Cash fell 65.6%, from $25.1 million to $8.6 million. That is the oddest number in Essential Utilities’ latest report, especially because the regulated utility also grew operating income.
For the three months ended June 30, revenue rose 3.1% to $530.9 million and operating income increased 4.3% to $193.3 million. The bottom line went the other way: net income fell 1.9% to $105.7 million, diluted EPS slipped to $0.37, and diluted shares increased 1.2% to 284.1 million.
That split puts the focus below the operating line and on the cash balance. Operating margin edged up from 36.0% to 36.4%, but net margin fell from 20.9% to 19.9%. Accounts receivable rose 4.7% to $207.8 million, faster than revenue, while the company ended the comparable period with a much larger cash balance.
Essential Utilities says the operating business is absorbing more investment. The company also says debt used to fund capital projects is adding to the cost of that expansion.
"Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $21,125 or 10.4% principally due to continued capital expenditures to expand and improve our utility facilities and our acquisitions of new water and wastewater utility systems."
Essential Utilities, 10-Q, Aug. 5, 2026
In plain English, more utility facilities and acquired systems are now showing up as depreciation expense. That is consistent with a business growing its asset base, but it also marks the part of the business that requires capital before the income statement gets the full benefit.
The financing line is moving too:
"Interest expense, net, increased by $3,850 or 7.4% due to higher push down debt borrowings of the Regulated Natural Gas segment from Essential Utilities, Inc, which is primarily used to fund capital projects."
Essential Utilities, 10-Q, Aug. 5, 2026
Interest expense tied to those borrowings gives the company less profit below operating income. Taxes other than income taxes also increased 15.3%, which Essential Utilities attributed primarily to the absence of a prior-year sales and use tax accrual benefit, higher Illinois invested capital tax expense, and higher payroll taxes from employee compensation.
The result is a business that looks steadier at the operating level than at the cash level. Revenue rose, operating margin improved, and the company’s own annual results show revenue reaching $2.5B in 2025 after an 18.6% increase. But the latest three-month period produced a lower net margin and a cash balance that is small beside the company’s capital program and debt-funded expansion.
That is the unresolved point, not a verdict on the utility’s operating performance. Essential Utilities’ next quarterly report will put a new cash balance beside the $8.6 million reported at June 30, making that specific number the clearest comparison to carry forward.