Stocks/HTO

HTO

H2O America
Utilities·Regulated Water
$57.83
$2.0B market cap
Claude Rating
4/10UNDERWEIGHT
Revenue
$816.3M
Free Cash Flow
$-65.5M
Rev Growth
+9.4%
FCF Margin
-8.0%
P/FCF
--
EV/FCF
--
Fwd EV/EBITDA
11.1x
Fair Value
$45.00
Upside
-22.2%

H2O America, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in the United States. The company engages in the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution, wholesale, and retail sale of water and wastewater services; and supplies groundwater from wells, surface water from watershed run-off and diversion, reclaimed water, and imported water purchased from Santa Clara Valley Water District. It also offers non-tariffed services, including water system operat

2-Year Price History

$58.13+12.4%
$44$46$48$50$52$54$56$58volMay 24Sep 24Jan 25May 25Sep 25Jan 26May 26

Quarterly Financials & Projections

Quarterly Waterfall ($ M)
PeriodRevEBITDAOpInNIOCFFCFCapExCashDebtSharesROICIntCovEV/EBITDA
Est2028-Q1215.083.9--24.7---32.3-96.8-270.7----------
Est2027-Q4235.083.4--23.5---82.3-141.0-238.5----------
Est2027-Q3275.0115.5--56.4---13.8-137.5-156.2----------
Est2027-Q2230.092.0--32.2---57.5-126.5-142.5----------
Est2027-Q1200.077.0--21.0---40.0-100.0-85.0----------
Est2026-Q4215.073.1--20.4---96.8-139.8-45.0----------
Est2026-Q3255.0104.6--48.5---38.3-140.351.8----------
Est2026-Q2210.083.0--27.3---63.0-126.090.0----------
Act2026-Q1183.369.737.419.043.7-49.2-92.9153.01,87438.64.7%3.7x12.4x
Act2025-Q4194.263.133.616.263.5-239.1-302.60.21,97736.05.0%3.5x11.9x
Act2025-Q3240.697.664.645.177.3295.1-217.911.31,90135.69.0%5.5x12.1x
Act2025-Q2198.377.443.924.760.8-72.3-133.119.91,87234.96.2%4.3x12.3x
Act2025-Q1167.667.935.916.643.2-41.6-84.823.71,86333.95.2%3.7x11.7x
Act2024-Q4197.871.243.722.941.5-65.9-107.311.11,83033.57.0%4.0x13.0x
Act2024-Q3225.186.158.438.753.5-48.2-101.74.01,77533.09.6%4.9x12.6x
Act2024-Q2176.271.640.620.749.3-48.0-97.322.81,77632.56.4%3.9x12.6x
Act2024-Q1149.460.427.911.751.2-23.0-74.34.51,77032.24.5%3.4x14.3x
Act2023-Q4171.365.636.519.031.5-48.8-80.39.71,74732.16.2%3.8x13.6x
Act2023-Q3204.884.656.636.261.9-23.0-84.921.11,70631.99.5%5.0x14.0x
Act2023-Q2156.959.831.218.346.8-23.5-70.325.51,64731.65.9%3.6x15.4x
Act2023-Q1137.355.225.211.550.6-4.7-55.323.31,63731.04.7%3.5x16.3x
Act2022-Q4171.480.850.433.536.9-26.7-63.512.31,65630.68.9%5.1x14.2x
Act2022-Q3176.065.537.625.045.8-18.2-63.913.21,65730.47.5%4.6x--
Act2022-Q2149.053.926.411.338.3-28.9-67.212.11,63630.44.9%3.8x--
Act2022-Q1124.346.616.63.745.3-4.3-49.617.51,60630.33.2%3.4x--

AI Analysis

LLM Evaluations

Claude4/10UNDERWEIGHTFV: $45.00

H2O America is a well-run regulated water utility with monopoly franchises and a constructive regulatory environment, but the stock is significantly overvalued relative to its per-share economics. The $700M equity raise and pending forward share agreements will increase the share count by ~35% over 2 years, devastating per-share metrics even as the enterprise grows. At $56/share with a P/FCF of 71x, 13.8% annual dilution, and FCF margins below 4% TTM, the math simply doesn't work for equity holders. The Quadvest acquisition is strategically sound but initially dilutive, and the 2027 rate case outcome is far from guaranteed. With short interest at 15% and the AWK-WTRG mega-merger creating a formidable competitor, this is a classic 'good company, bad stock' situation where enterprise value creation accrues primarily to bondholders and management rather than equity holders.

Catalyst Texas Quadvest rate case approval in 2027-2028 could unlock significant rate base earnings and demonstrate accretion, potentially validating the 6-8% EPS CAGR target and compressing the multiple. California PFAS cost recovery approval would also remove a major overhang.
Risk Persistent equity dilution (13.8% annually) combined with regulatory lag means per-share earnings growth could severely disappoint vs. the 6-8% CAGR target, especially if Quadvest integration or Texas rate case outcomes are less favorable than expected.
Trend
STABLE
Mgmt
6/10
Quarter
5/10
Exp. Move
-3.0%

Latest Earnings Call

Transcript Summary

H2O America delivered a solid Q1 2026, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.50, which met internal expectations. A pivotal achievement during the quarter was a $700 million upsized equity offering that fully funds the company's capital needs and the transformative Quadvest acquisition through 2027. This move significantly reduces financing risk for the 2026-2030 strategic plan, which targets a 6-8% EPS CAGR backed by a $2.7 billion investment pipeline. Regulatory progress is steady across H2O's four-state footprint. In Texas, the Quadvest deal is moving through the approval process with a closing expected in late 2026, followed by a major rate case in 2027. In California, the company is tackling PFAS remediation with a $176 million project, while Connecticut and Maine are seeing new rate case filings to recover extensive infrastructure investments. Management highlighted that water bills remain highly affordable, staying below 1% of median household income. With a strong liquidity position, an A- credit rating, and robust organic growth in Texas, H2O America is well-positioned to execute its long-term infrastructure and earnings goals while navigating the evolving regulatory landscape for water quality and system reliability.

