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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN STATES WATER CO (AWR) and Zhihu Inc. (ZH). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AMERICAN STATES WATER CO is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($164.3M vs $92.0M, roughly 1.8× Zhihu Inc.). Zhihu Inc. runs the higher net margin — 32.7% vs 17.5%, a 15.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. Over the past eight quarters, AMERICAN STATES WATER CO's revenue compounded faster (10.2% CAGR vs -19.0%).

American Water is an American public utility company that, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States.

Zhihu is a Chinese social question and answer site and news aggregator. Originally based in Chengdu and with creators from Sichuan, China, the website launched on January 26, 2011. The number of registered users on Zhihu exceeded 10 million by the end of 2013, and reached 17 million as of May 2015, with 250 million monthly page views.

AWR vs ZH — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AWR
AWR
1.8× larger
AWR
$164.3M
$92.0M
ZH
Higher net margin
ZH
ZH
15.2% more per $
ZH
32.7%
17.5%
AWR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
AWR
AWR
Annualised
AWR
10.2%
-19.0%
ZH

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Revenue
$164.3M
$92.0M
Net Profit
$28.7M
$30.1M
Gross Margin
88.9%
53.6%
Operating Margin
27.4%
Net Margin
17.5%
32.7%
Revenue YoY
14.8%
Net Profit YoY
1.1%
EPS (diluted)
$0.74

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
$92.0M
Q4 25
$164.3M
Q3 25
$182.7M
$92.6M
Q2 25
$163.1M
$100.1M
Q1 25
$148.0M
$100.6M
Q4 24
$143.1M
Q3 24
$161.8M
$120.4M
Q2 24
$155.3M
$128.5M
Net Profit
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
$30.1M
Q4 25
$28.7M
Q3 25
$41.2M
Q2 25
$33.7M
Q1 25
$26.8M
Q4 24
$28.4M
Q3 24
$35.8M
$-1.3M
Q2 24
$31.9M
$-11.1M
Gross Margin
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
53.6%
Q4 25
88.9%
Q3 25
91.0%
61.3%
Q2 25
92.1%
62.5%
Q1 25
91.3%
61.8%
Q4 24
92.4%
Q3 24
92.7%
63.9%
Q2 24
89.6%
59.6%
Operating Margin
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
27.4%
Q3 25
33.8%
-15.1%
Q2 25
31.3%
-12.7%
Q1 25
30.8%
Q4 24
27.0%
Q3 24
34.0%
-10.0%
Q2 24
33.3%
-19.7%
Net Margin
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
32.7%
Q4 25
17.5%
Q3 25
22.5%
Q2 25
20.7%
Q1 25
18.1%
Q4 24
19.9%
Q3 24
22.1%
-1.1%
Q2 24
20.5%
-8.6%
EPS (diluted)
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$0.74
Q3 25
$1.06
Q2 25
$0.87
Q1 25
$0.70
Q4 24
$0.75
Q3 24
$0.95
Q2 24
$0.85

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$18.8M
$481.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$782.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.0B
$554.1M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$742.3M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.75×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
$481.8M
Q4 25
$18.8M
Q3 25
$26.1M
$383.5M
Q2 25
$20.2M
$446.5M
Q1 25
$21.2M
$446.5M
Q4 24
$26.7M
Q3 24
$16.5M
$458.0M
Q2 24
$3.6M
$434.7M
Total Debt
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$782.7M
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$640.4M
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
$554.1M
Q4 25
$1.0B
Q3 25
$1.0B
$578.9M
Q2 25
$972.5M
$587.4M
Q1 25
$956.4M
$573.2M
Q4 24
$920.1M
Q3 24
$879.5M
$619.2M
Q2 24
$833.5M
$605.5M
Total Assets
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
$742.3M
Q4 25
$2.7B
Q3 25
$2.7B
$772.8M
Q2 25
$2.6B
$802.2M
Q1 25
$2.5B
$783.1M
Q4 24
$2.5B
Q3 24
$2.4B
$856.2M
Q2 24
$2.3B
$840.5M
Debt / Equity
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.75×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.70×
Q3 24
Q2 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$27.7M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-36.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-21.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
38.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.96×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-7.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$27.7M
Q3 25
$92.4M
Q2 25
$64.6M
Q1 25
$45.1M
Q4 24
$64.5M
Q3 24
$63.7M
Q2 24
$24.7M
Free Cash Flow
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-36.0M
Q3 25
$37.7M
Q2 25
$13.7M
Q1 25
$-22.5M
Q4 24
$6.0M
Q3 24
$-478.0K
Q2 24
$-37.0M
FCF Margin
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
-21.9%
Q3 25
20.7%
Q2 25
8.4%
Q1 25
-15.2%
Q4 24
4.2%
Q3 24
-0.3%
Q2 24
-23.8%
Capex Intensity
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
38.8%
Q3 25
29.9%
Q2 25
31.2%
Q1 25
45.6%
Q4 24
40.9%
Q3 24
39.7%
Q2 24
39.8%
Cash Conversion
AWR
AWR
ZH
ZH
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.96×
Q3 25
2.24×
Q2 25
1.92×
Q1 25
1.68×
Q4 24
2.27×
Q3 24
1.78×
Q2 24
0.78×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AWR
AWR

Water Service Utility Operations$110.0M67%
Public Utilities Inventory Water$22.3M14%
Wastewater$15.9M10%
Electric Service Utility Operations$15.2M9%

ZH
ZH

Segment breakdown not available.

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