Talen Energy vs Essential Utilities
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The short version
- Talen Energy is the larger business, with $2.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.5B for Essential Utilities.
- Talen Energy grew revenue faster (22.0%, against 18.6%).
- Essential Utilities kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (37.2% operating margin, against β3.5%).
- Talen Energy turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.5% FCF margin, against β17.0%).
- Essential Utilities earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (6.4%, against β1.3%).
| Latest fiscal year | TLN Β· FY25 | WTRG Β· FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $15.1B | $12.2B |
| Revenue | $2.6B | $2.5B |
| Free cash flow | $606M | β$420M |
| Net income | β$219M | $616M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 22.0% | 18.6% |
| 5-year growth | β | 11.1% |
| Share count change | β19.1% | 2.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | β | β |
| Operating margin | β3.5% | 37.2% |
| Net margin | β8.5% | 24.9% |
| FCF margin | 23.5% | β17.0% |
| Return on capital | β1.3% | 6.4% |
| Return on equity | β17.7% | 9.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $6.1B | $8.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 32.4x | 6.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $103M | $376M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | β | 22.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | β | 5 |
Revenue
FY16
TLN β
WTRG $820M
FY17
TLN β
WTRG $810M
FY18
TLN β
WTRG $838M
FY19
TLN β
WTRG $890M
FY20
TLN β
WTRG $1.5B
FY21
TLN β
WTRG $1.9B
FY22
TLN β
WTRG $2.3B
FY23
TLN β
WTRG $2.1B
FY24
TLN $2.1B
WTRG $2.1B
FY25
TLN $2.6B
WTRG $2.5B
TLN
WTRG
Operating margin
FY16
TLN β
WTRG 40.7%
FY17
TLN β
WTRG 41.3%
FY18
TLN β
WTRG 38.6%
FY19
TLN β
WTRG 38.2%
FY20
TLN β
WTRG 29.7%
FY21
TLN β
WTRG 32.1%
FY22
TLN β
WTRG 28.9%
FY23
TLN β
WTRG 33.7%
FY24
TLN 10.7%
WTRG 36.3%
FY25
TLN β3.5%
WTRG 37.2%
TLN
WTRG
Free cash flow
FY16
TLN β
WTRG $13.2M
FY17
TLN β
WTRG β$96.8M
FY18
TLN β
WTRG β$127M
FY19
TLN β
WTRG β$212M
FY20
TLN β
WTRG β$328M
FY21
TLN β
WTRG β$376M
FY22
TLN β
WTRG β$462M
FY23
TLN β
WTRG β$266M
FY24
TLN $171M
WTRG β$559M
FY25
TLN $606M
WTRG β$420M
TLN
WTRG
Return on capital
FY16
TLN β
WTRG 10.2%
FY17
TLN β
WTRG 9.6%
FY18
TLN β
WTRG 9.2%
FY19
TLN β
WTRG 9.1%
FY20
TLN β
WTRG 7.5%
FY21
TLN β
WTRG 7.6%
FY22
TLN β
WTRG 7.9%
FY23
TLN β
WTRG 6.5%
FY24
TLN β
WTRG 5.7%
FY25
TLN β1.3%
WTRG 6.4%
TLN
WTRG
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.