Valuation & Metrics

Market Stats

Price$57.83
Market Cap$2.0B
Enterprise Value$3.7B
P/S Ratio2.5x
P/FCF--
EV/FCF--
FCF Margin (TTM)-8.0%
FCF Yield-3.2%
Dividend Yield (TTM)--
Annual Dilution13.8%
CurrencyUSD

TTM Financial Snapshot

Revenue$816.3M
Net Income$105.0M
Free Cash Flow$-65.5M

Revenue Growth (YoY)+9.4%
EBITDA Margin37.7%
Net Margin12.9%
FCF Margin-8.0%
CapEx % of Revenue91.5%
SBC % of Revenue0.8%
ROIC6.2%
WC Change % Rev1.5%
Interest Coverage4.2x

DCF Fair Value Estimate

$-7.37
-112.8% upside
Fair Enterprise Value$-2.8B
− Net Debt$1.7B
= Fair Equity$-284M
Revenue Growth8.5% → 3.5%
FCF Margin-8.0% → 10.0%
Discount Rate13.0%
Terminal EV/FCF18.0x

Forward Outlook & Risk

Short Interest

Short % of Float15.4%
Short Shares4.9M
Days to Cover6.9
Change (vs Prior)+1.5%
Short % Float History
15.40%+13.70pp
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%05-1507-3109-3011-2801-3004-30

Options

Call IV (ATM)25%
Put IV (ATM)27%
ATM Spread2.7%
Call $OI (near money)$83K
Put $OI (near money)$4K
ATM ExpiryJuly 17, 2026 (56D)
ATM Strike$60.0
Major Expirations3
Near-money chain · July 17, 2026
StrikeCall Bid/AskCall OIPut Bid/AskPut OI
$40.00$16.00/$21.000--/$1.650
$45.00$11.00/$15.900--/$4.800
$50.00$6.50/$11.000--/$4.800
$55.00$2.00/$6.800--/$2.850
$60.00$0.85/$2.400$1.50/$5.000
$65.00--/$4.800$5.50/$9.400
$70.00--/$1.000$10.30/$14.100
$75.00--/$1.550$15.30/$19.500
Snapshot: 2026-05-22

Forward Projections & Estimates

NTM Revenue Growth+7.8%
Forward FCF Margin-27.0%
Forward EBITDA Margin38.4%
Forward P/FCF--
Forward EV/FCF--
Forward Int. Coverage4.2x
Model Risk Score5/10
Bankruptcy Odds1%
Est. Borrow Rate5.2%
Terminal EV/FCF18.0x
LT Growth3.5%
LT FCF Margin10.0%

Employees

Headcount822
Revenue / Employee$993,046
Gross Profit / Employee$550,674
2022: 757 → 2023: 808 → 2024: 822 → 2025: 837 (3% CAGR)

Cash Runway

28.0months
WATCH

Institutional Ownership

Headline & net flow

NEUTRAL
Net flow · still filing
No float data — flow unavailable.

Ownership composition

Active
91.8%(+50.7% YoY)
294 filers
hedge / family / endowment
Retail funds
Fidelity, Schwab, 401(k)
Passive
28.6%(-3.5% YoY)
5 filers
Vanguard, iShares, SPDR
Market makers
0.7%(+0.2% YoY)
6 filers
Citadel, Susquehanna
Insiders
Form 4 — latest per insider
0%25%50%75%100%2022-062023-032023-122024-092025-062026-03
ActiveRetail fundsPassiveMarket makersRetail direct

