Global Water Resources, Inc. GWRS
Global Water Resources remains a hold: FY2025 revenue of $55.76M grew 5.8% YoY, but the gross margin collapsed from 73.95% to 44.86% and net income fell from $5.79M to $2.96M, leaving the stock at a P/E of 82.77 versus a peer median of 18.74 — a valuation that demands earnings recovery not yet evident in Q2 2026 results ($0.04 EPS versus $0.06 a year ago). The bull case rests on very strong insider conviction — 24-month net buying of $30.56M including Levine's $5.77M open-market purchase on 2026-08-20 — and the regulated Phoenix water utility's rate-base growth optionality, but FCF of -$47.15M on $67.32M of capex and $138.29M of debt mean the balance sheet cannot absorb further rate-recovery delays indefinitely.
With RSI at 68.94 and the stock at $9.13 above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, much of the recovery narrative is already priced in.
What could go wrong
- Gross margin collapse is structural. FY2025 gross margin of 44.86% versus 73.95% in FY2024 and 76.11% in FY2023 could reflect permanent cost inflation or regulatory disallowance rather than transient timing, which would invalidate the recovery thesis embedded in the P/E of 82.77.
- Balance sheet stress from negative FCF. FY2025 FCF of -$47.15M driven by $67.32M in capex against operating cash flow of $20.17M, with total debt of $138.29M versus equity of $86.62M, creates refinancing risk if rate-base conversions and cost recovery lag.
- Valuation compression. At a P/E of 82.77 versus the peer median of 18.74, any disappointment in rate-case outcomes or margin recovery could trigger a sharp de-rating, particularly with RSI at 68.94 indicating overbought conditions.
- Minimal institutional support. Smart money score of 0.0001 with only 23 funds as of 2026-06-30 suggests little professional sponsorship; the rally has been driven by insider and retail flows rather than institutional conviction.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: FMP FY2025 fundamentals; derived_metrics revenue_growth_yoy 0.0582 · derived_metrics FY2024 gross_margin 0.7395, FY2025 gross_margin 0.4486 · FMP fundamentals FY2024 net_income $5,789,000; FY2025 net_income $2,957,000 · peer_relative pe 82.77425204, peer_median_pe 18.73770492. Orin's read on GWRS; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All GWRS filings| Form | Filed | What it says | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-K | 31 Aug | Global Water Resources, Inc. | read |
| 13D/A | 24 Aug | Levine Investments Limited Partnership acquired 651,618 shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. | read |
| 13D/A | 24 Aug | Andrew M. Cohn and Amy Cohn acquired 139,343 shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. common stock for $1,233,185.55 on August 20, 2026. This acquisition brings their total… | read |
| 8-K | 21 Aug | Global Water Resources, Inc. | read |
| 10-Q | 13 Aug | Global Water Resources, Inc. | read |
| 8-K | 13 Aug | Global Water Resources, Inc. | read |
| 8-K | 18 May | Global Water Resources, Inc. | read |
| 10-Q | 13 May | Global Water Resources, Inc. | read |
Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Capital Management | $4.4M | 0.0% of fund |
| Geode Capital Management | $2.7M | 0.0% of fund |
| Wells Fargo & Company/Mn | $2.4M | 0.0% of fund |
| State Street | $1.9M | 0.0% of fund |
| Aqr Capital Management | $1.5M | 0.0% of fund |
| Morgan Stanley | $1.5M | 0.0% of fund |
25 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 485 Form 4 filings, net $30.6M. Of the 50 on hand, 2 were open-market purchases and 0 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about GWRS
Orin answers questions about GWRS from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 73.3× | — | 25.9× |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.3× | — | — |
| P/S | 3.87× | — | — |
| P/B | 2.7× | — | — |
What Wall Street published
$13
$13 – $13 · +55% against today's price
- 2 buy or overweight
- 2 hold
- 0 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GWRSGlobal Water Resources, Inc. | $232M | 73.3× | 13.3× | 64.8% | 5.2% | 4% |
| CDZICadiz Inc. | $321M | — | — | 27.1% | -310.9% | -207% |
| PCYOPure Cycle Corporation | $265M | 18.0× | 13.6× | 57.8% | 43.7% | 10% |
| YORWThe York Water Company | $501M | 19.2× | 18.7× | -282.9% | 401.0% | 9% |
The median is of the 2 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 293.4% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.