% of it as gross profit — a high-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 11.0% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $1.6B (FY2011) to $2.5B (FY2025) — about 3.3% a year compounded over 14 years.

It earned 5.0% on invested capital in FY2025, with a median of 5.2% across 18 filed years. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 0/100.

The balance sheet carried $5.2B of total debt in FY2025 against $271.7M of owner earnings — roughly 19.0 years of owner earnings to retire it all. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 1/100.

The share count rose 36.6% between FY2014 and FY2025 — existing owners have been diluted over the record. Capital Discipline scores it 43/100.

Put together: Pricing Power is the strongest of the four filters (80/100) and Returns on Capital the weakest (0/100), which is how SR lands at 33/100 — a None moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2007–FY2025 · 19 fiscal years, normalized from SR’s SEC filings

RevenueSales, as filed$2.5B FY2025
$0$1B$2B2007201320192025
Gross marginRevenue kept after cost of goods58.8% FY2025
0%25%50%2007201320192025
Return on invested capitalOperating profit on the capital employed5.0% FY2025
0%10%2007201320192025
Owner earningsCash an owner could take out$271.7M FY2025
$0$100M$200M2007201320192025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in SR’s filings for that year — the series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Moat Score history

3 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale33.1 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026

Score history begins Jul 17, 2026 — the record builds from here and can’t be backfilled.

Tier changesSame-methodology crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

None yet — SR has read No moat for every logged capture since Jul 17, 2026.

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record can’t be backfilled, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Utilities context

#28 of 48 scored Utilities companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #26CNP CENTERPOINT ENERGY INC34.3 out of 100, No moatNo moat
  2. #27TRGP TARGA RESOURCES CORP.33.3 out of 100, No moatNo moat
  3. #29OGS ONE Gas, Inc.33.1 out of 100, No moatNo moat
  4. #30OKE ONEOK INC /NEW/32.6 out of 100, No moatNo moat

Compare SR with its nearest peersAll Utilities companies on the Index →

Common questions about SR

Does Spire Inc. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Spire Inc. (SR) 33.1 out of 100 — below the Shallow-moat bar, so no moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 80, returns on capital 0, balance-sheet safety 1, capital discipline 43.
Is SR stock trading below its intrinsic value?
Against a deliberately conservative owner-earnings model (9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth, capped at 4%), estimated intrinsic value is $47.25 per share versus a recent price of $81.41 — 72% above value. This is an educational estimate computed from primary SEC filings, not investment advice.
How has SR's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 3 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 33.1 out of 100 (no moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.
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Spire Inc. (SR) Moat Score — The Moat Index · Buy Like Buffett