American States Water vs California Water Service Group
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put American States Water and California Water Service Group 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 $658M for American States Water.
- American States Water grew revenue faster (10.5%, against 6.4%).
- American States Water kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (30.9% operating margin, against 17.7%).
- American States Water earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (9.3%, against 4.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of American States Water’s earnings: a P/E of 23.4x against 21.6x for California Water Service Group.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
American States Water
AWR
6/9
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDA
California Water Service Group
CWT
2/9
5-year growthShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AWR FY25 | CWT FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $3.4B | $2.9B |
| Revenue | $658M | $964M |
| Free cash flow | −$7.1M | — |
| Net income | $130M | $128M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 10.5% | 6.4% |
| 5-year growth | 6.2% | 6.7% |
| Share count change | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 90.8% | — |
| Operating margin | 30.9% | 17.7% |
| Net margin | 19.8% | 13.3% |
| FCF margin | −1.1% | — |
| Return on capital | 9.3% | 4.8% |
| Return on equity | 13.3% | 7.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $772M | $1.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.1x | 4.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $74.7M | $75.3M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 23.4x | 21.6x |
| 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.