At a glance
NRG Energy Inc. is worth $19.89B, about 24 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 9.2% to $30.71B in fiscal 2025, with 2.8% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 27.6% a year. It pays a 2.49% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 6 years, and returned $5.89B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −44.0% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +22.2% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 44.2% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 24.0% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 10 months and 16 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
NRG Energy supplies electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses across North America, and offers smart-home security and automation through Vivint. Its 2025 annual report counts about 8 million residential customers: roughly 6 million energy customers, under brands such as Reliant, Direct Energy and Green Mountain Energy, and 2 million smart-home customers. It also serves large businesses, data centers and wholesale customers. Its retail brands have the largest share of competitively served home electricity customers in Texas.
Its profit depends on charging customers more than it costs to produce or obtain that energy. As of December 31, 2025, NRG owned about 12 gigawatts of generating capacity (maximum output) at 23 plants, mostly gas and coal and mostly in Texas. There, its plants supply part of its retail customers' needs, which the company says steadies earnings. In the East and West, capacity payments for keeping plants available add revenue. On January 30, 2026, it completed the LSP Portfolio acquisition: 18 gas-fired and dual-fuel (gas or oil) plants totaling about 13 gigawatts in nine states, plus CPower, a demand-response business that pays energy users to cut back at peak times.
Revenue reached $30.7 billion in 2025. The East segment provided 46%, Texas 36%, West/Other (which includes Canada) 10%, and Vivint Smart Home 7%.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
NRG -44.0% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| East | $14.26B | 46.4% |
| Texas | $11.14B | 36.3% |
| West/Other | $3.18B | 10.4% |
| Vivint Smart Home | $2.14B | 7% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $7.48B, up 11% from a year earlier, and net income was $506.0M.
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $30.71B (+9.2% year over year; +27.6% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 2.8% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +27.6% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 6% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.5% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 51.4% (lifted by a small equity base, often the result of years of buybacks) good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 3% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-23.23B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $9.09B | $510.0M | $1.61B |
| FY2021 | $26.99B | $2.19B | $224.0M |
| FY2022 | $31.54B | $1.22B | $-7.0M |
| FY2023 | $28.82B | $-202.0M | $-819.0M |
| FY2024 | $28.13B | $1.13B | $1.83B |
| FY2025 | $30.71B | $864.0M | $766.0M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $19.89B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 23.6 |
| Dividend yield | 2.49% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
NRG Energy’s market value went from $3.87B at the end of 2016 to $19.89B on Nov 2, 2026, about 5.1 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 35%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2026 | $19.89B | -34.8% |
| 2025 | $30.52B | +67.0% |
| 2024 | $18.28B | +56.6% |
| 2023 | $11.67B | +59.2% |
| 2022 | $7.33B | -30.5% |
| 2021 | $10.55B | +15.0% |
| 2020 | $9.17B | -8.3% |
| 2019 | $10.00B | -12.9% |
| 2018 | $11.48B | +27.3% |
| 2017 | $9.02B | +133.2% |
| 2016 | $3.87B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRG price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -39.7% | -44.0% | +30.2% | +22.2% | +28.0% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -39.7% |
| 2025 | +78.9% |
| 2024 | +78.7% |
| 2023 | +69.3% |
| 2022 | -23.5% |
| 2021 | +18.6% |
| 2020 | -2.1% |
| 2019 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | +39.6% |
| 2017 | +133.7% |
| 2016 | +6.5% |
| 2015 | -55.0% |
| 2014 | -4.5% |
| 2013 | +27.0% |
| 2012 | +28.0% |
| 2011 | -7.3% |
| 2010 | -17.2% |
| 2009 | +1.2% |
| 2008 | -46.2% |
| 2007 | +54.8% |
| 2006 | +18.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 60.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 67.7%, back to its old high 122.1 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 43.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 44.2%, back to its old high 9.7 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 4.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 24%, back to its old high 15.5 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 3 sales ($4.3M), 3 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2026 | Virginia Kinney Exec VP, Chief Admin Officer | sell (plan) | $2.6M |
| Jul 15, 2026 | Virginia Kinney Exec VP, Chief Admin Officer | sell (plan) | $1.6M |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Gerald Alfred Spencer SVP & Chief Accounting Officer | sell (plan) | $191K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 7.7% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| FMR LLC | 7.6% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Franklin Templeton, Inc. | 7.4% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 7.38% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Franklin Resources, Inc. | 6.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.3% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Lightning Power Holdings, LLC | 3.82% | Mar 4, 2026 |
| THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. | 3.1% | Jun 30, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in NRG
| TEKX SPDR Galaxy Transformative Tech Accelerators ETF | 4.67% |
| FXU First Trust Utilities AlphaDEX Fund | 4.31% |
| DIVZ Opal Dividend Income ETF | 3.72% |
| GLRY Inspire Momentum ETF | 3.11% |
| PUI Invesco Dorsey Wright Utilities Momentum ETF | 2.88% |
| NEWZ StockSnips AI-Powered Sentiment US All Cap ETF | 2.82% |
| DVLU First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Value ETF | 2.62% |
| BUL Pacer US Cash Cows Growth ETF | 2.51% |
What could go wrong
- Absorbing a 13-gigawatt acquisition. The LSP Portfolio, acquired January 30, 2026, adds 18 gas-fired and dual-fuel plants in nine states and a demand-response platform. Integration trouble, unknown liabilities or staff losses could raise costs and shrink expected benefits.
