CluenexSpire SR
Spire scores weak on business quality (3.2 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Spire does
Spire distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers primarily across Missouri and Alabama, collecting regulated utility rates for its service.
- What it does best
Spire reliably serves regulated utility customers across its regional footprint, generating a 15.9% ROE that sits in the top quartile of its sector. This captive customer base provides stable demand that shields the utility from cyclical downturns.
- The main risk
An interest coverage ratio of 1.9x leaves the company highly exposed to debt servicing costs. Elevated leverage limits financial flexibility as heavy capital spending continues to drain free cash flow.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margins hold at 19.7% while free cash flow margin is negative. Heavy capital expenditures for infrastructure keep cash conversion weak despite steady net income margins.
Regulated utility franchises create a localized monopoly over gas distribution, locking in regional customers. Its ROE ranks in the 86th percentile, but high debt caps overall moat strength.
Revenue contracted by 4.5% to $2.5 billion over the latest period. Growth sits in the bottom decile of its sector at the 6th percentile, showing a clear multi-year deceleration trend.
Total debt sits at $5.2 billion against just $6 million in cash, creating tight interest coverage of 1.9x. Free cash flow remains negative at -$222 million, making the balance sheet increasingly soft.
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 SR
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
Spire scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.2 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat weak, growth slow and financial health weak.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Nov 12, 2026, after the close.
See SR today
- Today's verdict on SR, 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, “Spire (SR)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/sr/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.