NorthWestern Corporation (NWE) Key Metrics
NWE valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $4.60B
- Enterprise value
- $7.82B
- P/E (TTM)
- 27.0 10-yr median 17.3
- Forward P/E
- 17.4
- PEG ratio
- 2.71
- Price / sales
- 2.7 10-yr median 2.2
- Price / book
- 1.5 10-yr median 1.4
- EV / EBITDA
- 13.2 10-yr median 11.8
- Dividend yield
- 3.59% $2.68 a year
- Beta
- 0.32
NWE key metrics, 2016–2025
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsNWE valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
NWE returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
NWE per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
NWE financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
NWE efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
NWE valuation history
NWE returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
NWE debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
NWE cash returned to shareholders
NWE price vs earnings per share
NWE key metrics
2016–2025| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $3.96B | $3.28B | $3.07B | $3.34B | $2.97B | $2.96B | $3.64B | $2.99B | $2.90B | $2.76B |
| Enterprise value | $7.39B | $6.38B | $5.86B | $5.96B | $5.52B | $5.38B | $5.89B | $5.10B | $5.03B | $4.87B |
| P/E ratio | 21.9 | 14.6 | 15.8 | 18.3 | 15.9 | 19.0 | 18.0 | 15.2 | 17.9 | 16.8 |
| Price / sales | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| Price / book | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Price / free cash flow | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30.5 | 61.6 | — |
| Price / operating cash flow | 10.0 | 8.1 | 6.3 | 10.9 | 13.5 | 8.4 | 12.3 | 7.8 | 9.0 | 9.5 |
| EV / sales | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| EV / EBITDA | 12.6 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 12.8 | 13.3 | 11.5 | 11.6 | 11.9 |
| EV / free cash flow | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 52.1 | 106.7 | — |
| Earnings yield | 4.6% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 5.5% | 6.3% | 5.2% | 5.6% | 6.6% | 5.6% | 6.0% |
| Free cash flow yield | −3.3% | −4.3% | −2.5% | −6.2% | −7.2% | −1.8% | −0.5% | 3.3% | 1.6% | 0.0% |
| Dividend yield | 4.1% | 4.8% | 5.0% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4.1% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 4.1% | 4.8% | 5.0% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4.1% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $64.54 | $53.46 | $50.89 | $59.34 | $57.16 | $58.31 | $71.67 | $59.44 | $59.70 | $56.87 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $26.24 | $24.67 | $23.56 | $26.25 | $26.46 | $23.64 | $24.79 | $23.73 | $26.83 | $25.94 |
| Earnings per share | $2.95 | $3.65 | $3.22 | $3.25 | $3.60 | $3.06 | $3.98 | $3.92 | $3.34 | $3.39 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $6.43 | $6.63 | $8.11 | $5.46 | $4.24 | $6.95 | $5.85 | $7.60 | $6.65 | $5.96 |
| Free cash flow per share | −$2.12 | −$2.32 | −$1.29 | −$3.69 | −$4.13 | −$1.06 | −$0.38 | $1.95 | $0.97 | $0.02 |
| Cash per share | $0.14 | $0.07 | $0.15 | $0.15 | $0.05 | $0.11 | $0.10 | $0.16 | $0.17 | $0.10 |
| Book value per share | $47.01 | $46.56 | $46.15 | $47.35 | $45.11 | $41.00 | $40.18 | $38.66 | $36.97 | $34.58 |
| Tangible book value per share | $41.02 | $40.74 | $40.22 | $40.99 | $38.21 | $33.95 | $33.13 | $31.55 | $22.27 | $19.83 |
| Dividends per share | $2.63 | $2.58 | $2.55 | $2.49 | $2.48 | $2.37 | $2.27 | $2.17 | $2.08 | $1.98 |
| Capex per share | $8.54 | $8.95 | $9.39 | $9.15 | $8.37 | $8.00 | $6.23 | $5.65 | $5.68 | $5.94 |
| Debt per share | $56.01 | $50.52 | $46.28 | $46.73 | $49.28 | $47.98 | $44.40 | $42.29 | $43.93 | $43.74 |