- Volatile power and gas prices. Electricity must be produced as it is used, so prices can spike with weather and outages. That can squeeze margins on fixed-price retail plans, and NRG's hedges (price-locking contracts) can also lose money.
- Heavy debt and senior preferred stock. Debt was $23.4 billion against $162 million of cash and investments as of June 30, 2026. That could limit payouts and raise costs if interest rates climb, and missed preferred dividends would block common dividends.
- Data center demand may fall short. NRG is developing plants for rising demand from data centers, other large users and electrification. If demand falls short, or projects run late or over budget, it may not recover its investment.
- Smart-home sales practices and FTC oversight. Vivint Smart Home is working through an FTC (Federal Trade Commission) settlement process and could face further FTC action. NRG can also be held liable for employees' sales practices and installation damage.
- Plant outages and fuel disruptions. Its plants, mostly gas and coal, can break down or lose fuel supply in extreme weather. NRG relies on pipelines and power lines it does not own, and insurance may not cover every loss.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
NRG has raised its regular dividend six years in a row through 2025, from $1.20 per share in 2020 to $1.76, about 8% a year. Dividends paid in 2025 used 47.6% of net income and 53.7% of free cash flow (cash left after operating costs and plant spending). The yield was 1.94% as of October 28, 2026. NRG spends more on buybacks (repurchasing its own shares): $4.04 billion from 2021 through 2025, versus $1.85 billion in dividends. Its share count fell 14.1% between August 2021 and July 2026. Free cash flow was negative in 2022 and 2023, and missing a preferred dividend would block common dividends.
The shares fell 67.7% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 122 months to recover. They dropped 44.2% in the 2020 COVID crash and 24% in the 2022 bear market, and were down 43.2% over the year to October 28, 2026. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does NRG Energy make money?
NRG makes most of its money supplying electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses, backed by power plants it owns, mainly in Texas. Its brands include Reliant, Direct Energy and Green Mountain Energy. It also earns capacity payments for keeping plants available in the East and West. It also runs Vivint, a smart-home security and automation business. Of $30.7 billion in 2025 revenue, the East segment provided 46%, Texas 36%, West/Other 10% and Vivint Smart Home 7%.
Is NRG Energy a utility stock?
Not in the traditional sense. NRG is classified under electric services, but it does not own the transmission and distribution lines that deliver power, and it competes for customers in open, competitive markets. Regulated utilities typically earn returns approved by regulators. NRG's profits depend more on power and gas prices, weather and competition. Over the year to October 28, 2026, its beta (a gauge of price swings relative to the market) was 1.35, meaning it tended to swing more than the market.
Does NRG Energy raise its dividend every year?
NRG has raised its regular dividend six years in a row through 2025. Dividends per share grew from $1.20 in 2020 to $1.76 in 2025, about 8% a year. Dividends paid in 2025 equaled 47.6% of net income and 53.7% of free cash flow (cash left after operating costs and plant spending). The yield was 1.94% as of October 28, 2026. From 2021 through 2025, NRG spent more on buybacks than on dividends. It cannot pay common dividends if it misses a preferred stock dividend.
How much debt does NRG Energy have?
About $23.4 billion of total debt as of June 30, 2026, against $162 million of cash and investments and $4.9 billion of shareholders' equity (assets minus liabilities). That debt was larger than NRG's stock market value of about $20.4 billion as of October 28, 2026. The company warns that its debt could limit its ability to raise capital or return cash to shareholders, and could raise its costs if interest rates rise.
How has NRG stock performed over the long run?
Strongly over ten years, with deep drops along the way. As of October 28, 2026, the shares' price return was 27.7% a year over ten years and 22% a year over five. They rose about 69% in 2023 and 79% in both 2024 and 2025, then fell 38.5% in 2026 through October 28. The stock lost 67.7% in the 2008 financial crisis and took just over ten years to recover.