Top holders

Fund$ valueCost basisΔ QoQΔ YoYα lifeFund AUM
BlackRock, Inc.Passive$377M$54.27−$13.9M+$26.6M-0.2%$5.69T
ATLAS Infrastructure Partners (UK) Ltd.$266M$57.37+$232M+$266M-0.4%$2.84B
ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd$132M$56.95+$109M+$132M+1.2%$5.19B
WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP$94.7M$58.67+$93.4M+$94.7M$533.98B
COHEN & STEERS INC$94.3M$55.26+$62.4M+$94.3M-0.8%$57.57B
STATE STREET CORPPassive$84.0M$67.43+$4.2M+$4.9M-0.2%$2.89T
HPM Partners LLC$76.8M$73.81−$8.0M−$9.0M-0.1%$70.24B
SOROS FUND MANAGEMENT LLC$72.1M$58.67+$72.1M+$72.1M-0.1%$5.53B
Amundi$67.9M$54.69−$32.6M−$3.2M-0.2%$366.88B
Zimmer Partners, LP$58.7M$56.26+$56.2M+$53.9M+0.4%$3.95B
VICTORY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC$53.5M$56.44+$26.0M+$33.8M-0.2%$156.12B
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLCPassive$52.6M$57.10+$3.8M+$6.1M+2.3%$1.61T
Yaupon Capital Management LP$52.5M$57.76+$46.7M+$52.5M+1.6%$2.03B
MORGAN STANLEY$45.8M$54.07−$34.4M+$13.8M-0.3%$1.65T
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LPPassive$41.4M$59.46+$2.7M+$2.6M-0.4%$480.92B
Invesco Ltd.$41.1M$66.66+$3.2M+$4.8M-0.2%$652.04B
KBC Group NV$34.8M$59.40+$10.3M+$10.7M+0.5%$39.86B
SCHRODER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP$34.6M$55.91+$24.7M+$10.3M-0.2%$121.82B
Legal & General Group Plc$31.9M$57.44−$1.5M+$5.6M-0.1%$432.24B
FIRST TRUST ADVISORS LP$31.2M$50.27+$1.7M−$44.8M-0.9%$139.72B
Cost basis is a volume-weighted estimate from accumulation periods within our 13F history; holders who built their position before our window started will show a stale basis. % above the cost basis is the unrealized gain at the current price.

Trading behavior

Smart-money alpha (lifetime, %/qtr)BULLISH
Holders
+0.01%
avg per quarter
Holders (ex-self)
+0.00%
excl. this stock
Buyers (this Q)
+0.11%
195 buyers · $1.12B in
Sellers (this Q)
-0.62%
71 sellers · $0.02B out
alpha coverage: 100% of $ has a lifetime-alpha record
Holder behavior on this stocksource: stock
On big dips (−10%+)
-9.9%
how holders react when this stock falls
On quiet Qs
+2.5%
−10% to +10% baseline
On rallies (+10%+)
+0.8%
how they react when this stock rises
Holders' portfolio flow this Q
+6.7%
inflows — adds are organic
Sellers' portfolio flow this Q
-15.9%
Sellers shed AUM broadly — partly forced.
▸ Compare to holder-profile behavior (across all their stocks)
Holder dip (any stock)
-0.6%
Holder mid (any stock)
-1.7%
Holder rally (any stock)
-5.2%

Top Holders Over Time

5-year share-count history (top 10 holders by peak, incl. exited) + price

03.0M6.0M9.0M12.0M$47$54$61$67$742021-062022-062023-062024-062025-062026-03
hover the chart for per-quarter detailprice (right axis)
ATLAS Infrastructure Partners (UK) Ltd.4.5MNUANCE INVESTMENTS, LLC392KCovington Capital ManagementANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd2.2MHPM Partners LLC1.3MPRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/40KT. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc.Amundi1.2MInvesco Ltd.701KWELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP1.6M

Related Stocks

Investors who own this also own

Stocks held by the same active managers as this one, ranked by score — how much more often these appear together than random chance (1× = baseline). Excludes index ETFs and market makers; minimum 3 shared holders.

TickerNameCo-holdersScore
ESEversource Energy3272.23×
BKVBKV Corporation3238.20×
NINiSource Inc.3158.80×
PEGPublic Service Enterprise Group Incorporated3105.87×
PCGPG&E Corporation474.73×
ETREntergy Corporation456.46×

Analyst Coverage

Analyst Coverage
Price Targets
Last Quarter (5 analysts)$61.80690.0%
Last Year (6 analysts)$61.67660.0%
Current Price$57.83

Corporate

Executive Compensation (2023-2025)

Direct Pay$36.2M
Incentive & Other$21.8M
Total Compensation$58.0M
% of Revenue2.6%

Insider Trading (last 12mo)

Open-market only (Form 4 P-Purchase + S-Sale). Excludes grants, option exercises, tax withholding, gifts.
Officers & directors
Buys ($, 12mo)
$0
0 txns · 0 insiders · 0 sh
Sells ($, 12mo)
$99K
1 txn · 1 insider · 2,100 sh
Major holders (≥10% beneficial owners)
Buys ($, 12mo)
$5.95M
2 txns · 2 insiders · 100,770 sh
Sells ($, 12mo)
$0
0 txns · 0 insiders · 0 sh
Recent transactions
DateSideInsiderTitleSharesPriceDollarsOwned $
2026-04-10BUYATLAS Infrastructure Partners (UK) Ltd.10 percent owner50,385$59.06$2.98M$270.66M
2026-04-10BUYGIP ATLAS Holdings Ltd10 percent owner50,385$59.06$2.98M$270.66M
2025-11-13SELLWalters Andrew Fdirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer2,100$47.22$99K$1.14M

Order Flow (FINRA, ~3w lag)

15.8%retail+4.9pp
23.0%dark-4.5pp
week of 2026-04-13
5%10%15%20%25%30%35%25-0525-0725-0925-1126-0126-0326-04retail (non-ATS)dark (ATS)
Off-exchange volume from FINRA. Retail = non-ATS (wholesaler PFOF + broker internalization). Dark = ATS (dark-pool crossing networks, institutional). Lit-exchange = remainder.

