AWK vs. EIX: American Water Works vs. Edison Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX) both fall under the Utilities industry group, but AWK is classified in Water Utilities while EIX is classified in Electric Utilities.

Company profile comparison for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Profile Item	AWK	EIX
Name	American Water Works Company, Inc.	Edison International
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry Group	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry	Water Utilities	Electric Utilities
GICS Sub-Industry	Water Utilities	Electric Utilities
Market Capitalization	29.92 billion USD	22.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 23, 2008	May 3, 1973
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AWK

EIX

GSPC

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
Total Return (1Y)	17.61%	11.26%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.05%	3.52%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-0.39%	3.43%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AWK

EIX

GSPC

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	22.53%	36.47%
Beta (5Y)	0.54	0.55
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.10%	-43.88%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.03M	5.15M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AWK and EIX are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.59	0.19
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.95	0.23

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Edison (EIX) at 18.76% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than American Water Works (AWK) at 9.95%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

AWK

Utilities industry group

9.95%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
AWK: 9.95%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

EIX

Utilities industry group

18.76%

EIX: 18.76%
Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their ROE against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both American Water Works (AWK) at 21.26% and Edison (EIX) at 19.60% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

AWK

Utilities industry group

21.26%

Max: 28.78%
AWK: 21.26%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

EIX

Utilities industry group

19.60%

Max: 28.78%
EIX: 19.60%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their net margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

American Water Works (AWK) at 43.18% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Edison (EIX) at 21.53%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

AWK

Utilities industry group

43.18%

Max: 53.83%
AWK: 43.18%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

EIX

Utilities industry group

21.53%

Max: 53.83%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
EIX: 21.53%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
ROE (TTM)	9.95%	18.76%
ROA (TTM)	3.50%	3.49%
Net Margin (TTM)	21.26%	19.60%
Operating Margin (TTM)	43.18%	21.53%
Gross Margin (TTM)	61.86%	59.44%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both American Water Works (AWK) at 9.74% and Edison (EIX) at 9.76% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Edison (EIX) at 248.94% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than American Water Works (AWK) at 5.57%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	9.74%	9.76%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.67%	3.90%
EPS Growth (YoY)	5.57%	248.94%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.06%	93.27%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Edison (EIX) at 0.77 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while American Water Works (AWK) at 0.39 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for AWK.

AWK

Utilities industry group

0.39

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.66
AWK: 0.39
Min: 0.29

EIX

Utilities industry group

0.77

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
EIX: 0.77
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.29

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

American Water Works (AWK) at 1.38 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Edison (EIX) at 2.20 uses more debt funding than most peers.

AWK

Utilities industry group

1.38

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
AWK: 1.38
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

EIX

Utilities industry group

2.20

Max: 2.63
EIX: 2.20
Q3: 1.77
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.39	0.77
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.38	2.20
Net Debt / EBITDA	5.49	5.26

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Edison (EIX) at 5.76% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while American Water Works (AWK) at 2.26% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, EIX the richer one.

AWK

Utilities industry group

2.26%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
AWK: 2.26%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

EIX

Utilities industry group

5.76%

Max: 6.66%
EIX: 5.76%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both American Water Works (AWK) at 59.60% and Edison (EIX) at 37.30% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

AWK

Utilities industry group

59.60%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
AWK: 59.60%
Median: 56.38%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

EIX

Utilities industry group

37.30%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
EIX: 37.30%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.26%	5.76%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	59.60%	37.30%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Edison (EIX) at 6.31 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while American Water Works (AWK) at 26.00 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

AWK

Utilities industry group

26.00

Max: 31.22
AWK: 26.00
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

EIX

Utilities industry group

6.31

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
EIX: 6.31
Min: 3.34

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Edison (EIX) at 1.23 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while American Water Works (AWK) at 5.60 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

AWK

Utilities industry group

5.60

Max: 6.35
AWK: 5.60
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

EIX

Utilities industry group

1.23

Max: 6.35
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
EIX: 1.23
Min: 0.00

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Edison (EIX) at 1.28 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while American Water Works (AWK) at 2.51 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

AWK

Utilities industry group

2.51

Max: 3.12
AWK: 2.51
Q3: 2.21
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

EIX

Utilities industry group

1.28

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
EIX: 1.28
Min: 0.34

American Water Works (AWK) vs. Edison (EIX): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for American Water Works (AWK) and Edison (EIX)
Metric	AWK	EIX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	26.00	6.31
P/S Ratio (TTM)	5.60	1.23
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.51	1.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-5.45%	-0.77%