Company Overview
Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte Sociedad Anónima engages in the distribution and sale of electricity within the Argentine market, serving as a critical infrastructure provider for regional power needs. The company operates within the Utilities sector, specifically classified under the industry of Utilities - Regulated Electric, which implies a business model subject to government oversight and regulation regarding rates and service obligations. EDN holds a market capitalization of $1.35B and reports an annual revenue of $2.99T over the trailing twelve months, while the employee count is not disclosed in available records. These financial figures indicate a substantial operational scale, with revenue figures in the trillions suggesting either a specific accounting methodology or a data anomaly regarding the entity's reported size relative to its modest market capitalization. The significant disparity between the reported revenue and the market cap further contextualizes the company's position as a large-scale utility operation that may face specific regulatory or reporting constraints affecting its valuation metrics.
Financial Health
The company reports a revenue of $2.99T for the trailing twelve months, generating a net income of $239.24B and an EBITDA of $352.73B. The substantial gap between the revenue of $2.99T and the net income of $239.24B reveals a gross margin structure where operating costs, including cost of goods sold and overhead, consume the majority of revenue before reaching the bottom line, leaving a profit margin of 8.0%. The free cash flow stands at $-571,696,742,400, indicating that the company is currently consuming cash to maintain operations or fund capital expenditures rather than generating excess liquidity for shareholders. This negative cash flow suggests a capital-intensive nature typical of utility firms, requiring significant ongoing investment in infrastructure maintenance and expansion. The balance sheet displays a cash position of $813.96B against total debt of $1.19T, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.66. While the company holds significant cash reserves, the debt level exceeds cash holdings, suggesting a leveraged balance sheet where the entity relies on external financing to support its asset base. The current ratio of 1.07 indicates that the company possesses slightly more current assets than current liabilities, signaling a marginally comfortable short-term liquidity position that allows it to meet obligations as they come due. Return on Equity stands at 11.4%, demonstrating that the company generates a meaningful return on the equity invested by shareholders, while the Return on Assets is 1.7%, which reflects the capital-intensive nature of the utility business where a large asset base is required to generate the observed earnings.
Valuation Assessment
The trailing twelve-month P/E ratio is 7.23, whereas the forward P/E is 842.65, a stark difference that implies a significant disconnect between current earnings performance and future earnings expectations or a data irregularity in the forward projection. The price-to-book ratio is 15.76, indicating that the market values the company's equity at a substantial premium over its net book value, potentially reflecting expectations of future growth or regulatory asset valuation adjustments. The price-to-sales ratio is reported as 0.00, and the EV/EBITDA multiple is 1.11, suggesting that the company is trading at a very low multiple of enterprise value relative to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The stock has traded between a 52-week low of $14.38 and a 52-week high of $38.10. To determine the current price position relative to this range, one must note that without a specific current share price provided in the facts, the exact percentage below the high cannot be calculated, but the range defines the recent volatility corridor for the stock. The beta value is 0.45, which indicates that the stock's price volatility is significantly lower than the broader market, suggesting it behaves more like a defensive asset that moves less than half as much as the market index during periods of fluctuation.
Growth & Income
Revenue growth year over year is 5.6%, while earnings growth year over year is 858.4%, indicating that earnings are growing at a pace vastly faster than revenue, which often implies leverage effects, non-recurring income items, or significant adjustments in cost structures. The company does not pay dividends, as evidenced by a dividend yield of N/A and a payout ratio of 0.0%, meaning the company retains all of its earnings to reinvest into the business, pay down debt, or fund capital projects rather than distributing cash to shareholders. This reinvestment strategy aligns with the capital-intensive requirements of the regulated electric utility industry, where continuous investment in grid infrastructure is necessary to maintain service levels. Overall, the growth and income profile is characterized by high earnings expansion relative to revenue and a zero-dividend policy that prioritizes balance sheet management and operational reinvestment over immediate income distribution to investors.