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Wednesday 4 November 2026
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Essential Utilities Inc.
WTRG Utilities Utilities Regulated Water
Essential Utilities Inc.’s revenue for fiscal 2025 (year ended December 2025) was $2.5 billion, up 18.6% from fiscal 2024.
- Revenue
- +6.56%
- EPS
- +12.1%
- Free cash flow
- −1.23%
- Total debt
- +1.34%
Quarter to September 2026, against a year earlier
45.07
1.03
+2.34%
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Analyst price targets
Free accountTen years at a glance Fiscal years to December
| Ten-year view | Analyst estimates Powerpack | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Line | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | TTM Sep ’26 | Trend | 10 yrs | 2026e | 2027e | 2028e | Next 3/yr |
| Income, $m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Income, $m | Revenue | 820 | 810 | 838 | 890 | 1,463 | 1,878 | 2,288 | 2,054 | 2,086 | 2,475 | 2,600 | +13.1% | 2,474 | 2,654 | 2,826 | +4.5% | |
| Gross margin, % | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 88.67 | 81.88 | 73.69 | 82.85 | 86.72 | 83.68 | 82.69 | (16.3) pt | ||||||
| EBT | 255 | 257 | 178 | 212 | 265 | 422 | 451 | 432 | 573 | 620 | 598 | +10.4% | ||||||
| EBT margin, % | 31.12 | 31.70 | 21.28 | 23.78 | 18.12 | 22.47 | 19.71 | 21.02 | 27.49 | 25.05 | 23.01 | (6.1) pt | ||||||
| Net income | 234 | 240 | 192 | 225 | 285 | 432 | 465 | 498 | 595 | 616 | 567 | +11.4% | ||||||
| Per share, $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Per share, $ | Revenue | 4.62 | 4.56 | 4.71 | 4.13 | 5.86 | 7.29 | 8.72 | 7.69 | 7.62 | 8.84 | 9.14 | +7.5% | |||||
| Earnings | 1.32 | 1.35 | 1.08 | 1.04 | 1.14 | 1.68 | 1.77 | 1.86 | 2.17 | 2.20 | 2.00 | +5.8% | ||||||
| Cash flow | 2.23 | 2.15 | 2.07 | 1.57 | 2.03 | 2.50 | 2.29 | 3.49 | 2.81 | 3.61 | 3.60 | +5.5% | ||||||
| Capex | (2.17) | (2.72) | (3.60) | (2.82) | (17.36) | (4.10) | (4.49) | (4.50) | (4.25) | (5.30) | 0.00 | +10.4% | ||||||
| Free cash flow | 0.06 | (0.57) | (1.53) | (1.25) | (15.32) | (1.59) | (2.21) | (1.01) | (1.43) | (1.70) | 3.60 | n/m | ||||||
| Book value | 10.44 | 11.02 | 11.29 | 18.00 | 18.75 | 20.13 | 20.51 | 22.07 | 22.63 | 24.49 | 25.06 | +9.9% | ||||||
| Shares, m | 177 | 178 | 178 | 216 | 250 | 257 | 262 | 267 | 274 | 280 | 283 | +5.2% | ||||||
| Valuation, × | ||||||||||||||||||
| Valuation, × | P/E | 22.71 | 28.63 | 31.66 | 46.94 | 41.85 | 31.77 | 27.21 | 20.22 | 16.74 | 17.36 | 22.56 | 28.5 | |||||
| P/S | 6.48 | 8.48 | 7.26 | 11.37 | 8.08 | 7.36 | 5.52 | 4.92 | 4.77 | 4.34 | 4.94 | 6.9 | ||||||
| P/B | 2.87 | 3.51 | 3.03 | 2.61 | 2.52 | 2.67 | 2.35 | 1.71 | 1.60 | 1.57 | 1.80 | 2.4 | ||||||
| EV/Sales | 8.79 | 11.10 | 10.31 | 12.73 | 11.95 | 10.54 | 8.49 | 8.35 | 8.45 | 7.67 | 8.05 | 9.8 | ||||||
| EV/FCF | 627.13 | (88.71) | (31.73) | (42.16) | (4.57) | (48.23) | (33.58) | (63.75) | (44.92) | (39.98) | (40.83) | 22.9 | ||||||
| Cash, $m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash, $m | Operating cash flow | 396 | 381 | 369 | 339 | 508 | 645 | 600 | 934 | 770 | 1,010 | 1,024 | +11.0% | |||||
| Capex | (385) | (483) | (641) | (607) | (4,335) | (1,055) | (1,179) | (1,203) | (1,163) | (1,485) | (1,537) | +16.2% | ||||||
| Free cash flow | 11 | (101) | (272) | (269) | (3,827) | (410) | (578) | (269) | (393) | (475) | 1,024 | n/m | ||||||
| Balance, $m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, $m | Working capital | (173) | (153) | (252) | 1,692 | (224) | (237) | (364) | (306) | (489) | (154) | (729) | (1.3%) | |||||
