California Water Service vs Essential Utilities
Essential Utilities is the larger business, with $2.47bn of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $964m for California Water Service (2.6 times as much). Essential Utilities grew faster (18.6% against 6.4%). Essential Utilities kept more of each dollar of sales as profit: a net margin of 24.9% against 13.3%.
| Latest fiscal year | California Water ServiceCWT, 2025 | Essential UtilitiesWTRG, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $964m | $2.47bn |
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | 18.6% |
| Net income | $128m | $616m |
| Operating margin | 17.7% | — |
| Net margin | 13.3% | 24.9% |
| Return on equity | 7.7% | 9.4% |
| Free cash flow | — | $1.01bn |
| Cash | $51.8m | $34.8m |
| Total debt | $1.60bn | $8.18bn |
| Debt to equity | 94.8% | — |
| Dividend per share | $1.24 | $1.34 |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| Share buybacks | $1.4m | $2.3m |
| Employees | 1,336 | 3,303 |
| Market value | $3.11bn | $12.62bn |
| Price vs our value range | Within our value range | Within our value range |
| Moat score | 51 (Moderate) | 66 (Moderate) |
| Insider trades, 12 months | 1 buys, 7 sales | 0 buys, 1 sales |