CluenexSempra SRE
Sempra scores weak on business quality (3.7 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Sempra does
Sempra operates regulated electric and gas utilities serving millions of customers in California and Texas. Ratepayers fund these operations through state-approved tariffs that guarantee a fixed return on capital investments.
- What it does best
Sempra excels at securing long-term regulated rate base expansion in high-density markets like Southern California and Texas. This localized monopoly protects its capital investments from direct competition, yielding an operating margin of 25.5% that sits in the top quartile of its sector at 74.
- The main risk
Regulatory friction and heavy capital spending drive negative free cash flow of $6.4 billion. If state regulators trim authorized returns or disallow capital recovery, the company's $35.0 billion total debt load will become an acute drag on earnings.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 25.5%, while free cash flow margin sinks to -47.2% due to soaring capital outlays. Profitability fails to scale cleanly as massive infrastructure spending outpaces incoming cash generation.
A regulatory-granted monopoly locks in captive residential and commercial utility customers across its footprint. Its operating margin lands in the top quartile of the sector at the 74th percentile, protecting its capital base.
Revenue growth crawls at 3.9% over the trailing period, landing in the bottom quartile of its sector at the 21st percentile. This rate trails historical levels as major spending yields slow top-line momentum.
Total debt reaches $35.0 billion against just $29 million in cash, leaving interest coverage at a thin 2.2x. Free cash flow sits deeply negative at -$6.4 billion due to heavy capital expenditures, keeping the balance sheet under pressure.
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 SRE
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
Sempra scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.7 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat weak, growth slow 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 30, 2026, before the open.
See SRE today
- Today's verdict on SRE, 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, “Sempra (SRE)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/sre/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.