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Con Edison is exactly what it looks like on the tape: a monopoly regulated utility (CECONY electric/gas/steam in NYC + Westchester, O&R, and FERC-regulated transmission) whose earnings are set by rate plans, not markets. The numbers are steady and improving — FY2025 revenue $17.0B (+10.2%), net income $2.02B (+11.2%), operating income $2.94B (+9.9%), and operating cash flow jumping 32.8% to $4.80B. The new CECONY electric/gas rate plan for January 2026–December 2028, with uncollectible-expense and late-payment reconciliation, gives multi-year revenue visibility, which is the whole reason to own a name like this. The balance sheet is utility-normal: long-term debt $25.6B against $24.2B equity (~1.05x), with equity itself up 10.1% and retained earnings building.

The problem is that quality here is capped and the price already reflects the safety. Return on equity is only 8.4% and net margin 11.9% — allowed regulated returns, not compounding-machine economics. Diluted EPS grew just 7.6% to $5.64, materially slower than net income, because share count rose 4.2% — the company issues equity to fund its heavy capex program (D&A alone was $2.32B), so per-share growth structurally lags headline growth. There were zero buybacks; the shareholder return is the dividend ($1.17B paid, +6.0%, ~58% of earnings, ~2.8% yield). At $113.99 the stock trades at 20.2x EPS and 2.4x sales — a full multiple for a business whose earnings grow high-single-digits at best and whose ROE is single-digit.