WTRG NYSE Russell 1000 Earnings call
Essential Utilities (WTRG) · Q2 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $44.95 · 2026-11-11
Results Q2 2026 vs Q1 2026 · previous quarter · published 5 Aug 2026 and 7 May 2026
Net income down 52.9% on the previous quarter. Management sounded restrained, in its script and in answers to analysts.
Only a basic analysis is available for this company at the moment.
1 · Numbers
−52.9%
Net income vs Q1 2026
Net income 105.7M vs 224.4M
Revenue −38.4%
Against the same quarter last year (Q2 2025) it is −1.9% — part of the move on last quarter is seasonal.
2 · How management spoke
Restrained
Less upbeat than 68% of company calls
Answers to analysts: cautious, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
Figure
The company invested $662 million year to date and is on track to invest a record $1.7 billion in needed items.
Valuation
Is Essential Utilities undervalued?
Reverse DCF on net income from the last full fiscal year (no meaningful free cash flow: a bank, insurer or a year of negative cash flow) (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
The projected cash flow doesn't cover the debt, so the price is far above the model's fair value.
Current price
$44.95
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+16.1% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$-5.39
Buy below
$-4.04
Price vs fair value
n/a
Price vs buy-below price
n/a
Read between the lines
-
Key theme
The company signed purchase agreements for several small systems and welcomed 1.1 thousand customers in Texas, adding about 200 thousand customers in total including those signed agreements.
Source quote
“We signed purchase agreements for several small systems in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey some of which we expect... And we welcome the 1.1 thousand customers to our Texas customer base. Now including these signed purchase agreements, in total,, we are adding about 200 thousand customers with a purchase price of...”
-
Figure
The company is investing $1.7 billion in regulated infrastructure this year as part of its focus on customers.
Source quote
“As part of our strong focus on customers, we are investing $1.7 billion in regulated infrastructure just this year.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q2 2026. Ring: Q1 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“In terms of positive drivers, earnings for this quarter benefited from a $0.06 increase in regulatory recoveries in surcharges $0.02 from higher water volumes, and $0.01 from customer growth in...”
“This variance was primarily driven by a $5.9 million increase in employee related costs including annual merit increases and higher medical claims, alongside a $2.3 million increase in production costs...”
“We are focused on keeping the balance sheet strong, improving our cash position and growing the dividend while keeping our payout ratio between 60-65%.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-06-30)
| Metric | Q2 2026period end 2026-06-30 | Q1 2026period end 2026-03-31 | Change | Q2 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 530.9M | 861.8M | −38.4% | 514.9M | +3.1% |
| Operating income | 193.3M | 310.6M | −37.8% | 185.3M | +4.3% |
| Net income | 105.7M | 224.4M | −52.9% | 107.8M | −1.9% |
| EPS | 0.37 | 0.79 | −53.2% | 0.38 | −2.6% |
| P/E today 7.1 | 7.0 | 7.4 | −0.4 | 6.7 | +0.3 |
Topics
Most discussed now
- New The administrative law judge in Pennsylvania is allowed 90 days to make their decision.
- Schuller, Essential Utilities' Chief Financial Officer will provide an overview of the financial results.
- This variance was primarily driven by a $5.9 million increase in employee related costs including annual merit increases and higher...
- What Essential Utilities has seen in the Middle East that is driving higher fuel costs this year that so far, you...
Faded since Q1 2026
- Fading This is Essential Utilities' first regulatory green light and it is a big step toward bringing its two companies together.
- Fading While the quarter was a bit challenging, largely due to the extreme weather Essential Utilities faced in some parts of its...
- Fading Clearly, every utility is trying to accomplish pretty significant capital improvements while figuring out strategies to keep rates…
- Fading As Essential Utilities concludes the public hearings today and move to the more formal Commission process over the summer, it will...
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
- Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K