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Largest US publicly traded water and wastewater utility, providing regulated water service to millions of customers across many states.
Largest US publicly traded water and wastewater utility, providing regulated water service to millions of customers across many states.
Earns an allowed return on the pipes, plants and treatment systems approved by state regulators, so rate cases and capital spending drive earnings; New Jersey and Pennsylvania are among its largest states. It grows by buying small municipal systems and running military-base utilities under long-term contracts. In late 2025 it agreed to merge with Essential Utilities.
Moat: wide (regulatory licence, scale, installed base). Regulated monopoly franchises in each service territory make competition essentially impossible.
Headquarters: Camden, New Jersey, USA · Founded: 1886 · Employees: 7,000
Size American Water Works (AWK) is a United States Utilities company (Water Utilities) with a market value of $29.9B, the 363rd largest of 3,117 United States companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at $150.29 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares gained 21.0%, against +5.7% for the median peer and -1.1% for the United States market (cap-weighted) — 2nd highest of 6 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 5.4% over the last twelve months (peer median +9.4%); the operating margin is 37.3% (peer median 31.0%).
Valuation It trades at 23.9× forward earnings against a peer median of 14.7× (most expensive of 6).
Capital Return on invested capital runs 1.2 points below its cost of capital (6.8% WACC).
Credit American Water Works has 22 bonds outstanding ($13.3B), rated A by the agencies and trading like A at a weighted spread of 76 bp.
Short interest Short interest is 7.1% of the free float (15 Oct 2026).
Next results Next results expected around 24 Feb 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.34B | $5.14B | $4.68B | $4.23B | $3.79B |
| Revenue growth | — | +10% | +11% | +12% | — |
| Gross profit | $2.35B | $2.23B | $2.04B | $1.81B | $1.55B |
| EBITDA | $2.94B | $2.77B | $2.51B | $2.21B | $1.92B |
| Net income | $1.14B | $1.11B | $1.05B | $944M | $820M |
| Free cash flow | -$1.11B | -$1.07B | -$811M | -$701M | -$1.19B |
| Capital expenditure | $3.41B | $3.13B | $2.86B | $2.58B | $2.30B |
| Total debt | $16.4B | $15.9B | $14.1B | $12.4B | $12.5B |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Water Works AWK | $29.9B | +21% | +5% | 37% | 23.9× | n/a |
| Essential Utilities WTRG | $12.9B | +21% | +9% | 36% | 19.8× | n/a |
| American States Water AWR | $3.57B | +17% | +13% | 32% | 23.9× | 9.3% |
| California Water Service CWT | $3.21B | +17% | +7% | 21% | 19.0× | n/a |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | AWK | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | +17.2% | +9.0% | 2nd highest of 6 |
| 6-month return | +21.0% | +5.7% | 2nd highest of 6 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -2.2% | -2.6% | 2nd highest of 6 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +5.4% | +9.4% | 2nd lowest of 6 |
| Operating margin | 37.3% | 31.0% | 2nd highest of 6 |
| Forward P/E | 23.9× | 14.7× | most expensive of 6 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | -1.2 pp | -1.2 pp | 3rd lowest of 6 |
| EV / EBITDA | 15.7× | 13.4× | 2nd most expensive of 6 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 5.5× | 6.0× | 3rd least indebted of 6 |
| Bond spread | 76 bp | 108 bp | tightest of 5 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Water Works AWK | United States | $29.9B | +21% | +5% | 37% | 23.9× | n/a | n/a |
| Veolia Environnement VIE.PA | France | $27.7B | -3% | 0% | 8% | 14.1× | 8.3% | +11.3% |
| Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo SABESP Sponsored ADR SBS | United States | $16.3B | -24% | +9% | 31% | 11.8× | -3.4% | +14.6% |
| United Utilities UU..L | United Kingdom | $15.4B | +12% | +22% | 41% | 14.7× | n/a | n/a |
| Severn Trent SVT.L | United Kingdom | $13.4B | +6% | +17% | 30% | 16.3× | n/a | n/a |
| Essential Utilities WTRG | United States | $12.9B | +21% | +9% | 36% | 19.8× | n/a | n/a |
American Water Works has 22 bonds outstanding with $13.3B face value. The agencies rate it A; its bonds trade like A. Weighted yield 5.70%, a spread of 76 bp over government bonds.