Filing Risk Analysis

Filing Risk Scores

H2O America: Dilution Gushing Faster than the Main Water Line

Overall Risk
4/10
Fraud
2/10
Dilution
9/10
Insolvency
2/10
Earnings Overstated
4/10
Hidden Liabilities
6/10
Legal
7/10
Audit Warnings
2/10
Hidden Upside
5/10
Contextually Acceptable
8/10

Counter-Thesis

Counter-Thesis & Recent News

📰 Recent News

HTO (rebranded from SJW Group in May 2025) reported stagnant GAAP diluted EPS of $0.49 for Q1 2026, unchanged from the previous year despite a 9% revenue increase. The company recently executed a massive $700 million equity raise in March 2026, which has significantly diluted existing shareholders (Simply Wall St, GuruFocus). Operating expenses jumped 11% year-over-year, driven by a $7.5 million spike in water production costs and rising depreciation from new infrastructure (Stock Titan).

🐻 Bear Case

The primary bear case rests on persistent earnings dilution and margin pressure. While revenue is growing through rate hikes, per-share metrics are being crushed by aggressive share issuance used to fund the $2.7 billion 2026-30 capital plan (Insider Monkey). Short-sellers point to the 18.4% overvaluation based on Dividend Discount Model (DDM) analysis, suggesting a fair value of only $50.41 compared to its current trading price near $60 (Simply Wall St). The Quadvest acquisition is also expected to be initially dilutive, with post-2027 growth heavily dependent on uncertain regulatory 'reset' outcomes in Texas (Investing.com).

🚩 Red Flags

A 210% surge in short interest was recorded in March 2026, reaching approximately 14.3% of shares, signaling a massive shift in professional trader sentiment (Simply Wall St). Insider selling by the current CEO and significant institutional repositioning further underscore internal caution. Additionally, the company is facing rising costs for PFAS (forever chemicals) remediation, such as the $176 million Williams Station project, for which cost recovery from regulators is not yet guaranteed (GuruFocus).

⚔️ Competitive Threats

H2O America is increasingly disadvantaged by its relatively small scale in a consolidating industry. The October 2025 announcement of a $63 billion merger between market leaders American Water Works (AWK) and Essential Utilities (WTRG) creates a dominant national competitor with vastly superior capital efficiency and regulatory leverage (Business Wire). HTO remains a 'small-cap' Dividend King ($1.7B cap) struggling to match the operational growth of these giants (Sure Dividend).

💬 Customer Sentiment

Sentiment is overwhelmingly negative, characterized by accusations of 'price gouging' and 'monopoly' behavior. In Silicon Valley, customers have organized to protest 2024-2026 rate increases (Reddit). Specific complaints involve massive 'hidden' leaks resulting in bills as high as $5,600 due to the company's slow rollout of smart meters and its 60-day billing cycle (BBB). Customers frequently cite 'horrible' service and lack of responsiveness from H2O America's executive team (BBB).

