Gas & Water Utilities

Regulated gas distribution and water utilities.

Companies

With a moat

80%

Average quality

1 wide moat · 19 narrow moat · 5 no moat · Open in screener →

Updated 27 Sep 2026

Gas & Water Utilities covers regulated gas distribution and water utilities. MoatScope covers 25 companies here. One has a wide moat, 19 a narrow moat and five none.

How the industry makes money

Like electric utilities, gas and water utilities earn an allowed return on the pipes and plants they invest in, with regulators setting customer rates.

Where the moats are

Efficient scale appears in all 20 moat-rated companies: one set of pipes serves each territory.

Essential Utilities: regulated water and gas monopolies that compete with no one directly for their customers.

The narrow-moat group includes American Water Works, Atmos Energy, UGI, National Fuel Gas, Southwest Gas, New Jersey Resources and Spire.

What wears moats down

Rate decisions set returns, pipe-replacement programs require heavy borrowing, and electrification policies raise long-term questions for gas distribution.

What to watch

Rate-case outcomes.
Pipe-replacement spending.
Gas electrification policy.

Moat ratings and quality scores on this page update as companies report. Price versus fair value for every company in the industry is in the screener.

Markets

MoatScope splits Gas & Water Utilities into 2 markets. Each table ranks the businesses in one market by revenue and shows each one's share of the market's total: companies filed under this industry, the segments of companies filed elsewhere that compete in it, and the largest companies MoatScope doesn't cover, such as private companies and companies listed outside the US. Each market's total comes from a cited source and covers the geography its businesses compete in (a national market counts only US revenue). A company that runs several businesses is split by the segments it reports.

Gas utilities

Natural gas distribution utilities.

US market · $113.9B total revenue in 2025 · source: U.S. EIA. Shares are of the whole market, including companies MoatScope doesn't cover; company revenue is for the fiscal year closest to 2025. Gas delivered to US homes and businesses at 2025 prices (EIA).

#	Business	Market share	Revenue
1	ENB · ENBRIDGE INC Gas Distribution & Storage · filed under Midstream & Pipelines	7.1%	$8.1B
2	SO · SOUTHERN CO Southern Company Gas · filed under Electric & Multi-Utilities	4.4%	$5.0B
3	CNP · CENTERPOINT ENERGY INC Natural Gas · filed under Electric & Multi-Utilities	4.0%	$4.5B
4	ATO · ATMOS ENERGY CORP	3.9%	$4.4B
5	NI · NISOURCE INC. Columbia Gas · filed under Electric & Multi-Utilities	2.9%	$3.3B
6	DUK · Duke Energy CORP Gas utilities · filed under Electric & Multi-Utilities	2.5%	$2.9B
7	ES · EVERSOURCE ENERGY Gas distribution · filed under Electric & Multi-Utilities	2.3%	$2.6B
8	CMS · CMS ENERGY CORP Gas Utility · filed under Electric & Multi-Utilities	2.2%	$2.5B
9	SR · SPIRE INC	2.2%	$2.5B
10	OGS · ONE Gas, Inc.	2.1%	$2.4B
	All other companies	54.8%	$62.5B

Water utilities

Water and wastewater utilities.

US market · $142.5B total revenue in 2020 · source: U.S. Conference of Mayors · rough estimate. Shares are of the whole market, including companies MoatScope doesn't cover; company revenue is for the fiscal year closest to 2025. 2020 water and sewer revenue of US local governments; investor-owned utilities aren't in it.

#	Business	Market share	Revenue
1	AWK · American Water Works Company, Inc.	3.6%	$5.1B
2	WTRG · Essential Utilities, Inc.	1.7%	$2.5B
3	CWT · CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP	0.7%	$964M
4	HTO · H2O AMERICA	0.6%	$801M
5	AWR · AMERICAN STATES WATER CO	0.5%	$658M
6	MSEX · MIDDLESEX WATER CO	0.1%	$195M
7	ARTNB · ARTESIAN RESOURCES CORP	<0.1%	$113M
8	YORW · YORK WATER CO	<0.1%	$77M
9	CWCO · Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. US revenue	<0.1%	$64M
10	GWRS · Global Water Resources, Inc.	<0.1%	$56M
	All other companies	92.6%	$131.9B

Companies

Company	Moat	Quality	Market
ATO ATMOS ENERGY CORP	Narrow	46	Gas utilities + 1 other market	3.9%	$27.8B
AWK American Water Works Company, Inc.	Narrow	43	Water utilities	3.6%	$26.5B
WTRG Essential Utilities, Inc.	Wide	54	Water utilities	1.7%	$11.5B
UGI UGI CORP /PA/	Narrow	41	Gas utilities + 2 other markets	1.5%	$8.2B
NFG NATIONAL FUEL GAS CO	Narrow	52	Gas utilities	2.0%	$7.4B
SWX Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.	Narrow	41	Gas utilities	1.7%	$6.3B
NJR NEW JERSEY RESOURCES CORP	Narrow	47	Gas utilities	1.2%	$5.2B
SR SPIRE INC	Narrow	40	Gas utilities	2.2%	$4.8B
OGS ONE Gas, Inc.	Narrow	43	Gas utilities	2.1%	$4.7B
SBS COMPANHIA DE SANEAMENTO BASICO DO ESTADO DE SAO PAULO-SABESP	Narrow	65	Water utilities	—	$3.6B
AWR AMERICAN STATES WATER CO	Narrow	50	Water utilities	0.5%	$3.2B
CPK CHESAPEAKE UTILITIES CORP	Narrow	43	Gas utilities	0.8%	$3.1B
CWT CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP	Narrow	47	Water utilities	0.7%	$2.8B
HTO H2O AMERICA	Narrow	49	Water utilities	0.6%	$2.3B
NWN Northwest Natural Holding Co	Narrow	34	Gas utilities	1.1%	$2.0B
BIPC Brookfield Infrastructure Corp	Narrow	51	Gas utilities	—^†	$1.7B
MSEX MIDDLESEX WATER CO	Narrow	46	Water utilities	0.1%	$1.0B
YORW YORK WATER CO	Narrow	44	Water utilities	<0.1%	$493M
CWCO Consolidated Water Co. Ltd.	Narrow	62	Water utilities	<0.1%	$485M
ARTNB ARTESIAN RESOURCES CORP	Narrow	41	Water utilities	<0.1%	$340M
CDZI CADIZ INC	None	10	Water utilities	<0.1%	$338M
MNTK Montauk Renewables, Inc.	None	27	Gas utilities	0.2%	$296M
PCYO PURE CYCLE CORP	None	49	Water utilities	<0.1%	$262M
RGCO RGC RESOURCES INC	None	32	Gas utilities	<0.1%	$236M
GWRS Global Water Resources, Inc.	None	22	Water utilities	<0.1%	$225M

25 companies.

Market share is a company's revenue in its main market (Market column) as a share of that market's total: every company in it, including private companies and companies listed outside the US (sources under each market above). Revenue is for the fiscal year closest to 2025, and a market that is national (such as US banking) counts only US revenue. Companies that run several businesses are split by the segments they report, and each segment counts in its own market. A dash means the market has no reliable total yet, or no revenue was reported for that year.

† Brookfield Infrastructure Corp: Consolidated by Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP); counted under BIP.

Price versus fair value for every company is in the screener.

Other Utilities industries

Electric & Multi-Utilities Independent Power & Renewables