American Water Works

Balance sheet quality is solid for a utility with investment‑grade ratings (S&P A and Moody’s Baa1 at the corporate level) and access to a 2.75 billion dollar revolver and active debt markets. 2024 cash from operations was about 2.05 billion with capex of about 2.86 billion, resulting in negative free cash flow by design as rate base expands.

Through Q3 2025, capex exceeded 2.0 billion year‑to‑date, and CFO year‑to‑date was about 1.40 billion.

Funding includes 2025 bond issues of 800 million (2035) and 900 million (2055) and forward equity agreements expected to yield roughly 1.1 billion of net proceeds by 2026. Leverage is typical for the sector and generally regulated at the subsidiary level.

Key risks are higher‑for‑longer rates, equity dilution upon settlement of forward agreements, and execution risk on a large multi‑year capex plan; mitigating factors include allowed returns, diversified regulators and embedded cost recovery constructs.