Full Earnings Call Transcript

Full Earnings Call Transcript — Q1 • 2026-04-29

Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the H2O America 2026 Q1 Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker, Jonathan Reeder. Please go ahead.
Jonathan Reeder: Thank you, Siobhan. Welcome to the first quarter of 2026 financial results conference call for H2O America. My name is Jonathan Reeder, and I am the Senior Director of Treasury and Investor Relations for H2O America. Presenting today will be Andrew Walters, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer; Ann Kelly, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; and Bruce Hauk, President and Chief Operating Officer. For those who would like to follow along, slides accompanying our remarks are available on our website at h2o-america.com. Before we begin today, I would like to remind you that this presentation and related materials posted on our website may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the company in light of its experience, historical trends, current conditions and expected future results as well as other factors that the company believes are appropriate under the circumstances. Many factors could cause the company's actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors that could cause actual results to be different from statements in this presentation, we refer you to the financial results press release and to our most recent. Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be obtained on our website. All forward-looking statements are made as of today, and H2O America disclaims any duty to update or revise such statements. You will have an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. This webcast is being recorded, and an archive of the webcast will be available until July 29, 2026. You can access the press release and the webcast at H2O America's website. In addition, some of the information discussed today includes non-GAAP financial measures of adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share have not been calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States or GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to the financial information prepared on a GAAP basis rather than as an alternative in respect to GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are presented in the table in the appendix of our presentation. I will now turn the call over to Andrew.
Andrew Walters: Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are pleased to provide you with an update on our strong first quarter 2026 results, during which we earned $0.49 per share on a GAAP diluted basis and $0.50 per share on an adjusted diluted basis. Our first quarter 2026 results were consistent with our internal expectations in supportive of our stand-alone 2026 EPS guidance of $3.08 per share to $3.18. Before I ask Dan to discuss the quarterly results in more detail, I want to update everyone on the very successful equity raise that we executed in early March. Following our year-end 2025 update and taking advantage of what we viewed as a receptive equity market, we decided to take the Quadvest acquisition-related equity risk off the table by coming to the market with a $550 million equity offering to fund not only the transaction, but also the $100 million to $125 million of equity needed for our 2026 stand-alone capital budget. Our equity offering received an overwhelmingly positive response from investors. As it was more than 5x oversubscribed and priced at a tight 2.6% discount. Due to the overwhelming demand and our desire to accommodate some very high-quality, long-term oriented investors into our shareholder base, we upsized the issuance to $700 million, including a green shoot. The upsizing also served to address our forecasted equity needs through 2027. I believe the successful equity offering is a direct reflection of the hard work of all my partners here at H2O America and their dedication to providing our customers with high-quality, reliable service while executing on the financial goals that we have communicated to investors. At the same time, we recognize that our work is far from complete. We remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver on the 2026 to 2030 plan that we rolled out at the end of February, including our increased long-term EPS CAGR target of 6% to 8%. The core element of the plan is our tried and true strategy of growing the business and creating shareholder value by making the much needed water infrastructure investments across the national footprint of our systems while constructively engaging our key local stakeholders in the consensus building process to provide timely regulatory recovery while maintaining customer affordability. As a reminder, our plan does not include any M&A opportunities beyond our 2 pending Texas acquisitions. On the regulatory front, our teams have been busy working to secure the necessary approvals to execute on our long-term plan. This includes leveraging infrastructure investment mechanisms, recoveries in Connecticut, Maine, Texas as well as making a PFAS remediation project recovery filing in Connecticut as well as California. In addition, a great deal of thought and effort has gone into preparing our general rate case filing in Connecticut and Maine. And of course, there was a filing of the Quadvest LP sales transfer merger application earlier in the year, and our focus continues to be on closing the transformative acquisition later this year and delivering on the anticipated accretion beginning in 2028. Bruce will provide more detailed updates on the Quadvest transaction as well as some of our key regulatory elements later in the call. But now I will turn it over to Ann to provide details on our first quarter 2026 results and the key elements of our financial plan. Ann?
Ann Kelly: Thank you, Andrew. Yesterday, after the market closed, we released our first quarter 2026 operating results. As Andrew mentioned, we were pleased to report first quarter 2026 diluted EPS of $0.49 and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.50. The results were consistent with our internal expectations and supportive of the financial guidance that we provided on our year-end 2025 update. Although we grew the underlying net income by roughly 15%, both our reported and adjusted diluted earnings per share were unchanged when compared to the first quarter of 2025 results due to the higher share count as a result of leveraging our ATM program in 2025 and our equity issuance in early March. Moving to Slide 8. I'd like to briefly discuss all the key drivers resulting in the comparable year-over-year earnings per share. We realized $0.41 per share increase due to higher revenue. Roughly half of this or $0.20 was driven by rate relief received from general rate cases and infrastructure surcharges, primarily in California, Connecticut and Texas. There was also $0.11 of higher revenue for pass-through water supply costs that are offset in our water production expenses and do not impact our net income. In addition, higher usage largely due to a hot dry March across our California service territory added $0.05. The revenue increase was partially offset by higher water production expenses of $0.20, attributable to $0.10 of higher water supply costs due to increases in average per unit cost for purchased water and groundwater extraction $0.09 from increases in water production balancing and memorandum accounts primarily related to the full cost balancing account in California and $0.08 from higher customer usage. These increases were partially offset by $0.07 decrease in water production expense as a result of increased availability of surface water. In addition, other operating expenses increased $0.18. The biggest item here was an $0.11 increase in depreciation and amortization for new utility plant placed in service as well as an increase in maintenance, employee-related