Essential Utilities is a regulated utility holding company that provides water, wastewater, and natural gas distribution services to roughly 5.5 million people across nine states. Water and wastewater services operate under the Aqua brand across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, and Virginia. Natural gas distribution operates under the Peoples brand, serving roughly 747,000 customers in western Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The Regulated Water segment generates roughly 54% of revenue, and the Regulated Natural Gas segment generates roughly 45%. As a regulated utility, Essential earns a return on capital invested in infrastructure, with rates set by state utility commissions. Essential invests capital to build and upgrade infrastructure, growing its rate base, then files rate cases to recover costs and earn a regulated return. Infrastructure surcharges and riders reduce regulatory lag between investment and recovery. Essential targets roughly $1.7B in regulated infrastructure investment in 2026, part of an ~$8.7B five-year capital plan through 2030, driving expected rate base growth of ~8% annually. Acquisitions of municipal water and wastewater systems are a secondary growth driver — the U.S. water industry is highly fragmented, and Essential acquires government-owned systems, adding them to its rate base. Texas is Essential's fastest-growing water market organically. The Peoples gas segment has a long-term pipeline replacement program with ~$3B in capital approved through 2030. In October 2025, Essential entered a merger agreement with American Water Works, with closing expected by end of Q1 2027.