California Water Service Group vs H2O America
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put California Water Service Group and H2O America side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- California Water Service Group is the larger business, with $964M of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $801M for H2O America.
- H2O America grew revenue faster (7.0%, against 6.4%).
- H2O America kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (22.2% operating margin, against 17.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of California Water Service Group’s earnings: a P/E of 21.5x against 20.1x for H2O America.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
California Water Service Group
CWT
4/9
Net marginReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
H2O America
HTO
4/9
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginReturn on capital
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CWT FY25 | HTO FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $2.9B | $2.3B |
| Revenue | $964M | $801M |
| Free cash flow | — | — |
| Net income | $128M | $103M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | 7.0% |
| 5-year growth | 6.7% | 7.2% |
| Share count change | 1.7% | 7.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 17.7% | 22.2% |
| Net margin | 13.3% | 12.8% |
| FCF margin | — | — |
| Return on capital | 4.8% | 4.9% |
| Return on equity | 7.7% | 7.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.6B | $1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.9x | 6.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $75.3M | $58.6M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 21.5x | 20.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 4 |
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.