Vistra
Vistra's revenue rose 3.0% to $17.7 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 10.8%, down from 23.7% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $1.3 billion, down 47.0%. It paid out $1.3 billion in dividends and buybacks, 101% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 2.0%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2019 to 2025, earnings per share grew 2.7% a year and net income 0.3% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 31%.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value Vistra yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Vistra's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Vistra's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $1.3B, net cash of −$18.3B at December 31, 2025 and 346 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Vistra: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 8.9% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 8%: 7% for a stable business (Electric Utilities), plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2022); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $141.73
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Vistra's earnings per share of $5.92 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 20.6×, the middle of Vistra's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Utilities median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 9%, 8% and 7%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $141.73
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- Vistra's P/E at the last close
- 23.9×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| FirstEnergyFE | $46.18 | $1.83 | 25.2× |
| VistraVST | $141.73 | $5.92 | 23.9× |
| American Electric PowerAEP | $129.22 | $6.77 | 19.1× |
| Eversource EnergyES | $67.55 | $3.86 | 17.5× |
| Edison InternationalEIX | $57.78 | $9.21 | 6.3× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,325 | 455 | 3,485 | 1,188 | 785 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 10,731 | 12,621 | 14,638 | 16,525 | 19,065 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 9,406 | 12,166 | 11,153 | 15,337 | 18,280 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 39.5x | 29.0x | 2.7x | 2.6x | 4.7x |
| Debt to equity | 1.3x | 2.6x | 2.8x | 3.0x | 3.7x |
| Interest coverage | −4.0x | −3.2x | 3.6x | 4.5x | 1.6x |
| Current ratio | 1.4x | 1.1x | 1.2x | 1.0x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 1.2x | 1.0x | 1.1x | 0.8x | — |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 1 insider bought $1.2 million of Vistra shares on the open market, and 10 insiders sold $62.3 million, $39.6 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2026 | Kristopher E. MoldovanEVP and CFO | Sold plan | 20,000 | $165.00 | $3.3 million | Form 4 |
| Oct 6, 2026 | Scott A HudsonEVP & President Vistra Retail | Sold plan | 22,222 | $160.14 | $3.6 million | Form 4 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Scott A HudsonEVP & President Vistra Retail | Sold plan | 44,444 | $151.82 | $6.7 million | Form 4 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Kristopher E. MoldovanEVP and CFO | Sold plan | 20,000 | $151.03 | $3.0 million | Form 4 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | James A BurkePresident and CEO, Director | Bought | 4,465 | $135.25 | $603,891 | Form 4 |
| Aug 31, 2026 | James A BurkePresident and CEO, Director | Bought | 2,200 | $135.99 | $299,178 | Form 4 |
| Aug 24, 2026 | James A BurkePresident and CEO, Director | Bought | 2,000 | $135.00 | $270,000 | Form 4 |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Arcilia AcostaDirector | Sold plan | 15,000 | $167.52 | $2.5 million | Form 4 |
| Jun 18, 2026 | John R SultDirector | Sold plan | 6,500 | $170.00 | $1.1 million | Form 4 |
| Jun 16, 2026 | Scott B HelmDirector | Sold plan | 25,000 | $160.00 | $4.0 million | Form 4 |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Paul M BarbasDirector | Sold plan | 244 | $153.00 | $37,332 | Form 4 |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Paul M BarbasDirector | Sold plan | 244 | $147.93 | $36,095 | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Pass | Fail |
| F-score | 6 of 8 | 6 of 8 | 4 of 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −12.1% | −5.4% | −7.9% |
Compare
Put Vistra side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vistra | FY25 | 3.0% | 10.8% | 7.4% | 7.2% | 4.7x | 4 | |
| Edison International | FY25 | 9.8% | 36.7% | −3.7% | 9.8% | 3.9x | 6 | Compare |
| FirstEnergy | FY25 | 12.0% | 14.6% | −6.7% | 4.6% | 6.8x | 5 | Compare |
| American Electric Power | FY25 | 10.9% | 24.3% | −6.9% | 6.7% | 5.6x | 7 | Compare |
| Eversource Energy | FY25 | 13.8% | 22.1% | −0.3% | 6.4% | 5.2x | 6 | Compare |
9 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||||
| Revenue | 5,430 | 9,144 | 11,809 | 11,443 | 12,077 | 13,728 | 14,779 | 17,224 | 17,738 |
| Revenue growth | — | 68.4% | 29.1% | −3.1% | 5.5% | 13.7% | 7.7% | 16.5% | 3.0% |
| Gross profit | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 198 | 491 | 1,993 | 1,519 | −1,515 | −1,177 | 2,661 | 4,081 | 1,906 |
| Net income | −254 | −54 | 928 | 636 | −1,274 | −1,227 | 1,493 | 2,659 | 944 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | −0.59 | −0.11 | 1.86 | 1.30 | −2.69 | −3.26 | 3.58 | 7.00 | 2.18 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 428 | 505 | 500 | 491 | 482 | 422 | 375 | 353 | 346 |
| Cash flow | |||||||||
| Cash from operations | 1,386 | 1,471 | 2,736 | 3,337 | −206 | 485 | 5,453 | 4,563 | 4,070 |
| Capital expenditure | 114 | 530 | 713 | 1,259 | 1,033 | 1,301 | 1,676 | 2,078 | 2,752 |
| Free cash flow | 1,272 | 941 | 2,023 | 2,078 | −1,239 | −816 | 3,777 | 2,485 | 1,318 |
| Dividends paid | 0 | 0 | 243 | 266 | 290 | 302 | 313 | 305 | 306 |
| Share buybacks | 0 | 763 | 656 | 0 | 471 | 1,949 | 1,245 | 1,266 | 1,028 |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 374 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,065 | 0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 0 | 73 | 47 | 65 | 47 | 63 | 77 | 100 | 113 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | |||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,487 | 636 | 300 | 406 | 1,325 | 455 | 3,485 | 1,188 | 785 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 4,423 | 11,065 | 10,729 | 9,330 | 10,731 | 12,621 | 14,638 | 16,525 | 19,065 |
| Total assets | 14,600 | 26,024 | 26,616 | 25,208 | 29,683 | 32,787 | 32,966 | 37,770 | 41,550 |
| Total liabilities | 8,258 | 18,157 | 18,656 | 16,847 | 21,391 | 27,869 | 27,644 | 32,187 | 36,440 |
| Shareholders' equity | 6,342 | 7,863 | 7,959 | 8,371 | 8,291 | 4,902 | 5,307 | 5,570 | 5,097 |
| Margins and ratios | |||||||||
| Gross margin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 3.6% | 5.4% | 16.9% | 13.3% | −12.5% | −8.6% | 18.0% | 23.7% | 10.8% |
| Net margin | −4.7% | −0.6% | 7.9% | 5.6% | −10.6% | −8.9% | 10.1% | 15.4% | 5.3% |
| Free cash flow margin | 23.4% | 10.3% | 17.1% | 18.2% | −10.3% | −5.9% | 25.6% | 14.4% | 7.4% |
| Return on capital | — | 2.8% | 8.3% | 6.0% | −6.8% | −5.3% | 11.8% | 17.7% | 7.2% |
| Return on equity | — | −0.8% | 11.7% | 7.8% | −15.3% | −18.6% | 29.2% | 48.9% | 17.7% |
| Return on assets | — | −0.3% | 3.5% | 2.5% | −4.6% | −3.9% | 4.5% | 7.5% | 2.4% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.3x | 5.5x | 2.9x | 2.7x | 39.5x | 29.0x | 2.7x | 2.6x | 4.7x |