American Water Works, the largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility in the US, reported an 11% year-over-year increase in revenue to $938 million for Q1 2023, driven by higher rates in several states. Its GAAP net income rose by 8% to $170 million, while GAAP earnings per share increased by 5% to $0.91. The company slightly missed analysts’ expectations for earnings per share but exceeded the top-line revenue expectation. American Water also closed five acquisitions for a combined $3 million in Q1 and had 27 acquisitions under agreement for about $481 million. It plans to invest about $2.9 billion in 2023, including $400 million for acquisitions, which is 19% more than it spent on acquisitions last year.
The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.7075 per share of common stock, an 8% increase over the prior quarterly dividend. CEO Susan Hardwick affirmed the company’s EPS guidance for 2023 and its long-term annual weather-normalized EPS and dividend growth targets of 7% to 9%.
