CWCO · Utilities(water supply) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
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Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. reported revenue of $132.1 million in fiscal 2025, after growing 9.6% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 3.7% in 2016 to 13.9%, and it earned 7.4% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $179.0 million its operations generated over 10 years, 32.8% went back into the business and 30.3% to dividends; the share count rose 7.1%. On the accounting screens, it passes 5 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 13.11 is in the safe zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; none of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 2025132.1M+9.6% a year over 9 years
Operating margin13.9%gross margin 36.6%
Return on invested capital7.4%7.6% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay31.5M23.8% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDANet cash123.7M more cash than debt
Piotroski F-score5/9tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
050.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M
2016Revenue 57.9MOperating income 2.1M
2017Revenue 59.4MOperating income 2.3M
2018Revenue 65.7MOperating income 8.0M
2019Revenue 68.8MOperating income 11.7M
2020Revenue 72.6MOperating income 8.3M
2021Revenue 66.9MOperating income 2.0M
2022Revenue 94.1MOperating income 9.3M
2023Revenue 180.2MOperating income 37.2M
2024Revenue 134.0MOperating income 18.3M
2025Revenue 132.1MOperating income 18.4M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+12.0%
+12.7%
+9.6%
Operating income
+25.6%
+17.1%
+27.0%
Net income
+46.3%
+37.6%
+18.6%
Earnings per share
+44.4%
+36.3%
+17.7%
Free cash flow per share
+32.3%
+15.1%
+24.3%
Dividend per share
+14.1%
+8.0%
+5.9%
Shares
+1.3%
+1.0%
+0.8%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 10.2%
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%
2016Return on invested capital 1.1%
2017
2018Return on invested capital 5.1%
2019Return on invested capital 7.1%
2020Return on invested capital 5.1%
2021Return on invested capital 1.1%
2022Return on invested capital 5.6%
2023Return on invested capital 16.3%
2024Return on invested capital 7.8%
2025Return on invested capital 7.4%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-20.0M-10.0M010.0M20.0M
2016Economic profit -13.2M
2017
2018Economic profit -7.9M
2019Economic profit -5.0M
2020Economic profit -8.1M
2021Economic profit -14.3M
2022Economic profit -7.4M
2023Economic profit 11.5M
2024Economic profit -5.0M
2025Economic profit -6.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
8.3%
Return on assets
7.1%
Asset turnover
0.51×
Overheads (SG&A)
22.8% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
-20.0M020.0M40.0M
2016Net income 4.0MFree cash flow 4.4MAfter stock-based pay 3.8M
2017Net income 6.1MFree cash flow 10.6MAfter stock-based pay 9.8M
2018Net income 11.3MFree cash flow -7.2MAfter stock-based pay -8.0M
2019Net income 12.2MFree cash flow 11.7MAfter stock-based pay 10.5M
2020Net income 3.7MFree cash flow 15.6MAfter stock-based pay 14.4M
2021Net income 875,579Free cash flow 5.5MAfter stock-based pay 4.5M
2022Net income 5.9MFree cash flow 13.8MAfter stock-based pay 12.4M
2023Net income 29.6MFree cash flow 2.9MAfter stock-based pay 989,212
2024Net income 28.2MFree cash flow 29.8MAfter stock-based pay 28.4M
2025Net income 18.3MFree cash flow 33.2MAfter stock-based pay 31.5M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
179.0M generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 33%58.8M
Acquisitions 8%14.3M
Dividends 30%54.2M
Share buybacks 0%0
Kept, or used to pay down debt 29%51.7M
Over the same years it paid 12.0M in stock. The share count rose 7.1%.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-1.00$0.00$1.00$2.00$3.00
2016Earnings per share $0.27Free cash flow per share $0.29Dividend per share $0.30
2017Earnings per share $0.41Free cash flow per share $0.70Dividend per share $0.30
2018Earnings per share $0.75Free cash flow per share $-0.47Dividend per share $0.34
2019Earnings per share $0.80Free cash flow per share $0.77Dividend per share $0.34
2020Earnings per share $0.24Free cash flow per share $1.03Dividend per share $0.34
2021Earnings per share $0.06Free cash flow per share $0.36Dividend per share $0.34
2022Earnings per share $0.38Free cash flow per share $0.90Dividend per share $0.33
2023Earnings per share $1.86Free cash flow per share $0.18Dividend per share $0.34
2024Earnings per share $1.77Free cash flow per share $1.87Dividend per share $0.39
2025Earnings per share $1.15Free cash flow per share $2.07Dividend per share $0.50
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
14.5M15.0M15.5M16.0M16.5M
2016Diluted shares 14.9M
2017Diluted shares 15.0M
2018Diluted shares 15.1M
2019Diluted shares 15.1M
2020Diluted shares 15.2M
2021Diluted shares 15.3M
2022Diluted shares 15.4M
2023Diluted shares 15.9M
2024Diluted shares 15.9M
2025Diluted shares 16.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
How strong is the balance sheet?
