Forensic Analysis · Electric Utilities · as of Nov 7, 2026
NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG)
A forensic read on NRG Energy, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
C · Mixed — selective
Forensic grade
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
41.5%
ROE
9.2%
Revenue growth
This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.
NRG Energy, Inc. earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.
What the filings flag
225% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns.Returned $1.7B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 225% of free cash flow. That is $956M (125%) more than free cash flow covered. New debt covered it: total debt rose $5.6B over FY2025, while cash rose $3.7B. A payout past free cash flow draws the balance sheet down in every year it continues, which isn't sustainable indefinitely. Counting the $134M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 242%.
8.9%
FY2025
Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 8.9% in the latest fiscal year, against 1.8% in FY2023, having run between 1.8% and 11.8% across FY2023–FY2025 with no direction held. After-tax operating profit was $303M in FY2023 and $1.4B in FY2025, with operating income at 1.3% of revenue in FY2023, 8.6% in FY2024 and 6.0% in FY2025. The capital base behind it went from $16.6B in FY2023 to $15.8B in FY2025 (-5%), while the revenue it carried went from $28.8B to $30.7B.
$15M
FY2024
Goodwill impairments.Took $15M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2024 ($15M)) — about 1% of net income over the span. Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$30.71B
Revenue Growth YoY+9.2%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+3.2%
Net Margin2.8%
Free Cash Flow$766.0M
Return on Equity41.5%
Debt / Equity9.78x
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from NRG Energy, Inc.'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?