| Net debt | 1,891 | 2,121 | 2,555 | 1,205 | 5,665 | 5,966 | 6,788 | 7,049 | 7,689 | 8,247 | 8,021 | +17.8% | ||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | 1,850 | 1,958 | 2,009 | 3,881 | 4,684 | 5,184 | 5,377 | 5,896 | 6,199 | 6,857 | 7,128 | +15.7% | ||||||
| Returns, % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Returns, % | ROA | 3.94 | 3.84 | 2.89 | 2.75 | 2.47 | 3.04 | 3.06 | 3.06 | 3.41 | 3.29 | 2.89 | (0.6) pt | |||||
| ROIC | 5.57 | 5.12 | 4.43 | 4.18 | 2.63 | 3.38 | 3.40 | 3.34 | 3.41 | 3.81 | 3.81 | (1.8) pt | ||||||
| ROE | 13.10 | 12.59 | 9.68 | 7.62 | 6.65 | 8.75 | 8.81 | 8.84 | 9.84 | 9.44 | 8.13 | (3.7) pt | ||||||
| People | ||||||||||||||||||
| People | Employees | 1,551 | 1,530 | 1,570 | 1,583 | 3,180 | 3,211 | 3,187 | 3,258 | 3,291 | 3,303 | — | +8.8% | |||||
| Revenue/emp, $m | 0.53 | 0.53 | 0.53 | 0.56 | 0.46 | 0.58 | 0.72 | 0.63 | 0.63 | 0.75 | — | +4.0% | ||||||
Negative figures in brackets.
estimates
Fiscal years to Dec 2025 · latest quarter Sep 2026 · fundamentals updated 4 Nov 2026
Business profile
Where the money comes from and where it goes Fiscal 2025
| Regulated Water | 1,327 | 53.61% |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated Natural Gas | 1,115 | 45.04% |
| Other And Eliminations | 33 | 1.35% |
| Gross margin | 83.68% | |
| Operating margin | 37.22% | |
| Pre-tax margin | 25.05% |
Essential Utilities Inc. vs peers in Utilities Regulated Water (Q) = latest quarter vs a year earlier
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Fwd P/E | Revenue growth (Q) | EPS growth (Q) | FCF growth (Q) | Gross margin (Q) | EBIT margin (Q) | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWK American Water Works Company, Inc. | $29.2B | 25.3× | 23.8× | +4.07% (above 0%: growing) | +0.24% (above 0%: growing) | −384.85% (below 0%: shrinking) | 100.00% | 42.45% | Compare |
| SBS Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp | $15.5B | 11.2× | 13.7× | +46.43% (above 0%: growing) | +14.45% (above 0%: growing) | −154.90% (below 0%: shrinking) | 37.66% | 31.04% | Compare |
| WTRG Essential Utilities Inc. | $12.5B | 22.5× | 19.6× | +3.10% (above 0%: growing) | −2.63% (below 0%: shrinking) | −1.23% (below 0%: shrinking) | 91.30% | 36.41% | |
| AWR American States Water Company | $3.4B | 23.8× | 23.3× | +11.18% (above 0%: growing) | +26.44% (above 0%: growing) | −126.32% (below 0%: shrinking) | 79.44% | 35.29% | Compare |
| CWT California Water Service Group | $3.1B | 21.8× | 19.2× | +6.73% (above 0%: growing) | +1.76% (above 0%: growing) | −97.13% (below 0%: shrinking) | 69.26% | 24.89% | Compare |
| HTO H2O America | $2.9B | 23.2× | 20.3× | +4.02% (above 0%: growing) | −19.23% (below 0%: shrinking) | +34.01% (above 0%: growing) | 58.72% | 24.17% | Compare |
| MSEX Middlesex Water Company | $1.1B | 20.8× | 21.2× | +11.30% (above 0%: growing) | +23.14% (above 0%: growing) | +15.96% (above 0%: growing) | 100.00% | 36.99% | Compare |
| YORW The York Water Company | $514.3M | 19.7× | 18.8× | +22.48% (above 0%: growing) | +40.00% (above 0%: growing) | +111.16% (above 0%: growing) | 100.00% | 41.71% | Compare |
| CWCO Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. | $439.4M | 26.7× | 29.6× | −2.15% (below 0%: shrinking) | −21.88% (below 0%: shrinking) | +39.37% (above 0%: growing) | 33.35% | 11.39% | Compare |
| Median of peers | $3.0B | 22.5× | 20.8× | +8.95% | +8.11% | −40.59% | 74.35% | 33.17% |
From the latest earnings call
- CEO Christopher Franklin said Essential expected its merger with American Water to close in the first quarter of 2027, with regulatory approvals still in progress.
