Avista CorpAVA

Avista Corporation’s latest 10-Q shows a $92 million net profit on $570 million in revenues for the quarter ended 31 March 2026, delivering earnings per share of $1.11 on 82.4 million diluted shares. Operating income clocked in at $134 million while cash and cash equivalents sat at just $18 million, a figure that sits awkwardly next to $179 million in operating cash flow for the same period. The company also reported $241 million in inventory, up $5 million from the prior quarter, which is either a sign of prudent stockpiling or a clue that demand is not quite matching the hype. Assets totalled $8.41 billion against liabilities of $5.63 billion, leaving shareholders’ equity at $2.78 billion.

Avista is an integrated energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas across the Pacific Northwest, with a public service mandate that stretches back to the 19th century. Its core business is building and maintaining wires, pipes and power plants, then billing customers for the privilege. The company likes to remind readers it has served large load energy customers for ‘over 137 years,’ which is true if you include the entire history of electrification; less true if you measure the company’s ability to keep cash on hand.

The balance sheet numbers are filed in the 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 March 2026 and are taken directly from the company’s SEC EDGAR submission. The weighted average diluted share count is 82.4 million, and the inventory increase of $5 million is reported in the same filing. The company’s cash position is explicitly stated as $18 million and is not a rounding error.

Avista’s customer mix is quietly shifting toward data centres and other high-load industrial users, a trend that surfaces in an 8-K filed on 2 June 2026. The document details a non-binding memorandum of understanding with a developer seeking an initial 125 MW load starting in 2029, with a pathway to 500 MW by 2032, subject to regulatory review and definitive agreements. The optics look modern, but the underlying contract remains aspirational. A subsequent press release on 12 June 2026 notes the company paused processing the request while seeking ‘broader policy and community alignment,’ a phrase that reads like corporate caution rather than enthusiasm.

The company’s employee 401(k) plan, documented in the 11-K filed 26 June 2026, shows how Avista routes retirement savings through its own structure, with expenses paid by the plan and deducted in the statements of changes in net assets. The plan dates back to 1984 and remains a fixture of employee benefits, even as the parent company’s cash balance flickers.

The 8-K filed on 20 May 2026 summarises the outcome of four shareholder proposals put to a vote at the 2026 annual meeting. Three were approved; one failed to reach the 80 percent threshold required by the company’s governance rules, a detail that underscores the limits of shareholder democracy at a utility where the lights must stay on regardless of proxy outcomes.

For a deeper look at Avista’s operating cash flow and capital spending, see the 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 March 2026, which reports $179 million in operating cash flow and $150 million in capex for the period. The gap between operating cash flow and capex is the reality behind the glossy slide decks. The company’s cash conversion cycle remains the story, not the headline.