| Shares outstanding | 61.4M | 61.4M | 60.4M | 56.3M | 51.9M | 50.7M | 50.8M | 50.2M | 48.7M | 48.5M |
| Change in shares outstanding | +0.0% | +1.7% | +7.2% | +8.5% | +2.3% | −0.1% | +1.0% | +3.3% | +0.4% | +1.7% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 6.3% | 7.9% | 7.1% | 7.3% | 8.5% | 7.5% | 10.2% | 10.5% | 9.4% | 10.0% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 5.1% | 5.6% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 5.8% | 5.4% | 6.6% | 6.7% | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 2.2% | 2.9% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| Return on tangible assets | 2.2% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 2.6% | 3.6% | 3.7% | 3.5% | 3.4% |
| Free cash flow margin | −8.1% | −9.4% | −5.5% | −14.1% | −15.6% | −4.5% | −1.5% | 8.2% | 3.6% | 0.1% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 2.18 | 1.81 | 2.52 | 1.68 | 1.18 | 2.27 | 1.47 | 1.94 | 1.99 | 1.76 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $3.44B | $3.10B | $2.79B | $2.63B | $2.56B | $2.43B | $2.25B | $2.12B | $2.14B | $2.12B |
| Cash & short-term investments | $8.8M | $4.3M | $9.2M | $8.5M | $2.8M | $5.8M | $5.1M | $7.9M | $8.5M | $5.1M |
| Net debt | $3.43B | $3.10B | $2.78B | $2.62B | $2.55B | $2.43B | $2.25B | $2.12B | $2.13B | $2.12B |
| Debt / equity | 1.19 | 1.09 | 1.00 | 0.99 | 1.09 | 1.17 | 1.11 | 1.09 | 1.19 | 1.27 |
| Debt / assets | 0.41 | 0.39 | 0.37 | 0.36 | 0.38 | 0.38 | 0.38 | 0.38 | 0.39 | 0.39 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 5.84 | 5.39 | 5.29 | 5.49 | 5.42 | 5.77 | 5.08 | 4.76 | 4.90 | 5.15 |
| Current ratio | 0.72 | 0.52 | 0.76 | 0.87 | 1.15 | 0.66 | 0.90 | 0.80 | 0.47 | 0.46 |
| Quick ratio | 0.53 | 0.37 | 0.55 | 0.69 | 0.94 | 0.53 | 0.74 | 0.65 | 0.39 | 0.38 |
| Interest coverage | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Working capital | −$193.5M | −$384.0M | −$127.9M | −$82.0M | $58.2M | −$157.7M | −$32.7M | −$69.3M | −$335.9M | −$333.6M |
| Invested capital | $6.31B | $5.95B | $5.57B | $5.29B | $4.89B | $4.51B | $4.29B | $4.06B | $3.93B | $3.79B |
| Tangible asset value | $2.52B | $2.50B | $2.43B | $2.31B | $1.98B | $1.72B | $1.68B | $1.58B | $1.08B | $961.1M |
| Net current asset value | −$5.07B | −$4.72B | −$4.41B | −$4.11B | −$4.00B | −$4.00B | −$3.57B | −$3.42B | −$3.33B | −$3.54B |
| Graham number | $55.86 | $61.85 | $57.79 | $58.85 | $60.46 | $53.14 | $60.00 | $58.40 | $52.74 | $51.33 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$87.02 | −$80.38 | −$76.04 | −$78.28 | −$81.91 | −$81.80 | −$73.18 | −$70.60 | −$70.92 | −$75.79 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $161.4M | $158.6M | $154.1M | $140.1M | $128.5M | $120.3M | $115.1M | $109.2M | $101.3M | $95.8M |
| Share buybacks (net) | — | — | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1.4M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $561,000 |
| Dividend payout ratio | 89.1% | 70.8% | 79.4% | 76.5% | 68.8% | 77.5% | 56.9% | 55.4% | 62.2% | 58.3% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 111.4% | 214.7% | — |
| Capex / revenue | 32.6% | 36.3% | 39.9% | 34.9% | 31.6% | 33.9% | 25.1% | 23.8% | 21.2% | 22.9% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 133.0% | 135.0% | 115.9% | 167.7% | 197.4% | 115.2% | 106.5% | 74.3% | 85.4% | 99.6% |
| Capex / depreciation | 2.10 | 2.41 | 2.69 | 96.81 | 2.32 | 2.26 | 53.95 | 1.63 | 1.66 | 1.81 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| SG&A / revenue | 9.8% | 9.1% | 8.5% | 7.7% | 7.4% | 24.8% | 9.3% | 25.8% | 23.4% | 24.1% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 45.0 | 48.2 | 58.7 | 54.8 | 48.8 | 51.1 | 47.8 | 52.8 | 47.8 | 45.6 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 163.6 | 190.2 | 63.2 | 48.1 | 60.7 | 68.5 | 36.3 | 69.1 | 45.2 | 46.7 |