costs and higher nonlabor administrative and general expenses. The remaining drivers relate to $0.07 of dilution, which I alluded to earlier from the higher share count, partially offset by $0.04 of net other benefits. As for taxes during the quarter, our effective income tax in Q1 2026 was approximately 15% versus 17% in Q1 of 2025. The lower effective tax rate was primarily due to higher flow-through tax benefits. Shifting from the first quarter results to our full year 2026 and beyond expectations, the figures on the next few slides should look familiar as we are reiterating all aspects of the guidance that we rolled out near the end of February with our year-end 2025 update. During the first quarter of 2026, we invested $85 million into infrastructure improvement. This represents 18% of our full year 2026 CapEx budget of $483 million, which did not include the impact of Quadvest. While the 18% might seem low, it reflects the seasonality of our CapEx cycle, particularly during the winter months for our Connecticut and Maine operations. We are on track to deliver the full year 2026 CapEx budget as well as our plan to invest $2.7 billion of capital over the 2026 to 2030 period. Importantly, roughly 80% of the $2.7 billion capital plan qualifies for timely regulatory recovery either through California's 3-year forward-looking general rate case framework or through various infrastructure recovery mechanisms in Connecticut, Maine and Texas. Our 5-year capital investment plan, combined with our pending acquisition of Quadvest is expected to translate into a 13% rate base CAGR of our year-end 2025 estimated rate base of $2.8 billion. As a reminder, these amounts represent our estimated rate base at year-end and not necessarily what was or will be recognized in rates by our state regulators in those particular years. We are laser-focused on not only delivering the rate base growth, but translating it into attractive earnings growth by minimizing regulatory lag and continually seeking ways to operate more efficiently in order to keep rates affordable while providing our customers with best-in-class service. The details on Slide 10 are consistent with what we have provided on our year-end update. I won't go through them all, but wanted to reiterate our expectation to deliver a nonlinear EPS CAGR over the 2026 to 2030 period at or above the top end of our 6% to 8% long-term organic EPS growth rate target using our 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.99 as a base year. The ability to deliver growth at or above our 6% to 8% long-term sustainable rate is enabled by: one, the line of sight that we have on our 5-year capital expenditure plan; two, the anticipated accretion from pending Quadvest acquisition beginning in 2028 once the new rates from the consolidated Texas general rate case that was planned to file in early 2027 go into effect; and three, our expectation to continue to work constructively with key stakeholders in each of our states to achieve fair and timely revenue regulatory outcomes. We remain excited about our 5-year plan and long-term prospects and believe our team is fully capable of delivering on it. Turning to financing and credit. On Slide 11. As Andrew discussed, we executed on the equity needs needed to not only fund our pending Texas acquisition, but also our 2026 and 2027 base capital expenditures. We expect to stay out of the equity markets, including issuances through our ATM program through at least year-end 2027 as we have the ability to draw down on the $400 million forward agreement component of the March issuance over this period to fund our capital needs. And we still expect to raise $100 million to $200 million of debt across the parent and Texas operating company levels to fund the Quadvest transaction, although we have more flexibility now regarding the timing given the upsized equity issuance. Our liquidity is strong to fund our daily operations. While we work towards closing Quadvest later this year, we utilized the cash received from the equity issuance to pay down our bank lines of credit, meaning the full $370 million is available, and we have invested the remainder of the proceeds into cash equivalents. In addition, our A- credit rating, which S&P affirmed earlier this month, affords us access to the capital needed to fund our longer-term investments. We expect our FFO to debt ratio to be in the 11% to 12% range through 2027, which is above S&P's 11% downgrade threshold. In 2028, we expect the ratio to be above 12%, and we will continue to delever throughout the rest of the plan through increased cash flows and the anticipated paydown of our 2029 holdco maturity. And with that, I will turn the call over to Bruce to provide some regulatory updates, including on our pending acquisition of Quadvest.
Bruce Hauk: Thank you, Ann. Our regulatory teams have been busy to start the year. While the California team is gearing up for the 2028 to 2030 GRC filing that will be made in January of 2027. Earlier this month, we filed a request with the CPUC outside of the GRC process for approval and recovery of our planned Williams Station PFAS remediation project. The estimated capital cost for the ion exchange project is $176 million. If approved, SJWC would adjust rates via annual rate base filing offsets. This is similar to the recovery approach we took for our current AMI project that is expected to be completed around the end of this year. In Connecticut, we filed and received approval to implement annual revenue increases totaling a combined roughly $3.3 million under the WICA and WQTA mechanisms that went into effect on April 1, 2026. Also on April 1, we implemented our 2025 water revenue adjustment mechanism surcharge to reconcile revenues as authorized in CWC's most recent rate case. Notably, as a result of CWC achieving the PURA prescribed performance metrics in our last GRC, the WRA surcharge provides recovery of certain amounts of compensation expenses. And then as most of you are aware, CWC filed a letter of intent on March 13 to file a GRC application within the next 60 days. The actual rate case will be filed in the weeks ahead, but per the letter, CWC plans to request an approximately $26 million increase in annual revenues or new rates become effective early 2027. As CWC seeks recovery for the approximately $129 million of infrastructure investments made between its last rate case and the end of 2026 as that investment is not reflected in current rates. Moving on to Maine on Slide 14. After getting approval of the stipulation and the rate unification proceeding in January, MWC filed its first consolidated risk application in late February, requesting a $0.9 million increase. And then earlier this month, MWC filed its first consolidated GRC filing requesting a $9.5 million increase in annual revenues to recover the approximately $36 million of infrastructure investments that have been or are expected to be made in the state by the end of 2026 and are not currently in rates. We expect the new rates to go into effect by the second quarter of 2027. Lastly, I'd like to shift to Texas regulatory activity. We continue to work through the $5.1 million SIC mechanism application we filed in October and expect a decision from the PUCT in the second half of 2026. We also continue to move the ball forward through the PUCT's approval process for the 2 pending acquisitions. In fact, I'm pleased to report that just last week, we filed a sales transfer merger or STM application for the Cibolo Valley wastewater plant and related collection system, which keeps us on track for an anticipated close of this transaction during the fourth quarter of 2026. And then in early 2027, after the close of the Quadvest and Cibolo Valley acquisitions as well as the completion of our significant investments to bring an additional 6,000 acre feet of water annually into our existing system, Texas Water