CluenexFirstEnergy FE
FirstEnergy scores average on business quality (4.7 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What FirstEnergy does
FirstEnergy operates regulated transmission and distribution electric utilities serving millions of customers in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, collecting reliable tariff-based revenues from households and businesses. The company is leaning heavily into transmission and distribution investments to support grid updates visible in recent communications.
- What it does best
FirstEnergy excels at regulated utility service delivery across its multi-state footprint, producing a 12.0% revenue growth rate that sits in the top quartile of its sector at the 70th percentile. This regional distribution monopoly is protected by state regulatory compacts that make entry virtually impossible for competitors.
- The main risk
A massive debt load of $26.5 billion creates constant vulnerability to rising borrowing costs. With an interest coverage ratio of just 2.7x, earnings barely cover debt servicing obligations, leaving little margin for error if capital expenditures stay elevated.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 18.6% while free cash flow margin is deeply negative, reflecting heavy cash burn from capex. Unlike software models, higher scale here demands continuous heavy asset reinvestment rather than expanding margins.
Regulatory licenses create a local distribution monopoly locking in consumers across its service area. However, a sector percentile of 39 in gross margin shows this moat struggles to shield it from rising input costs.
Revenue growth accelerates to 12.0%, up from prior years like $13.5 billion in 2024, driven entirely by transmission and distribution infrastructure investments across its regulated service territories.
Total debt of $26.6 billion dwarfs cash reserves of $57 million. Free cash flow is deeply negative at -$2.0 billion due to heavy capital spending of $5.1 billion, making the balance sheet softer.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on FE
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
FirstEnergy scores average on the Cluenex quality check (4.7 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth steady and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Oct 27, 2026, after the close.
See FE today
- Today's verdict on FE, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “FirstEnergy (FE)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/fe/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.