Is the business good?
How good a business is WTRG?
Essential Utilities, Inc. earns 4.6% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so growth costs more than it returns.
4.6%
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 4.4 points below what the capital costs: growth destroys value
- Operating margin
- 35%
Operating margin · Utilities - Regulated Water median 29% · 12 months to Q2 2026
- Cash conversion
- −0.81×
Cash conversion · −0.74× a year ago · some of the reported profit has not turned into cash yet
- Share count, year on year
- +1.2%
Share count, year on year · shareholders own a smaller slice than a year ago
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 30% |
| FY2021 | 32% |
| FY2022 | 29% |
| FY2023 | 34% |
| FY2024 | 36% |
| FY2025 | 37% |
Details›
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 35%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 22%
- Free cash flow margin
- −18%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $2.57B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- −$452M
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $555M
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 4.6%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion from the cash flow statement.
Utilities - Regulated Water
Ranks #3 of 6 by Smart Score