| Days payables outstanding | 154.6 | 189.1 | 92.8 | 81.0 | 92.5 | 117.5 | 63.6 | 115.2 | 73.1 | 70.0 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 54.0 | 49.3 | 29.1 | 21.8 | 17.1 | 2.1 | 20.5 | 6.7 | 19.8 | 22.3 |
| Receivables turnover | 8.10 | 7.57 | 6.22 | 6.66 | 7.48 | 7.14 | 7.63 | 6.92 | 7.64 | 8.01 |
| Payables turnover | 2.36 | 1.93 | 3.93 | 4.50 | 3.95 | 3.11 | 5.74 | 3.17 | 4.99 | 5.21 |
| Inventory turnover | 2.23 | 1.92 | 5.78 | 7.59 | 6.01 | 5.33 | 10.07 | 5.29 | 8.07 | 7.81 |
| Asset turnover | 0.20 | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.19 | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.24 | 0.23 |
| Average receivables | $198.8M | $200.0M | $228.6M | $221.8M | $183.4M | $167.8M | $164.9M | $172.3M | $170.9M | $157.0M |
| Average payables | $120.7M | $118.1M | $162.9M | $158.4M | $107.8M | $98.5M | $91.9M | $86.1M | $82.2M | $76.9M |
| Average inventory | $127.7M | $118.7M | $110.9M | $94.0M | $70.8M | $57.5M | $52.4M | $51.6M | $50.8M | $51.3M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 4.3% | 4.5% | 4.7% | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.6% | 6.1% | 6.3% | 13.2% | 13.0% |
Computed from NWE's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed February 12, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
NWE valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), NorthWestern traded at 21.9 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 17.3. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 27.0 and the forward P/E is 17.4. NorthWestern earned a return on equity of 6.3% and a return on invested capital of 5.1% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $3.4 billion of debt and $8.8 million in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $3.4 billion. It returned $161.4 million to shareholders: $161.4 million in dividends and $0 in share buybacks. The share count rose 26.6% from 48.5M to 61.4M over 9 years.
See the NWE income statement, the NWE chart for price history, or the NWE stock overview for the latest quote and news.
NWE key metrics FAQ
What is NorthWestern's P/E ratio?
NorthWestern's trailing P/E ratio is 27.0 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 17.4. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 21.9, compared with a 10-year median of 17.3.
What is NorthWestern's EV/EBITDA?
NorthWestern's enterprise value was 12.6 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $7.4 billion, EBITDA $587.4 million); the current EV/EBITDA is 13.2.
What is NorthWestern's return on equity?
NorthWestern's return on equity (ROE) was 6.3% in fiscal 2025: net income of $181.1 million on average shareholders' equity of $2.9 billion.
What is NorthWestern's ROIC?
NorthWestern's return on invested capital was 5.1% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does NorthWestern have?
NorthWestern had total debt of $3.4 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19 and $3.4 billion of net debt (5.84 times EBITDA).
What is NorthWestern's dividend yield?
NorthWestern's forward dividend yield is 3.59%. NorthWestern paid $161.4 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($2.63 per share), a payout ratio of 89.1%.
What is NorthWestern's free cash flow yield?
NorthWestern generated -$130.0 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of −3.3% on its market value at year-end ($4.0 billion).
What is NorthWestern's current ratio?
NorthWestern's current ratio was 0.72 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 0.72 times current liabilities.
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