continues to expect to file a combined company general rate case with new rates effective in early 2028, so that these and other additions to Texas Water's rate base can be recognized in rates. Beginning in 2024, the magnitude of needed infrastructure investments to improve water supply and reliability at our Texas utility increased considerably. Over the '24 through '26 period, we expect to have invested more than $300 million into the infrastructure and thus filing a GRC to get those investments recognized in rates is critical. Now before I move to an update on Quadvest, I did want to point out that despite us making all of these significant and much needed capital investments in recent years across our service territories and seeking recognition of these investments from our regulators, our average bills are still below 1% of the median household income in each of our service territories. This is well below the EPA's recent study that reported water and wastewater bills are affordable if when combined, they are less than 4.5% of median household income. Assuming a 50-50 split between water and wastewater, it would suggest below 2.25 for each is affordable. We believe this is a reasonable guideline depicting affordability and provides bill headroom for the recovery of our planned infrastructure investments going forward. Now for an update on Quadvest. The STM application for the regulated portion of the Quadvest transaction was filed in January. And earlier this month, it was deemed administratively complete. As outlined on Slide 15, the STM application requests approval of TWC's acquisition of the Quadvest LT assets and certification of the value of the ratemaking rate base as determined in accordance with the Texas fair market value statute at TWC's $483.6 million purchase price. TWC is in the process of issuing the required public notices and once proof of those notices are filed with the commission, the PUCT's 120-day approval process will commence. That said, the 120-day time frame may be extended if staff for the Office of Public Utility Counsel request a hearing and/or time line extension. As such, we are updating our expected closing of the Quadvest acquisition from mid-2026 to something during the second half of 2026. Meanwhile, we continue to see robust connection growth in the Houston-based Quadvest water and wastewater system, which now has more than 57,200 active connections as of March 31, 2026. This represents an impressive 5% increase in the first 3 months of 2026 after the active connection count increased 16% during 2025. And as Quadvest's under contract and pending development pipeline converts into active connections, the pool of future connections continues to be replenished, extending the longevity of the growth profile. Specifically during the first quarter of 2026, despite Quadvest converting 2,800 connections from the pipeline to active, the pipeline was increased by 5,000 connections. Of course, future connection growth will vary based on a number of conditions, so this is no guarantee of future -- of the future pace of growth. However, these results are in line with our range of expectations, and we believe solid growth will continue in the Greater Houston area, which is the second fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States. The addition of Quadvest's active customers plus the continued conversion of its contracted development backlog is the primary contributor that is expected to drive Texas from 8% of our consolidated customer base today to 26% by 2025. Between Quadvest and Cibolo Valley, we are very excited about our long-term growth potential in Texas. That concludes my regulatory updates. I will now turn the call back over to Andrew.
Andrew Walters: Thank you, Bruce. Before opening the call up to Q&A, I wanted to welcome Commissioner Patrick Rhode, who Governor Abbott appointment a few weeks ago to fill the remaining vacancy on the Public Utility Commission of Texas. and take a minute to expand a bit on Bruce's remarks with respect to customer affordability. We know the concern remains top of mind with customers, regulators and investors alike, especially as the recent uptick in energy prices due to the conflict in the Middle East has caused inflationary expectations to rise. Affordability is and frankly, always has been a top priority of ours. And we will continue to work constructively with our state regulatory partners as we look to balance affordability with the extensive investment required to replace aging infrastructure and treat emerging contaminants, all while providing safe, high-quality water and reliable service. As Bruce mentioned, as of year-end 2025, average H2O bills were less than 1% of median household income across all 4 of our states, which is well below the EPA's suggested 2.25% affordability threshold. In addition, we offer affordability tariffs in California, Connecticut and Maine with hopes to introduce this benefit to our Texas customer base as part of our future rate proceeding. In addition -- and as always, we will continue to strive to run the business as efficiently as possible as we recognize that every dollar of avoided operating expenses enables the recovery of $7 of capital investments with a neutral impact on customer bills. Any time we can swap operating expenses for capital deployment, we will look to do it as it is a win-win for customers and the company. So in closing, I believe our company is off to a good start operationally and financially. We have a busy regulatory agenda ahead of us, but I believe our team is up to the challenge, and our company is poised to deliver great things in 2026 and beyond. Our dedicated team remains focused on driving shareholder and customer value through disciplined infrastructure investment and executing on our financial goals, advancing the transformational Quadvest acquisition as well as Cibolo Valley, deepening our strong partnerships with local stakeholders and our unrelenting pursuit of operational excellence and identifying creative and sustainable solutions to serve generations to come while maintaining a focus on affordability. With that, I will turn the call back over to the operator for questions.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Alex Kania of BTIG.
Alexis Kania: I kind of had just 2 questions. The first one was just as you think about the regulatory -- the upcoming rate case process, I guess, I'd say, for Quadvest next year. Would you -- and I know, obviously, it's early, but just from a high level, how would you -- obviously, this rate case is going to be important, but how would you just think about maybe some of the affordability statistics that you provided for your other jurisdictions and maybe how they may end up looking relative to what you might expect from Quadvest kind of on a run rate basis?
Andrew Walters: I'll ask Bruce to take that question. And thank you very much, Alex.
Bruce Hauk: Yes. Thank you, Alex, for the question. As it relates to Quadvest rates, we've not disclosed the potential impact on rates, but we have disclosed that it would be significant. With that in mind, there's been a lot of investment that needs to be made for reliability in the system, as you heard in my prepared remarks and also the FNB transaction itself. With that being said, we are in the process of being engaged with all the stakeholders, customers and also the regulatory commission as well. And we have to be creative and thoughtful in our preparations and preparing for that. And that will most likely be most public, if you will, sometime in 2027 when we file. But with that being said, as Andrew mentioned in his comments, we are very focused on affordability and our rate design will take that into consideration. And we are going to be proposing a low-income tariff to address affordability issues in Texas as well, but also being mindful of how to most appropriately bring those investments to light into rates and how we can do that in conjunction in partnership with the commission.
