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Essential Utilities Inc. WTRG delivered second-quarter 2025 operating earnings per share (EPS) of 38 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents by 31%.
EPS improved 35.7% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The year-over-year rise was driven by increases in rates across both business segments, partially offset by improvements in interest expense, and operations and maintenance expense.
Operating revenues of $515 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $473 million by 8.8%.
Total revenues were up 18.7% year over year. The revenue growth was primarily driven by increased purchased gas costs, along with higher rates across both business segments.
Essential Utilities Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Essential Utilities Inc. Quote
WTRG’s Segment Details
Essential Utilities’ regulated water segment generated $332.3 million in revenues for the quarter, up 9.9% from $302.5 million in the second quarter of 2024. The primary drivers of this growth were higher water and wastewater rates.
WTRG’s regulated natural gas segment reported quarterly revenues of $177.3 million, a 38.3% increase from $128.2 million in the second quarter of 2024. This growth was primarily driven by higher purchased gas costs, along with increased rates and surcharges.
Operation and maintenance expenses amounted to $148.5 million, up 4.2% from the year-ago figure of $142.5 million.
Operating income totaled $185.3 million, up 27.5% year over year. Interest expenses increased 9.3% to $79.8 million from $73 million in the prior-year quarter.
Essential Utilities invested $613 million during the first half of the year to upgrade its regulated water and natural gas infrastructure, and improve customer service throughout operations.
The company continues to expand operations through its strategic acquisitions. For 2025, Essential Utilities’ acquired systems serve nearly 10,300 customers for approximately $58 million.
As of July 31, 2025, the new water and gas rates approval received by the company is expected to increase annual revenues by $92.6 million and $8.2 million, respectively.
Current assets amounted to $439.4 million as of June 30, 2025, compared with $485.9 million as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Long-term debt was $7.62 billion as of June 30, 2025, up from $7.36 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Essential Utilities announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 34.26 cents per share, indicating a 5.25% increase. The dividend will be payable on Sept. 2 to its shareholders of record as of Aug. 12, 2025.
Essential Utilities reaffirmed its 2025 EPS guidance in the range of $2.07-$2.11. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at $2.10, exceeding the midpoint of the projected range. WTRG predicts long-term annual earnings growth in the range of 5% to 7% through 2027 from a 2024 base.
Management anticipates its customer base in the water segment to expand 2-3% through acquisitions and organic customer growth.
The company plans to invest $1.4-$1.5 billion in its infrastructure in 2025. Essential Utilities also plans to invest $7.8 billion during 2025-2029 to improve the water and natural gas systems and better serve its customers using improved information technology.
Essential Utilities currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
American Water Works Company AWK posted second-quarter 2025 operating EPS of $1.48, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49 by 0.7%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 6.1% and 7.7%, respectively.
California Water Service Group CWT recorded second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of 71 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents by 54.3%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS implies a decline of 28.62% and the same for 2026 indicates growth of 9.2% year over year.
Middlesex Water Company MSEX reported second-quarter 2025 operating EPS of 60 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents by 11.68%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 2.4% and 5.1%, respectively.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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