Spark Energy Inc.
10a1754e-5005-42a6-ae43-051452a06343
PRODUCTION_VERIFIED schema v3.0.0 Inferred last heartbeat: 2026-07-20T21:33:10.743527+00:00

Business Model Classification Tokens

contract_cycle_length
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
enterprise_sales_motion
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
procurement_complexity
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
vendor_lock_coefficient
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
consumer_acquisition_channel
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
brand_loyalty_index
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
impulse_vs_considered_purchase
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
retail_distribution_reach
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
billing_cadence
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
churn_rate_benchmark
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
annual_recurring_revenue_ratio
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
free_trial_conversion_rate
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
subscriber_ltv_model
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
consumption_unit_definition
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
usage_billing_granularity
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
overage_penalty_structure
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
minimum_commitment_floor
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run
metered_margin_profile
null
Inferred
Pending — BM Dev Shop classification run

Business Model Archetype Classification

University of St. Gallen — 55 Business Model Navigator (Gassmann et al.)

SG-036 Product to Capability WHAT High
Direct: revenue_model_type=~60-70% recurring (fixed-rate multi-month contracts), ~30-40% transactional (month-to-month variable rate); churn makes 'recurring' partially illusory
SG-049
Subscription
VALUE High
SG-001
Add-on
WHO High

Hybrid Combination

Product to Capability (SG-036) WHAT provides the core structure, combined with Subscription (SG-049) + Add-on (SG-001) to form the complete business model fingerprint.