Alexis Kania: Great. That's helpful. And then maybe a question for Ann. Just as you talked about the balance sheet and the fact that you might be in that 11% to 12% range for the next couple of years, given that cushion from the equity offering. Just thinking about the thoughts around the comments on just the desire to continue to deleverage. Is there kind of a target that we should be thinking of over the very long term from an FFO to debt? And maybe just the thinking behind wanting to be pretty sizably above maybe whatever downgrade threshold might be for your A rating?
Ann Kelly: Yes. Thanks, Alex. Yes. So as we mentioned, we do plan to delever over the 5-year plan with the target being to get into the A flat rating, which is comparable to our competitors. Right now, we have a -- I think a 15% FFO to debt upgrade threshold. So we would need to be north of that. We expect to be there by the end of the 5-year time period. And going to the A flat credit rating gives us flexibility. So we said overall that we're very committed to our A category rating currently at the A-. But building that up to an A flat gives us flexibility if we were to pursue an acquisition or any other transactions in the future to be able to do so while still maintaining the A category rating.
Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Davis Sunderland of Baird.
Davis Sunderland: Maybe 2 for me. Just starting first on Quadvest. Wondering maybe Andrew or Bruce, if you guys could talk just a bit about the final steps needed to close this. Any risks you guys see to the time line? And then whether or not any small deviations, thinking months difference here would pose any risk to your guys' timing for potentially filing the Texas rate case application next year.
Andrew Walters: I'll have Bruce take that question, but thank you, David.
Bruce Hauk: Yes. Thank you, David, for the question. And we're super excited about the major hurdle that we most recently covered, which was being deemed administratively sufficient. That specific step allows us to engage in the notice to customers of the acquisition and kicks off a process that allows us to actually get the 120-day procedural schedule set by the commission. So with that being said, if you think back when we actually announced this acquisition, filed notice for the FNB and then proceeded with filing over 7,000 pages of the STM filing, sales transfer merger process to only have had a 60-day examination of that process to get deemed administratively sufficient, that's significant in terms of an achievement. With that being said, as things proceed, that puts us from where we said in my prepared remarks from a mid-2026 close to sometime in the latter half of 2026. That being said, all commissions across this country are inundated with a lot of dockets. Texas is no exception with the amount of investment and growth is taking place in Texas. So we have to work with the commission in partnership to proceed and prosecute the STM. And so far, we're on track, like I mentioned, for that late 2026, barring no significant exceptions in terms of delays with things that may come up in the due diligence process. But so far, so good, and we are planning to close, as I mentioned, at the latter part of 2026, barring no unforeseen things that may come up by intervening parties or just basically with the commission staff being and able to get to things as timely as we would like based on their docket and all the actual cases that they're reviewing. But we're very happy with the process thus far and the total engagement by the commission and the staff. So we are happy with, I mentioned, crossing that hurdle at this point.
Andrew Walters: Yes. I think that it's an important point, Davis, too, just to kind of highlight that if anybody gets that amount of volume of documents to go through, they're not going to kind of shrimp on their review process. It just means they have to work very hard in order to get through it. And at least from our standpoint, we have nothing but gratitude for the hard work that the staff is putting into this.
Davis Sunderland: That is super helpful. Maybe just one other, if I could sneak it in. I know this is a bit of a moving target, if you will, to an extent, but the EPA has been talking a bit more about regulating microplastics and other potentially harmful substances in drinking water. And I think in fairness, it took maybe 2.5 years to officially move forward on PFAS. So it's still early on. But I guess my question is, have you guys thought about whether or not treating for PFAS would also cover treating some of these other potentially harmful substances? Or is this maybe a tailwind to increased capital deployment longer term? Or just how to think of this in context of your guys' planned capital deployments?
Bruce Hauk: Thank you, David, for that question and super engaged in the process with the EPA, working with the process. And just to kind of level set the 6 constituents that are actually PFAS regulated with MTLs and what have you, we're very much on track to make the improvements that are needed in Connecticut and California to achieve that compliance and things are on track there. This new list of compounds that were part of that process that you just described, just like you had mentioned, the rule-making process is lengthy and long and the due process is pretty extensive. But the partnership that we have with the Water Research Foundation, also our other partners with EPA and other organizations NAWC allows us to be a significant and meaningful part of that process and a voice. To your point of does ion exchange or GAC or any of these treatment processes that we use to mitigate PFAS, are there ancillary benefits? Absolutely. One of the things on microplastics, I'm super proud of is our Director of Water Quality based out of our San Jose Water operation is actually doing a pilot through the Water Research Foundation and actually using our Montevina plant to do a pilot on microplastics to inform the science behind what can be done to eliminate, treat, remediate microplastics. So we're very much in on the research and participating in the process that will help our company as well as others as we work through the process and the rulemaking. So super excited about that.
Andrew Walters: Yes. And I think it's good to Bruce highlight that because I think as we look at the team that is supporting all of us, we get the honor of telling the story. The work that actually gets done on the field is nothing short of amazing for what those folks do every day. And Suzanne de Lorenzo, who Bruce just talked about, is one of those amazing partners that is continuing to drive progress in our company and actually put us at the forefront of things that impact the entire industry, not just us.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back over to Andrew Walters for any closing remarks.
Andrew Walters: Thank you. Thank you again for joining us today. H2O America proudly leverages our national platform to support our distinct local operations, all united by a shared mission, delivering reliable service and high-quality water to 1.6 million people across 4 states. Together, we protect what's precious. At the same time, we continue executing our growth strategy and delivering our shareholder value, including our unwavering commitment to the dividend, which we paid for more than 80 consecutive years and increased it in each of the past 58. Our success is built on a culture of service and partnership. We value our customers, communities, the environment and capital partners, and I couldn't be prouder of our team whose dedication makes it all possible. I'm always available for follow-up along with my partners, Ann and Bruce. We appreciate your interest in H2O America.
Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.