CMS ENERGY CORP (CMS)

Price—Loading quote

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look reasonably priced, but only if planned growth offsets heavy financing needs.

At $71.11, the shares cost about 18.4 times the midpoint of 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $3.83-$3.90 a share, and 17.2 times the 2027 midpoint of $4.08-$4.17. Adjusted earnings remove selected unusual items, so actual reported results can differ. The $2.28 annual dividend yields roughly 3.2%. Those figures are neither obvious bargains nor extreme for a regulated utility promising 6%-8% yearly earnings growth. Given the debt and dilution risks below, the evidence supports Fair-priced, not a wider margin-of-safety verdict.

Big pictureEarnings are durable, while the investment program consumes more cash than operations produce.

Reported diluted earnings per share rose from $2.64 in 2020 to $3.53 in 2025, about 6% annually, while operating cash reached $2.24 billion in 2025. However, 2026's first half produced $1.33 billion of operating cash against $2.01 billion of capital spending. That implies roughly negative $679 million of free cash flow, meaning cash left after running and investing in the business. Weather and storms still move quarters: second-quarter earnings fell to $0.37 a share from $0.66, although full-year guidance remained intact.

Business strengthRegulated earnings provide stability, but rising debt and new shares weaken protection for owners.

At June 2026, CMS carried $19.04 billion of debt and only $241 million of cash; debt had risen from $16.39 billion at December 2024. First-half investment therefore depended partly on financing. Shares outstanding climbed from 288.9 million in 2020 to 313.6 million, an 8.6% increase, including 4.8% in the latest year. Management planned about $700 million of 2026 equity issuance and had completed roughly $495 million by July. Regulated utility earnings and a maintained dividend help, but creditors and new shares claim much of the growth.

What could change the storyBetter rate approvals or large new customers could lift value; rejection or overruns could hurt.

The strongest bull case is converting a roughly 9-gigawatt economic-development pipeline into long contracts: management estimates each 1 gigawatt of new load could support $2-$5 billion of investment while spreading costs across more sales. The bear case is that regulators approve too little of the $481 million electric-rate request, slowing recovery of the $24 billion 2026-2030 utility plan as financing costs rise. NorthStar's exit should cut more than $500 million of funding needs through 2030. At today's price, investors still need near-high-end guidance and continued 6%-8% growth.

$71.11 price considered

AI: News

Quarterly earnings slowedSecond-quarter profit fell sharply, but unchanged full-year guidance kept the longer-term plan intact.

On July 28, 2026, CMS reported second-quarter earnings of $0.37 a share, down from $0.66 a year earlier; adjusted earnings also fell to $0.37 from $0.71. First-half adjusted earnings were $1.50 versus $1.73. Management nevertheless reaffirmed 2026 adjusted guidance of $3.83-$3.90, with confidence near the upper end, and introduced 2027 guidance of $4.08-$4.17. The guidance implies that management expects stronger contributions during the second half.

NorthStar retreatCMS is leaving non-utility renewable development to reduce funding pressure and focus on regulated operations.

Announced July 28, 2026, the restructuring retains Dearborn Industrial Generation, gas peakers and four Michigan solar projects totaling about 0.5 gigawatts, while exiting other renewable development by year-end. Management expects nearly all earnings to come from regulated utilities after 2027 and says the shift will reduce planned parent-company debt and equity needs by more than $500 million through 2030. That should lower financing risk, although sale proceeds, exit costs and final transaction values remain uncertain.

Large rate requestConsumers Energy asked for higher electric rates to fund reliability work, creating both growth and approval risk.

On June 2, 2026, Consumers Energy filed for a $481 million total increase, including a $25 million surcharge, mainly to recover distribution-reliability investment. The request assumes a 10.25% return on shareholders' utility investment, up from 9.9%, and a $17.98 billion rate base, the asset pool on which regulators allow earnings. A decision is due by April 2, 2027. Approval would support cash recovery; a material cut would raise outside-financing needs or slow the buildout.

Revenue

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2025

Net income

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2025

Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

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2025

Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008
Revenue	$8.30B	$7.32B	$7.26B	$8.32B	$7.08B	$6.24B	$6.40B	$6.50B	$6.58B	$6.40B	$6.46B	$7.18B	$6.57B	$6.25B	$6.50B	$6.43B	$6.21B	$6.81B
Operating expenses	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	$6.03B	$5.42B	$5.25B	$5.50B	$5.45B	$5.51B	$6.01B
Operating income	$1.73B	$1.49B	$1.24B	$1.22B	$1.15B	$1.23B	$1.11B	$1.16B	$1.34B	$1.26B	$1.18B	$1.15B	$1.14B	$1.00B	$1.00B	$978.0M	$698.0M	$794.0M
EBITDAderived	$3.03B	$2.73B	$2.42B	$2.35B	$2.26B	$2.27B	$2.10B	$2.10B	$2.22B	$2.07B	$1.93B	$1.84B	$1.77B	$1.60B	$1.55B	$1.55B	$1.27B	$1.38B
Net income	$1.07B	$1.00B	$887.0M	$837.0M	$1.35B	$755.0M	$680.0M	$657.0M	$460.0M	$551.0M	$523.0M	$477.0M	$452.0M	$382.0M	$415.0M	$340.0M	$229.0M	$295.0M
Basic EPSper diluted share	$3.53	$3.34	$3.01	$2.85	$4.66	$2.65	$2.40	$2.33	$1.64	$1.99	$1.90	$1.76	$1.71	$1.46	$1.66	$1.40	$0.96	$1.25
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$3.53	$3.33	$3.01	$2.85	$4.66	$2.64	$2.39	$2.32	$1.64	$1.98	$1.89	$1.74	$1.66	$1.42	$1.58	$1.28	$0.91	$1.20

Review source filings at SEC.gov ↗

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys1$153.4K disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)20$5.98M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
May 26, 2026Form 4	Hofmeister Brandon J.Senior Vice President	SellCommon Stock	3.0K	$74.31	$222.9K	67.1K
Mar 2, 2026Form 4	McIntosh Scott BVP, Controller, CAO	SellCommon Stock	1.8K	$78.21	$136.9K	24.2K
Feb 27, 2026Form 4	Hofmeister Brandon J.Senior Vice President	SellCommon Stock	4.0K	$78.24	$313.0K	70.7K
Feb 25, 2026Form 4	Leopold DianeDirector	BuyCommon Stock	2.0K	$76.70	$153.4K	2.8K
Feb 20, 2026Form 4	RUSSELL JOHN GDirector	SellCommon Stock	14.9K	$75.76	$1.13M	131.6K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

CMS ENERGY CORP (CMS)

Financial charts

Financial statements

Insider buys & sells