At a glance
CenterPoint Energy Inc is worth $28.27B, about 27 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 8.3% to $9.36B in fiscal 2025, with 11.2% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 4.8% a year. It pays a 2.16% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 4 years, and returned $2.41B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +14.0% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +13.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 54.2% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 22.8% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 15 months and 25 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
CenterPoint Energy is a utility holding company based in Houston. Its subsidiaries deliver electricity and natural gas, and state and local regulators approve the rates they charge. It earns money mainly by building and maintaining poles, wires and pipes, then collecting rates set to cover its costs and allow a return on that investment.
The Electric segment brought in $4.87 billion in 2025, or 52% of total revenue of $9.36 billion. The largest piece is Houston Electric, which carries power across nearly all of the Houston/Galveston area. It does not sell electricity itself. Instead, it bills 67 retail electric providers, the companies that sell power to homes and businesses, for delivering electricity to about 2.86 million metered customers as of December 31, 2025. A smaller utility around Evansville, Indiana, also owns power plants, including a 191-megawatt solar project it bought in 2025.
The Natural Gas segment made up 47.9% of revenue. It delivers gas to homes and businesses in Minnesota, Texas, Indiana and Ohio. The company has been shrinking this side. It sold its Louisiana and Mississippi gas businesses for about $1.2 billion in March 2025, and in October 2025 it agreed to sell its Ohio gas business for about $2.62 billion. Electricity deliveries in Houston peak in hot months, when air conditioning drives demand.
Price history
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CNP +14.0% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Retail gas sales | $4.27B | 45.6% |
| Electric delivery | $4.11B | 43.9% |
| Retail electric sales | $736.0M | 7.9% |
| Energy products and services | $216.0M | 2.3% |
| Wholesale electric sales | $19.0M | 0.2% |
| Gas transportation | $11.0M | 0.1% |
By business segment
| Electric | $4.87B | 52% |
| Natural Gas | $4.48B | 47.9% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $2.20B, up 10.6% from a year earlier, and net income was $331.0M (+13.0%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $9.36B (+8.3% year over year; +4.8% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 11.2% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +4.8% watch |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 22.5% good |
| Free cash flow margin | -25.5% weak |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 9.4% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 2.3% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-23.12B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $7.42B | $-773.0M | $-601.0M |
| FY2021 | $8.35B | $1.49B | $-3.14B |
| FY2022 | $9.32B | $1.06B | $-2.61B |
| FY2023 | $8.70B | $917.0M | $-524.0M |
| FY2024 | $8.64B | $1.02B | $-2.37B |
| FY2025 | $9.36B | $1.05B | $-2.38B |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $28.27B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 26.7 |
| Dividend yield | 2.16% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
CenterPoint Energy’s market value went from $10.61B at the end of 2016 to $28.27B on Nov 2, 2026, about 2.7 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 13%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2026 | $28.27B | +12.9% |
| 2025 | $25.03B | +21.0% |
| 2024 | $20.68B | +14.7% |
| 2023 | $18.03B | -4.5% |
| 2022 | $18.88B | +7.6% |
| 2021 | $17.55B | +48.9% |
| 2020 | $11.79B | -13.9% |
| 2019 | $13.70B | -3.2% |
| 2018 | $14.15B | +15.7% |
| 2017 | $12.22B | +15.2% |
| 2016 | $10.61B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNP price data to Nov 2, 2026 | +13.1% | +14.0% | +18.7% | +13.0% | +10.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +13.1% |
| 2025 | +23.7% |
| 2024 | +14.3% |
| 2023 | -2.1% |
| 2022 | +10.0% |
| 2021 | +32.4% |
| 2020 | -17.9% |
| 2019 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | +3.8% |
| 2017 | +19.6% |
| 2016 | +41.0% |
| 2015 | -17.5% |
| 2014 | +5.2% |
| 2013 | +24.8% |
| 2012 | -0.2% |
| 2011 | +33.5% |
| 2010 | +14.4% |
| 2009 | +22.5% |
| 2008 | -22.6% |
| 2007 | +7.3% |
| 2006 | +34.8% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 43.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 48.9%, back to its old high 23.6 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 54.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 54.2%, back to its old high 14.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 5.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 22.8%, back to its old high 25.3 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($41K) and 0 sales ($0.00).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2026 | Laurie Lee Fitch Director | buy | $41K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. | 10.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Capital Research Global Investors | 10.1% | Jan 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 7.56% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Capital International Investors | 6.9% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.18% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 5.1% | Jun 30, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in CNP
| UTES Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF | 6.15% |
| RSPU Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF | 3.46% |
| PUI Invesco Dorsey Wright Utilities Momentum ETF | 2.84% |
| AIVL WisdomTree U.S. AI Enhanced Value Fund | 2.81% |
| NBET Neuberger Berman Energy Transition & Infrastructure ETF | 2.55% |
| CGDG Capital Group Dividend Growers ETF | 2.48% |
| PJFV PGIM Jennison Focused Value ETF | 2.37% |
| TCAF T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Equity ETF | 2.31% |
What could go wrong
- Storm outages can bring lawsuits. When Texas ran short of power in the February 2021 winter storm, Houston Electric cut service on the grid operator's orders. The company then faced lawsuits alleging wrongful death, injury and property damage.
