American Water Works vs Essential Utilities
American Water Works is the larger business, with $5.14bn of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.47bn for Essential Utilities (2.1 times as much). Essential Utilities grew faster (18.6% against 9.7%). Essential Utilities kept more of each dollar of sales as profit: a net margin of 24.9% against 21.6%.
| Latest fiscal year | American Water WorksAWK, 2025 | Essential UtilitiesWTRG, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.14bn | $2.47bn |
| Revenue growth | 9.7% | 18.6% |
| Net income | $1.11bn | $616m |
| Operating margin | 36.6% | — |
| Net margin | 21.6% | 24.9% |
| Return on equity | 10.5% | 9.4% |
| Free cash flow | −$1.07bn | $1.01bn |
| Cash | $98.0m | $34.8m |
| Total debt | $15.84bn | $8.18bn |
| Debt to equity | 146.2% | — |
| Dividend per share | $3.31 | $1.34 |
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| Share buybacks | — | $2.3m |
| Employees | 7,000 | 3,303 |
| Market value | $29.08bn | $12.52bn |
| Price vs our value range | — | Within our value range |
| Moat score | 47 (Moderate) | 66 (Moderate) |
| Insider trades, 12 months | 0 buys, 0 sales | 0 buys, 1 sales |