ED · Utilities(electric & other services combined) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Consolidated Edison Inc reported revenue of $17.0 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 3.9% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin narrowed from 23.0% in 2016 to 17.2%, and it earned 4.6% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $32.1 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 94.4% went back into the business and 30.5% to dividends; the share count rose 18.8%. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 8 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 1.43 is in the grey zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 1 of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 202517.0B+3.9% a year over 9 years
Operating margin17.2%gross margin —
Return on invested capital4.6%5.2% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow—
Net debt ÷ EBITDA4.6×net debt 24.2B
Piotroski F-score6/8tests 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
05.0B10.0B15.0B20.0B
2016Revenue 12.1BOperating income 2.8B
2017Revenue 12.0BOperating income 2.8B
2018Revenue 11.9BOperating income 2.7B
2019Revenue 12.1BOperating income 2.7B
2020Revenue 12.0BOperating income 2.7B
2021Revenue 13.5BOperating income 2.8B
2022Revenue 15.5BOperating income 2.6B
2023Revenue 14.5BOperating income 3.2B
2024Revenue 15.5BOperating income 2.7B
2025Revenue 17.0BOperating income 2.9B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+3.3%
+7.2%
+3.9%
Operating income
+3.8%
+2.0%
+0.6%
Net income
+6.8%
+12.9%
+5.5%
Earnings per share
+6.5%
+11.5%
+3.5%
Dividend per share
+2.0%
+2.3%
+2.8%
Shares
+0.3%
+1.3%
+1.9%
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.
GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow
-40.0%-20.0%0.0%20.0%40.0%
2016Operating 23.0%Net 10.3%Free cash flow -14.7%
2017Operating 23.1%Net 12.7%Free cash flow -2.0%
2018Operating 22.3%Net 11.6%Free cash flow -21.4%
2019Operating 22.0%Net 11.1%Free cash flow -4.5%
2020Operating 22.1%Net 9.2%Free cash flow -15.7%
2021Operating 21.0%Net 10.0%Free cash flow -9.1%
2022Operating 17.0%Net 10.7%Free cash flow -3.4%
2023Operating 22.1%Net 17.4%
2024Operating 17.3%Net 11.8%
2025Operating 17.2%Net 11.9%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Return on invested capital
Return on invested capital
0.0%2.0%4.0%6.0%8.0%
2016Return on invested capital 6.1%
2017Return on invested capital 6.7%
2018Return on invested capital 5.9%
2019Return on invested capital 5.8%
2020Return on invested capital 6.0%
2021Return on invested capital 5.7%
2022Return on invested capital 4.5%
2023Return on invested capital 6.2%
2024Return on invested capital 4.9%
2025Return on invested capital 4.6%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Needs a cost of capital, which comes from the valuation below.
Return on equity
8.4%
Return on assets
2.7%
Asset turnover
0.23×
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
-4.0B-2.0B02.0B4.0B
2016Net income 1.2BFree cash flow -1.8BAfter stock-based pay -1.8B
2017Net income 1.5BFree cash flow -239.0MAfter stock-based pay -302.0M
2018Net income 1.4BFree cash flow -2.6BAfter stock-based pay -2.6B
2019Net income 1.3BFree cash flow -542.0MAfter stock-based pay -589.0M
2020Net income 1.1BFree cash flow -1.9BAfter stock-based pay -1.9B
2021Net income 1.3BFree cash flow -1.2BAfter stock-based pay -1.3B
2022Net income 1.7BFree cash flow -530.0MAfter stock-based pay -594.0M
2023Net income 2.5B
2024Net income 1.8B
2025Net income 2.0B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
32.1B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 94%30.3B
Acquisitions 5%1.5B
Dividends 31%9.8B
Share buybacks 3%1.0B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -33%-10.5B
Over the same years it paid 433.0M in stock. The share count rose 18.8%. 567.0M of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-10.00$-5.00$0.00$5.00$10.00
2016Earnings per share $4.12Free cash flow per share $-5.88Dividend per share $2.53
2017Earnings per share $4.94Free cash flow per share $-0.77Dividend per share $2.60
2018Earnings per share $4.42Free cash flow per share $-8.16Dividend per share $2.69
2019Earnings per share $4.08Free cash flow per share $-1.64Dividend per share $2.80
2020Earnings per share $3.28Free cash flow per share $-5.62Dividend per share $2.90
2021Earnings per share $3.85Free cash flow per share $-3.52Dividend per share $2.95
2022Earnings per share $4.67Free cash flow per share $-1.49Dividend per share $3.06
2023Earnings per share $7.21Dividend per share $3.14
2024Earnings per share $5.24Dividend per share $3.17
2025Earnings per share $5.64Dividend per share $3.25
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
300.0M320.0M340.0M360.0M
2016Diluted shares 301.9M
2017Diluted shares 308.8M
2018Diluted shares 312.9M
2019Diluted shares 329.5M
2020Diluted shares 335.7M
2021Diluted shares 349.4M
2022Diluted shares 355.8M
2023Diluted shares 349.3M
2024Diluted shares 347.3M
2025Diluted shares 358.7M
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
010.0B20.0B30.0B
2016Net debt 14.0B
2017Net debt 15.2B
2018Net debt 17.2B
2019Net debt 19.0B
2020Net debt 21.1B
2021Net debt 22.1B
2022Net debt 22.2B
2023Net debt 21.1B
2024Net debt 23.4B
2025Net debt 24.2B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
4.6×
Interest coverage
2× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.02 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
— collects in 55d
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.
6of 8 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✓Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforepassed
✓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 before — not reportedno data
✓Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforepassed
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?
1.43grey zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.00 × 6.56+0.01
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.20 × 3.26+0.65
Operating income ÷ assets 0.04 × 6.72+0.26
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.48 × 1.05+0.50
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?
-2.59below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.96+0.88
Gross margin slipping 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.53
Soft assets 1.00+0.41
Sales growth 1.10+0.98
Slower depreciation 0.99+0.11
Overheads vs sales 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)-0.17
Profit not in cash -0.04-0.17
Leverage rising 0.98-0.32
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.
Net debt is 4.6 times EBITDA.
Benign
A stable sector with predictable cash flows and comfortable maturities.
Worrying
Little room if earnings fall; the maturity schedule is what to check.
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.
The SEC accounts lack the lines needed for revenue, free cash flow or the share count, so there is no DCF for this company.
What it has filed lately
The last twelve months at the SEC, most important first: annual and quarterly reports, events, large holders and insiders.
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.