National Fuel Gas vs NW Natural
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put National Fuel Gas and NW Natural side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- National Fuel Gas is the larger business, with $2.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.3B for NW Natural, about 1.8 times as much.
- National Fuel Gas grew revenue faster (17.1%, against 11.8%).
- National Fuel Gas kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (35.7% operating margin, against 21.8%).
- National Fuel Gas turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.2% FCF margin, against −15.3%).
- National Fuel Gas earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (10.6%, against 5.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of NW Natural’s earnings: a P/E of 16.5x against 11.4x for National Fuel Gas.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
National Fuel Gas
NFG
9/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
NW Natural
NWN
1/10
5-year growth
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | NFG FY25 | NWN FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $7.8B | $2.1B |
| Revenue | $2.3B | $1.3B |
| Free cash flow | $187M | −$198M |
| Net income | $519M | $113M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 17.1% | 11.8% |
| 5-year growth | 8.1% | 10.8% |
| Share count change | −1.2% | 5.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 35.7% | 21.8% |
| Net margin | 22.8% | 8.8% |
| FCF margin | 8.2% | −15.3% |
| Return on capital | 10.6% | 5.7% |
| Return on equity | 33.7% | 7.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $2.8B | $2.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.2x | 5.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $243M | $77.3M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 11.4x | 16.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
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.