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
-150.0M-100.0M-50.0M0
2016Net debt -37.1M
2017
2018Net debt -31.3M
2019Net debt -42.0M
2020Net debt -43.6M
2021Net debt -40.1M
2022Net debt -50.4M
2023Net debt -42.2M
2024Net debt -99.2M
2025Net debt -123.7M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
-4.9×
Interest coverage
4154× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
6.12 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
— collects in 91d
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
5of 9 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✕Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforefailed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✓Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellpassed
✕More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforefailed
✕No new sharesShare count did not growfailed
✓Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforepassed
✕Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforefailed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
13.11safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.55 × 6.56+3.61
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.45 × 3.26+1.48
Operating income ÷ assets 0.07 × 6.72+0.48
Equity ÷ liabilities 7.18 × 1.05+7.54
Where it misleads: buybacks. A company that returns so much cash that its equity turns small or negative sinks the last two ratios without being anywhere near bankruptcy. Banks and insurers do not fit the model at all.
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
-3.16below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.84+0.77
Gross margin slipping 0.93+0.49
Soft assets 0.93+0.38
Sales growth 0.99+0.88
Slower depreciation 1.02+0.12
Overheads vs sales 1.11-0.19
Profit not in cash -0.09-0.42
Leverage rising 1.05-0.34
Where it misleads: fast growth and acquisitions. Sales growth carries a heavy weight, so a company growing 50% a year scores like a suspect without having done anything. It is a screen from a 1999 study, not an accusation.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
None of the six cross-checks fires for the latest year: receivables and inventory move with revenue, profit turns into cash, investment keeps up with depreciation, the tax rate is ordinary and debt is moderate.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$27.68discounted at 10.2% a year · 52% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
24.2×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
12.6×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
2.4×
Free cash flow yield
7.1%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today152.7M
Everything after, today166.8M
The whole business319.4M
Plus net cash123.7M
What belongs to shareholders443.2M
Divided among 16.0M shares: <strong>$27.68</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
-20.0M020.0M40.0M
2016Reported 3.8M
2017Reported 9.8M
2018Reported -8.0M
2019Reported 10.5M
2020Reported 14.4M
2021Reported 4.5M
2022Reported 12.4M
2023Reported 989,212
2024Reported 28.4M
2025Reported 31.5M
2026Projected 18.0M
2027Projected 20.1M
2028Projected 22.1M
2029Projected 24.2M
2030Projected 26.1M
2031Projected 27.9M
2032Projected 29.5M
2033Projected 30.9M
2034Projected 32.1M
2035Projected 32.9M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
148.6M
165.5M
182.5M
199.2M
215.3M
230.2M
243.7M
255.2M
264.4M
271.0M
Growth
12.5%
11.4%
10.3%
9.2%
8.1%
6.9%
5.8%
4.7%
3.6%
2.5%
Cash margin
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
12.1%
Free cash flow
18.0M
20.1M
22.1M
24.2M
26.1M
27.9M
29.5M
30.9M
32.1M
32.9M
Worth today
16.4M
16.5M
16.6M
16.4M
16.1M
15.6M
15.0M
14.3M
13.4M
12.5M
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
9.2%
28
30
31
32
34
9.7%
27
28
29
30
32
10.2%
26
27
28
29
30
10.7%
25
26
26
27
28
11.2%
24
24
25
26
27
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
8.5%
10.5%
12.5%
14.5%
16.5%
9.7%
22
23
25
26
27
10.9%
23
25
26
28
29
12.1%
25
26
28
29
31
13.3%
26
28
29
31
33
14.5%
27
29
31
33
35
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$22.77
Median$27.74
90th percentile$34.79
$20.00$30.00$40.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$24.90</b> and <b>$31.03</b>; one in ten below $22.77, one in ten above $34.79.
Does the long run make sense?
8.5×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 8.5 times that year's EBITDA.
85%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 3% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 85% on the new capital — it has earned 8% on average over the last five years.
52%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
What lenders charge, after the tax saving on interest: 6.01% × (1 − 10.1%) = <strong>5.40%</strong>.
Weighted by how much of each the company uses (book value (no price given)): <strong>10.17%</strong>, the rate every future cash flow is discounted at.
What it has filed lately
The last twelve months at the SEC, most important first: annual and quarterly reports, events, large holders and insiders.
Every Form 4 filed in the last twelve months, read line by line: 6 filings by 6 people. Open-market purchases and sales are counted apart from awards, option exercises and shares withheld for taxes.
Bought on the open market$100,1002 purchase(s) by 1 insider(s)
Sold on the open market$86,5382 sale(s) by 2 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans0%of the sales followed a 10b5-1 plan set months earlier
A Form 4 says what happened, when, how many shares and at what price. It does not say why: a sale can be diversification, a tax bill or a plan fixed months earlier, and an award is pay, not a purchase. Nothing here is a reason to buy or sell anything.
Companies like this one
Same SEC industry (water supply) first, then the rest of utilities.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.