Top Utilities Stocks by Return on Assets
Top utilities companies ranked by return on assets, latest annual filings.
What Return on Assets Means for Utilities Companies
Return on assets in utilities is largely a regulated outcome. Commissions set the allowed return on the rate base, and the rate base is most of what the balance sheet holds, so the profit a company earns on its assets is decided in rate cases rather than in the market. Returns therefore cluster in a narrow, low band across the sector, and the spread between two well-run operators is much smaller than in any other industry.
Why It Matters Less in Utilities
Because the regulator sets the ceiling, the ranking has little room to distinguish operators. A figure well above the sector band usually points to an unregulated generation or trading arm, or to a one-off gain, rather than to a better utility. A figure below it often reflects heavy construction, since plant under construction enters assets before it earns anything. What the measure does show over time is whether a company earns close to its allowed return, a fair test of execution.
What to Read Alongside
Pair return on assets with Return on Equity to compare the result against the return regulators allow, Net Margin for the profitability of the tariff, and Total Assets to follow the growing rate base.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WTRG | Essential Utilities, Inc. | Utilities | 5.71% | $12.13B |
| 2 | EIX | Edison International | Utilities | 4.74% | $22.23B |
| 3 | SPH | Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. | Utilities | 4.64% | $1.20B |
| 4 | ENIC | Enel Chile S.A. | Utilities | 4.53% | $5.99B |
| 5 | NJR | New Jersey Resources Corporation | Utilities | 4.43% | $5.40B |
| 6 | UGI | UGI Corporation | Utilities | 4.38% | $8.39B |
| 7 | ATO | Atmos Energy Corporation | Utilities | 4.24% | $28.95B |
| 8 | CEG | Constellation Energy Corporation | Utilities | 4.05% | $89.46B |
| 9 | PEG | Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated | Utilities | 3.67% | $35.94B |
| 10 | OGE | OGE Energy Corp. | Utilities | 3.28% | $10.01B |
| 11 | LNT | Alliant Energy Corporation | Utilities | 3.24% | $18.02B |
| 12 | NEE | NextEra Energy, Inc. | Utilities | 3.21% | $172.06B |
| 13 | AEP | American Electric Power Company, Inc. | Utilities | 3.13% | $70.35B |
| 14 | AWK | American Water Works Company, Inc. | Utilities | 3.13% | $28.16B |
| 15 | WEC | WEC Energy Group, Inc. | Utilities | 3.03% | $36.21B |
| 16 | AEE | Ameren Corporation | Utilities | 3.00% | $29.92B |
| 17 | NRG | NRG Energy, Inc. | Utilities | 2.96% | $19.68B |
| 18 | SO | The Southern Company | Utilities | 2.79% | $106.49B |
| 19 | NGG | National Grid plc | Utilities | 2.72% | $82.21B |
| 20 | ED | Consolidated Edison, Inc. | Utilities | 2.71% | $42.69B |
| 21 | BKH | Black Hills Corporation | Utilities | 2.68% | $6.12B |
| 22 | CMS | CMS Energy Corporation | Utilities | 2.68% | $21.82B |
| 23 | ES | Eversource Energy | Utilities | 2.65% | $25.44B |
| 24 | PPL | PPL Corporation | Utilities | 2.61% | $26.28B |
| 25 | D | Dominion Energy, Inc. | Utilities | 2.59% | $57.26B |
| 26 | NI | NiSource Inc. | Utilities | 2.59% | $20.83B |
| 27 | DUK | Duke Energy Corporation | Utilities | 2.54% | $97.03B |
| 28 | EVRG | Evergy, Inc. | Utilities | 2.52% | $19.51B |
| 29 | MDU | MDU Resources Group, Inc. | Utilities | 2.50% | $4.08B |
| 30 | ETR | Entergy Corporation | Utilities | 2.45% | $51.36B |
| 31 | EMA | Emera Incorporated | Utilities | 2.43% | $15.00B |
| 32 | FTS | Fortis Inc. | Utilities | 2.40% | $29.39B |
| 33 | EXC | Exelon Corporation | Utilities | 2.37% | $45.89B |
| 34 | SR | Spire Inc. | Utilities | 2.35% | $5.07B |
| 35 | AVA | Avista Corporation | Utilities | 2.31% | $3.12B |
| 36 | POR | Portland General Electric Company | Utilities | 2.31% | $5.19B |
| 37 | VST | Vistra Corp. | Utilities | 2.27% | $47.57B |
| 38 | CNP | CenterPoint Energy, Inc. | Utilities | 2.26% | $27.14B |
| 39 | NWE | NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. | Utilities | 2.14% | $4.83B |
| 40 | PNW | Pinnacle West Capital Corporation | Utilities | 2.05% | $12.77B |
| 41 | BIP | Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. | Utilities | 1.98% | $16.91B |
| 42 | NWN | Northwest Natural Holding Company | Utilities | 1.84% | $2.10B |
| 43 | PCG | PG&E Corporation | Utilities | 1.83% | $38.58B |
| 44 | FE | FirstEnergy Corp. | Utilities | 1.82% | $26.72B |
| 45 | AES | The AES Corporation | Utilities | 1.76% | $10.72B |
| 46 | SRE | Sempra | Utilities | 1.66% | $55.08B |
| 47 | HE | Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. | Utilities | 1.42% | $1.42B |
| 48 | KEP | Korea Electric Power Corporation | Utilities | 1.41% | $13.47B |
| 49 | AQN | Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. | Utilities | 1.28% | $4.13B |
| 50 | TXNM | TXNM Energy, Inc. | Utilities | 1.26% | $6.43B |
| 51 | CWEN | Clearway Energy, Inc. | Utilities | 1.01% | $3.81B |
| 52 | CTRI | Centuri Holdings, Inc. | Utilities | 0.93% | $2.03B |
| 53 | RNW | ReNew Energy Global Plc | Utilities | 0.40% | $2.50B |
No companies match this search.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by return on assets as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.
- Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
- Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
- Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
- Size floor: A company qualifies at $1 billion in annual revenue or above, so a small filer with a freak ratio cannot top the list.
- Value range: Only figures above 0% and up to 100% qualify.
- Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).
Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
Why are utility returns on assets so uniform?
Regulators authorize a return on the capital a utility has committed to serving customers, and that capital is most of the balance sheet. The allowed return moves slowly and follows interest rates and rate-case outcomes rather than competition, so companies across the sector land in a similar range. Differences come from construction cycles, cost control, the regulatory climate in each state and the size of any unregulated business.
What does an unusually high figure mean for a utility?
Most often it points to something outside the regulated business: an unregulated generation or energy trading arm, an asset sale booked in net income, or a favorable one-time tax item. Regulated operations rarely earn far above the authorized return for long, because rate cases bring the result back toward the allowed level. Checking the composition of earnings explains the exception more reliably than the ratio alone.