NRG Energy drew 10 news stories in the 24 hours to 9 November, against a usual 1.1 a day. According to reports, the company has reached an agreement under which LS Power will acquire a portfolio of natural gas generation assets in a deal valued at approximately $4 billion, and has separately announced share repurchases. The filings behind that coverage show revenue growing while cash generation shrinks: sales rose 17.4% over the year, but free cash flow fell 59.6%, so less of each dollar of sales is turning into cash.
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts. Latest period shown: FY26 Q3.
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| Period | Revenue growth, TTM YoY | Operating margin (TTM) | FCF margin (TTM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY24 Q4 | -2.4% | 8.6% | 6.5% |
| FY25 Q1 | 2.6% | 9.2% | 7.8% |
| FY25 Q2 | 1.8% | 4.3% | 4.7% |
| FY25 Q3 | 5.9% | 8.4% | 5.7% |
| FY25 Q4 | 9.2% | 6.0% | 2.5% |
| FY26 Q1 | 10.6% | 3.2% | -1.1% |
| FY26 Q2 | 12.8% | 6.1% | 1.1% |
| FY26 Q3 | 17.4% | 7.7% | 2.0% |
What NRG Energy's latest figures show
Profit is lagging sales. Net income fell 12.7% over the year to $1.3 billion, while revenue rose 17.4% to $35.0 billion. The trailing operating margin narrowed to 7.7%, down 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier, and the trailing net margin stood at 3.6%. Reports on 9 November said NRG Energy beat Q3 earnings estimates on LS Power asset gains; the filings show that same period's profit growing more slowly than its revenue.
Capital spending is absorbing more of the cash. Operating cash flow fell 20.9% to $2.2 billion while capital spending rose 42.9% to $1.5 billion. Free cash flow, the difference, came to $689.0 million, down 59.6% on the year before, a free-cash-flow margin of 2.0% of revenue, down 3.8 percentage points from a year earlier. Reports said LS Power will acquire six natural gas power generation assets from NRG Energy; the filings show the company's own investment rising faster than the cash it generates.
The two measures of performance moved at very different speeds: net income fell 12.7% over the year while free cash flow fell 59.6%.
Growth has picked up. The twelve-month revenue growth rate of 17.4% is 4.6 percentage points higher than the rate a quarter earlier.
Growth has picked up
Today's free-cash-flow margin of 2.0% is higher than 29% of the company's own past quarterly readings, which have ranged from −28.6% to 22.1%. The operating margin of 7.7% is higher than 54% of past readings (−33.5% to 39.2%). The twelve-month revenue growth rate of 17.4% is higher than 76% of past readings (−28.5% to 196.8%).
The value hinges on margins more than growth
In our model, growth 5 percentage points lower would lower the value by 38.6%, and growth 5 percentage points higher would raise it by 49.5%. A free-cash-flow margin 1 percentage point lower would lower it by 35.3%. The model is sensitive to both growth and the cash margin; the filings show the margin at 2.0%, higher than only 29% of the company's past readings.
What the filings cannot tell you at NRG Energy
Our figures run to Q3 2026, from the company's own filings; they cannot confirm, explain or rule out anything in the reports. The free-cash-flow and capital-spending figures bear on the asset-sale story, as do the revenue and margin figures that reports tie to the earnings beat.