Alliant Energy (LNT)
Utilities · $19.0B market cap · SEC CIK 0000352541
ahead of 51% of the S&P 500 · #13 of 31 in Utilities
Next reports on Feb 17, 2027, after the close, with analysts expecting $0.45 in earnings per share.
52-week range $62.54 to $78.81. 7% below its 52-week high and 17% above its low.
The case for LNT
- 21% of revenue drops through to net profit.
- Pays a 3.6% dividend while you wait.
- Moves less than the market (beta 0.48).
The case against
- Long-term debt of $11.0B would take 9 years of operating cash flow to repay.
- Operating profit covers its interest bill only 2.8 times.
- Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.51).
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Utilities companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings and cash, against the growth you get | 50 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 42 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 79 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 64 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 40 |
- Capital spending is missing from its filings, so free cash flow cannot be worked out. Operating cash flow stands in for the cash test, against a stricter bar.
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 31 Utilities companies.
The financials
Revenue growth
Is the business growing? Slowly
| Last 12 months | +6.3% |
|---|---|
| Over 5 years | +5.1% a year |
| FY2025 revenue | $4.4B (+10%) |
Free cash flow
Is it generating real cash? Can't tell: no capital spending in its filings
| FY2025 operating cash flow | $1.2B |
|---|---|
| Of profit, before capital spending | 144% |
Its filings do not give capital spending, so free cash flow cannot be worked out. Operating cash flow, which is before that spending, is shown instead, and the score judges it against a stricter bar.
Profit margins
Is profitability improving? Yes, improving
| Gross margin | 39% |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 23% |
| Net margin, FY24 → FY25 → now | 17.3% → 18.6% → 21.3% |
Debt vs. cash
Is the balance sheet healthy? Stretched
| Cash | $556M |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt | $11.0B |
| Net debt | $10.4B |
| Years to repay | 9.4 yrs |
Valuation
Is the stock price reasonable? Yes, about fair
| P/E | 20.3× |
|---|---|
| Fair P/E for its growth | 21× |
| Forward P/E | 19.7× |
| EV / EBITDA | 16.6× |
At 20.3× earnings it trades close to the 21× that 5% a year of growth plus a 3.6% dividend would justify. As a utility it is judged on earnings alone: it borrows to build, so its free cash flow says little about its price.
The financials, five years deep
Pulled from Alliant Energy's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | |||||
| Revenue | $4.4B | $4.0B | $4.0B | $4.2B | $3.7B |
| Change on the year | +10% | −1% | −4% | +15% | — |
| Free cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow | — | — | — | −$998M | −$587M |
| Of revenue | — | — | — | −24% | −16% |
| Profit margins | |||||
| Operating margin | 23.5% | 22.3% | 23.4% | 22.1% | 21.7% |
| Net margin | 18.6% | 17.3% | 17.5% | 16.3% | 18.4% |
| Debt vs. cash | |||||
| Cash | $556M | $81.0M | $62.0M | $20.0M | $39.0M |
| Long-term debt | $11.0B | $8.7B | $8.2B | $7.7B | $6.7B |
| Net cash (debt) | −$10.4B | −$8.6B | −$8.2B | −$7.6B | −$6.7B |
What Alliant Energy says it does
A. GENERAL Alliant Energy maintains its principal executive offices in Madison, Wisconsin. Alliant Energy operates as a regulated investor-owned public utility holding company, and its purpose-driven strategy is to serve its customers and build stronger communities. Alliant Energy’s primary focus is to provide regulated electric and natural gas service to approximately 1,010,000 electric and approximately 435,000 natural gas customers in the Midwest through its two public utility subsidiaries, IPL and WPL. The primary first tier wholly-owned subsidiaries of Alliant Energy are as follows: 1) IPL - is a public utility engaged principally in the generation and distribution of electricity and the distribution and transportation of natural gas to retail customers in select markets in Iowa. IPL provides utility services to incorporated communities as directed by the IUC and utilizes non-exclusive franchises, which cover the use of public…
Risk factors LNT lists in its 10-K
- Talent Development and Workforce Readiness
- Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 -
- Electric Generating Unit Upgrades and Electric Distribution Projects -
- Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration
- Electric Demand Planning Reserve Margin -
- Financial Transmission Rights and Auction Revenue Rights
- Electric Operating Information - Alliant Energy
- Gas Operating Information - Alliant Energy
- Demand from data centers and other large load growth customers may impact our business -
- Laws, regulations, and opposition to data centers may impact our business -
- Our utility business is significantly impacted by government legislation, regulation and oversight
- Our utility businesses are subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations -
- Actions related to global climate change and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could negatively impact us -
- Changes to certain tax elections, tax regulations and future taxable income could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations -
- Our utility business is seasonal and may be adversely affected by the impacts of weather -
- A cyber attack may disrupt our operations or lead to a loss or misuse of confidential and proprietary information or potential liability -
- Our strategy includes large construction projects, which are subject to risks -
- Supply chain disruptions could negatively impact our operations and implementation of our strategy -
- We face risks associated with operating electric and natural gas infrastructure -
- Storms or other natural disasters may impact our operations in unpredictable ways -
- Threats of terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from terrorism may impact our operations in unpredictable ways -
- We may not be able to fully recover costs related to commodity prices -
- Energy industry changes could have a negative effect on our businesses -
- We face risks related to non-utility operations -
- We are subject to employee workforce factors that could affect our businesses -
- We are subject to limitations on our ability to pay dividends -
- We are subject to risks related to inflation -
- We may incur material post-closing adjustments related to past asset and business divestitures -
- We are dependent on the capital markets and could be negatively impacted by disruptions in the capital markets -
- Our pension and other postretirement benefits plans are subject to investment and interest rate risk that could negatively impact our financial condition -