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Side-by-side financial comparison of CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP (CWT) and Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Essential Utilities, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($699.1M vs $210.7M, roughly 3.3× CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP). Essential Utilities, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 19.0% vs 5.4%, a 13.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Essential Utilities, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (15.7% vs -3.3%). Over the past eight quarters, CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP's revenue compounded faster (16.6% CAGR vs 6.9%).
California Water Service Group (CWSG) is an American public utility company providing drinking water and wastewater services. It is the third-largest investor-owned publicly traded water utility in the United States, serving roughly two million people through its subsidiary companies in California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington. CWSG was formed in 1997 as a new holding company for California Water Service to expand into other states regulated by their own public utilities commissions, and...
Essential Utilities is an American utility company that has stakes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. The company provides drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure and natural gas. Essential Utilities is the publicly traded ($WTRG) parent company that oversees the continued business of Aqua America and Peoples Natural Gas, who both continue to do business under their original names.
CWT vs WTRG — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $210.7M | $699.1M |
| Net Profit | $11.5M | $132.7M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 12.2% | 32.5% |
| Net Margin | 5.4% | 19.0% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.3% | 15.7% |
| Net Profit YoY | -41.0% | -28.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.19 | $0.46 |
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.
| Q4 25 | $210.7M | $699.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $314.1M | $477.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $256.2M | $514.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $182.7M | $783.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $217.8M | $604.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $306.2M | $435.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $226.7M | $434.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.9M | $612.1M |
| Q4 25 | $11.5M | $132.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $61.2M | $92.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $42.2M | $107.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.3M | $283.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $19.5M | $184.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $60.7M | $69.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $40.6M | $75.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $69.9M | $265.8M |
| Q4 25 | 12.2% | 32.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 22.5% | 35.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 20.2% | 36.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 12.2% | 43.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 14.8% | 37.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 21.8% | 35.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 21.2% | 33.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 50.3% | 37.7% |
| Q4 25 | 5.4% | 19.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 19.5% | 19.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 16.5% | 20.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.3% | 36.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 8.9% | 30.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 19.8% | 15.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 17.9% | 17.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 45.1% | 43.4% |
| Q4 25 | $0.19 | $0.46 | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.03 | $0.33 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.71 | $0.38 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.22 | $1.03 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.31 | $0.67 | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.03 | $0.25 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.70 | $0.28 | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.21 | $0.97 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $51.8M | $34.8M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $1.5B | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.7B | $6.9B |
| Total Assets | $5.7B | $19.5B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.87× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $51.8M | $34.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $76.0M | $6.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $50.5M | $25.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $44.5M | $20.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $50.1M | $9.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $59.6M | $8.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $37.3M | $18.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $42.8M | $35.2M |
| Q4 25 | $1.5B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.1B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.1B | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.1B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | $1.7B | $6.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.7B | $6.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.7B | $6.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | $6.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6B | $6.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.6B | $6.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.5B | $6.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.5B | $6.1B |
| Q4 25 | $5.7B | $19.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.5B | $18.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.4B | $18.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $5.3B | $18.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.2B | $18.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.0B | $17.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $4.9B | $17.3B | ||
| Q1 24 | $4.8B | $17.1B |
| Q4 25 | 0.87× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.65× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.67× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.68× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.67× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $47.9M | $206.1M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 4.17× | 1.55× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $47.9M | $206.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $167.3M | $232.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $48.9M | $272.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $38.4M | $299.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $68.1M | $147.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $101.8M | $196.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $94.4M | $185.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $26.5M | $240.7M |
| Q4 25 | 4.17× | 1.55× | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.73× | 2.53× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.16× | 2.53× | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.88× | 1.06× | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.50× | 0.80× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.68× | 2.83× | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.33× | 2.46× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.38× | 0.91× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CWT
| Residential | $133.2M | 63% |
| Business | $47.7M | 23% |
| Public Authorities | $13.4M | 6% |
| Industrial | $6.9M | 3% |
| Non Regulated Services | $4.8M | 2% |
| Other Non Regulated Service | $1.2M | 1% |
WTRG
| Natural Gas | $371.7M | 53% |
| Water | $269.4M | 39% |
| Wastewater | $57.2M | 8% |
| Other | $2.7M | 0% |