- Houston depends on a few bill payers. Houston Electric bills retail electric providers, not households, and most of what it is owed comes from a small number of them. A late payment or default by one could hurt cash flow.
- Scrutiny over leased emergency generators. As of December 31, 2025, Houston Electric leased 519 megawatts of emergency generators. It faces allegations about how it procured and deployed them and may not fully recover their costs.
- Indiana's generation overhaul could cost more. The Indiana utility is building new power plants under a generation transition plan. Delays, rising construction costs or slow approval to recover the spending in customer rates could hurt results.
- Regulators decide what it can earn. State and local regulators must approve electric and gas rates. They can delay or deny increases, so the company may not fully recover its costs or earn its expected return.
- Big building plan depends on borrowing. Heavy investment in its networks left free cash flow negative every year from 2020 to 2025. Debt totaled $23.68 billion on September 30, 2026. Its 10-year capital plan depends on raising money on acceptable terms.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Acquisition or sale of assets completed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed; Major agreement ended; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Bylaws or fiscal year changed; Shareholder vote results
For income and retirement investors
CenterPoint paid $0.89 a share in dividends in 2025, its fourth straight yearly increase, and the yield was 2.21% as of October 28, 2026. The record has a gap: the dividend fell from about $0.74 a share in 2020 to about $0.63 in 2021. Even so, it grew about 3.8% a year from 2020 to 2025. Dividends took 54.6% of 2025 earnings. Free cash flow, the cash left after capital spending, was negative every year from 2020 to 2025, so it did not cover the dividend. The company bought back no shares from 2021 through 2025, and its share count rose 5.4% between February 2022 and October 2026.
In past downturns, the shares fell 48.9% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 24 months to recover. They fell 54.2% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 15 months. In 2022 they fell 22.8% and needed about 25 months to recover. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does CenterPoint Energy make money?
CenterPoint makes money by delivering electricity and natural gas at rates approved by regulators. In 2025, its Electric segment produced 52% of its $9.36 billion in revenue and its Natural Gas segment produced 47.9%. Its largest electric business, Houston Electric, owns the wires serving nearly all of the Houston/Galveston area. It charges retail electric providers for delivering power to about 2.86 million metered customers as of December 31, 2025. CenterPoint also runs gas utilities in Minnesota, Texas, Indiana and Ohio, plus an electric utility around Evansville, Indiana.
Does CenterPoint Energy raise its dividend every year?
No, not every year. CenterPoint raised its dividend four years in a row through 2025, when it paid $0.89 a share, up from $0.83 in 2024. It has not always raised it, though: dividends per share fell from about $0.74 in 2020 to about $0.63 in 2021. From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew about 3.8% a year overall. That growth rate includes the drop.
What is CenterPoint Energy's dividend yield?
CenterPoint's dividend yield was 2.21% as of October 28, 2026. The yield is the yearly dividend divided by the share price, so it moves as the price changes. The company paid $0.89 a share in 2025, and dividends used 54.6% of that year's earnings. On the same date the shares traded at about 26 times 2025 earnings, and the stock market valued the company at about $27.6 billion.
How much debt does CenterPoint Energy have?
CenterPoint had $23.68 billion of total debt and $557 million of cash and investments as of September 30, 2026, against $11.74 billion of shareholders' equity. Utilities often carry heavy debt because they borrow to build networks and recover the cost through rates over many years. But CenterPoint's free cash flow was negative every year from 2020 to 2025, so it depends on financing markets. Its annual report warns that if it cannot raise money on acceptable terms, it may have less to spend on its networks and on refinancing debt.
Is CenterPoint Energy selling its Ohio gas business?
Yes. In October 2025, CenterPoint agreed to sell its Ohio natural gas utility for about $2.62 billion. That is $1.42 billion in cash at closing, subject to adjustments, plus a $1.2 billion promissory note (an IOU) from the buyer, payable within 364 days. Its annual report, filed February 19, 2026, said the deal was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Earlier, in March 2025, it sold its Louisiana and Mississippi gas businesses for about $1.2 billion.