- CFO Daniel Schuller said higher regulatory recoveries and water volumes supported quarterly earnings, while lower gas volumes, depreciation and interest costs offset some gains.
Largest institutional holders 13F, quarter to 30 June 2026
Held by institutions
78.39%
Held by the ten largest
39.04%
| Holder | Shares | Stake | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock | 33.43m | 11.78% | +1.86m |
| Vanguard | 31.51m | 11.10% | −27.93k |
| State Street | 13.12m | 4.62% | +687.69k |
| Norges Bank | 6.49m | 2.29% | +6.49m |
| Geode Capital Management | 5.28m | 1.86% | +55.89k |
| Nordea Investment Management | 5.12m | 1.80% | −2.37m |
| Amundi | 4.33m | 1.53% | −206.17k |
| Millennium Management | 4.15m | 1.46% | +90.52k |
| AQR Arbitrage LLC | 3.86m | 1.36% | +720.84k |
| Legal & General | 3.50m | 1.23% | +95.37k |
13F filings for the quarter to 30 June 2026: long positions in US-listed shares reported by managers with $100m or more, ~45 days after the quarter.
Pay and ownership Proxy statement filed 17 March 2026
Chief executive’s pay
| Year | Total pay | Actually paid | $100 invested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9.21m | 7.96m | 93.72 |
| 2024 | 6.22m | 5.16m | 85.65 |
| 2023 | 7.75m | 2.49m | 85.21 |
| 2022 | 4.57m | 4.58m | 105.68 |
| 2021 | 5.34m | 5.94m | 116.04 |
Total pay is as the Summary Compensation Table states it; actually paid revalues the year’s share awards
at its end, as the SEC’s pay-versus-performance rule asks. $100 invested is what $100 in the company’s
shares at the start of the earliest year shown was worth at each year’s end.
Read the proxy statement
Essential Utilities Inc. (WTRG) Latest News
29 Oct
28 Oct
22 Oct
16 Oct
5 Aug
WTRG metrics, ten years each
- Revenue
- Net income
- EPS (diluted)
- EBITDA
- Free cash flow
- Operating cash flow
- Gross margin
- Operating margin
- Net margin
- Free cash flow margin
- P/E ratio
- P/S ratio
- P/B ratio
- Price to free cash flow
- EV/EBITDA
- EV/Sales
- EV/FCF
- Return on equity
- Return on assets
- Return on invested capital
- Debt to equity
- Current ratio
- Total debt
- Shares outstanding
- Book value per share
- Revenue growth
- Piotroski F-score
- Altman Z-score
- Beneish M-score
Essential Utilities is a holding company for regulated water, wastewater and natural gas utilities. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Bryn Mawr, it is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Christopher H. Franklin. Its utilities serve an estimated 5.5 million people across nine states under the Aqua and Peoples brands.
Aqua utilities supply treated water to homes and businesses, collect and treat wastewater, and provide services such as fire protection. They own and operate treatment plants, wells, pumping facilities, water mains and wastewater systems. Some collection systems send wastewater to municipal facilities for treatment. Peoples distributes natural gas to customers in western Pennsylvania and Kentucky, using pipelines and storage facilities to help meet demand.