Edison International, a company of a worthy name but unworthy financials.
For the past 7 years, their profit margin was between 5% and 10% per year, except in 2018 where it went negative. Let's call that a decent performance for a utility company, one bad year can happen to anyone.
But where things get interesting is its debt. For one reason or another, Edison has been steadily growing its debt year after year which can best be seen by looking at its debt/equity. The ratio has been steadily growing from 1.04 in 2016 to 2.12 in 2022, a very slow, steady and consistent journey to where you do not want to go. To make the picture even grimmer, the company didn't have a single year with positive free cash flow since 2016, which certainly didn't help with debt.
Now, those decent profit margins, in the context of that debt, raise a question - Is the company making money just so it can spend more money it doesn't have ?
I don't know what the folks at Edison have in mind, but it appears as things in there run in reverse. As if good business is building debt instead of equity and never having any cash at your disposal. Or maybe I've got it wrong, who knows.
Anyway, we'll find out, to modify Warren Buffett - time will tell who's been swimming naked.
Have A Great Day.
For the past 7 years, their profit margin was between 5% and 10% per year, except in 2018 where it went negative. Let's call that a decent performance for a utility company, one bad year can happen to anyone.
But where things get interesting is its debt. For one reason or another, Edison has been steadily growing its debt year after year which can best be seen by looking at its debt/equity. The ratio has been steadily growing from 1.04 in 2016 to 2.12 in 2022, a very slow, steady and consistent journey to where you do not want to go. To make the picture even grimmer, the company didn't have a single year with positive free cash flow since 2016, which certainly didn't help with debt.
Now, those decent profit margins, in the context of that debt, raise a question - Is the company making money just so it can spend more money it doesn't have ?
I don't know what the folks at Edison have in mind, but it appears as things in there run in reverse. As if good business is building debt instead of equity and never having any cash at your disposal. Or maybe I've got it wrong, who knows.
Anyway, we'll find out, to modify Warren Buffett - time will tell who's been swimming naked.
Have A Great Day.