55 Archetypes Evaluated High: 3 Medium: 18 Registry: schemas/sg55_archetype_registry.yaml

Knowledge Graph — All Sections

debt_leverage_profile
0.27x Total Debt / Equity (Conservative)
High
SEC-XBRL
interest_rate_sensitivity
Variable-rate credit facility exposure means 20% rate increase (~100-120bps) raises borrowing costs ~$3-5M annually, reducing net income ~10-15%
Inferred
Agent_Inference
geopolitical_supply_exposure
High intensity; OPEC+ supply decisions and Russia-Ukraine conflict drive price volatility.
Medium
GICS-commodity-overlay-v1
supply_chain_dependency
Natural gas pipeline chokepoints: Permian Basin takeaway constraints and Gulf Coast LNG export terminals subject to hurricane/regulatory disruption
Inferred
Agent_Inference
international_expansion_readiness
Spark Energy operates almost exclusively in U.S. deregulated energy markets; sovereign currency devaluation risk is negligible/not applicable
Inferred
Agent_Inference
geographic_footprint
Purely domestic U.S. retail energy provider across ~19 states; zero meaningful international revenue exposure; no currency devaluation risk
Inferred
Agent_Inference
commodity_exposure_profile
High intensity; commodities: Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, Refined Petroleum Products, Uranium, Steel (equipment); geopolitical: OPEC+ supply decisions and Russia-Ukraine conflict drive price volatility.
Medium
GICS-commodity-overlay-v1
vendor_lock_dependency_score
Dependent on regulated utilities for last-mile delivery (non-substitutable in each territory); single utility per region represents 100% of local distribution
Inferred
Agent_Inference
business_model_type_primary
Retail energy supplier; not cloud-dependent for core operations; billing and CRM disruption would be operational but not existential within 30 days
Inferred
Agent_Inference
business_model_type_secondary
Physical commodity retail (electricity/gas resale); cloud dependency is back-office only; primary risk is billing/customer-management platform disruption
Inferred
Agent_Inference
switching_cost_profile
Low API coupling risk; core operations rely on utility EDI data exchanges and internal billing systems, not third-party API ecosystems
Inferred
Agent_Inference
howey_test_risk_index
Low Howey Test risk; revenue from retail commodity sales to end consumers; no investment contract or profit-sharing element in primary model
Inferred
Agent_Inference
regulatory_burden_tier
High
Medium
GICS-regulatory-overlay-v1
data_sovereignty_risk
Moderate CCPA exposure (U.S. residential customer PII); GDPR not applicable; state-level PII regulations (TX, IL, NY) create patchwork compliance cost
Inferred
Agent_Inference
antitrust_exposure_flag
Low antitrust risk; fragmented retail energy market with many competitors; Spark holds sub-2% national market share in deregulated states
Inferred
Agent_Inference
regulatory_exposure_profile
High burden; regimes: EPA, FERC, DOE, CFTC, OSHA, SEC; Accelerating emissions mandates and methane rules threaten capex economics.
Medium
GICS-regulatory-overlay-v1
revenue_model_type
~60-70% recurring (fixed-rate multi-month contracts), ~30-40% transactional (month-to-month variable rate); churn makes 'recurring' partially illusory
Inferred
Agent_Inference
monetization_vector
Commodity margin spread (buy wholesale, sell retail); ancillary products (protection plans, green energy premiums) add <10% of revenue
Inferred
Agent_Inference
pricing_architecture
Spread-based pricing (wholesale cost + margin); stressed by commodity spikes (e.g., Winter Storm Uri); fixed-rate contracts create basis risk
Inferred
Agent_Inference
pricing_power_rating
Low; retail energy is near-commodity product; pricing constrained by utility default rates and intense broker/competitor competition
Inferred
Agent_Inference
target_gross_margin_bracket
26.2% Gross Margin (Moderate (20-40%))
High
SEC-XBRL
churn_vulnerability_index
High churn vulnerability; ~40-60% annual customer attrition typical for retail energy; no meaningful free-rider issue but high acquisition cost drag
Inferred
Agent_Inference
headcount_cost_structure
Largely sublinear; customer growth handled via brokers/third-party channels; doubling revenue requires modest headcount increase in ops/compliance
Inferred
Agent_Inference
marginal_cost_of_growth
Marginal cost of growth primarily commodity procurement and broker commissions; fixed overhead leverage exists but broker CAC is variable and high
Inferred
Agent_Inference
franchise_compliance_risk
No franchise network; operates via direct sales and third-party brokers; broker mis-selling compliance risk is significant and has triggered regulatory fines
Inferred
Agent_Inference
customer_acquisition_metric
CAC ~$100-200/customer via brokers; LTV constrained by high churn; at 10x scale, broker channel costs would rise significantly, compressing unit economics
Inferred
Agent_Inference
network_effect_present
No network effects; retail energy is a point-of-sale commodity transaction; scale provides modest procurement leverage only
Inferred
Agent_Inference
asset_efficiency_ratio
12.8% Return on Assets (Excellent)
High
SEC-XBRL
recession_resistance_tier
Tier 2 recession resistant; energy is essential but customers downgrade to utility default service during stress, increasing Spark's churn in recessions
Inferred
Agent_Inference
customer_segment_primary
Residential households in deregulated U.S. energy markets; no single customer >1% of revenue; segment-level concentration risk is low
Inferred
Agent_Inference
customer_segment_secondary
Small-to-medium commercial customers (~20-25% of volume); no material concentration; lost SMB segment in strategic restructuring circa 2019-2021
Inferred
Agent_Inference
characteristic_occupations
["11-0000 Management Occupations", "13-0000 Business and Financial Operations Occupations", "15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Occupations", "17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations", "19-0000 Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations", "23-0000 Legal Occupations", "41-0000 Sales and Related Occupations", "43-0000 Office and Administrative Support Occupations", "47-0000 Construction and Extraction Occupations", "49-0000 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations", "53-0000 Transportation and Material Moving Occupations"]
High
SOC-2018/GICS-overlay
agent_automatable_labor_share
0.33 (HIL — ~33% of characteristic roles agent-automatable)
Medium
SOC-2018 + agentic-exposure-v1
capital_expenditure_profile
0.6% CapEx / Revenue (Low-CapEx Asset-Light)
High
SEC-XBRL
sec_cik
0001606163
Inferred
Agent_Inference
ticker
SPKE; historically traded at discount to book reflecting commodity margin volatility, high churn, and regulatory overhang rather than geopolitical supply risk premium
Inferred
Agent_Inference

Business Model Components

Core Space

> *Pending Turn 2 — Business Model Type Agent population.*

Interaction Modes

> *Pending Turn 2 — Business Model Type Agent population.*

Product Matrix

> *Pending Turn 2 — Business Model Type Agent population.*

Historical Evolution Log

Live Operational Signals

Signal DateSignal TypeSummary
Source

Evaluation Gate — Persona Stress Tests

SKILL_BUFFETT_VAL_03PASS2026-07-20no unmet atoms among this persona's authored questions
SKILL_LEGAL_SEC_01PASS2026-07-20no unmet atoms among this persona's authored questions
SKILL_SHORT_BEAR_01PASS2026-07-20no unmet atoms among this persona's authored questions
SKILL_MACRO_STRAT_01PASS2026-07-20no unmet atoms among this persona's authored questions
SKILL_OPS_PARTNER_01PASS2026-07-20no unmet atoms among this persona's authored questions

Live Status

No Live Status block found.