Spire Inc. SR benefits from investments in strengthening and extending its operations, allowing it to fulfill rising demand from an increasing consumer base. The company’s use of technology enhances operational efficiency, reduces costs and improves service quality.
However, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company faces risks related to its dependence on suppliers’ performance and stringent laws.
SR plans to invest $875 million in fiscal 2025, up from the prior guidance of $840 million. The capital plan emphasizes reliability, new service connections and completion of Spire Missouri’s advanced meter installations. Spire projects $7.4 billion in capital investments over the next 10 years. SR expects these systematic investments to support 7-8% long-term rate base growth.
Spire is advancing the deployment of ultrasonic meters across its utilities to improve customer experience. In fiscal 2024, SR installed more than 350,000 advanced meters, increasing the total number of customers benefiting from this technology to 850,000.
Spire is expanding its customer base through acquisitions, enabling it to extend its geographic reach and enhance its existing infrastructure. In July 2025, the company signed an agreement with Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, to acquire its Tennessee local distribution business for $2.48 billion. The deal adds nearly 3,800 miles of distribution and transmission pipelines and expands Spire’s footprint into the Nashville metro area, one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States.
The supply of natural gas to Spire Marketing customers relies on supplier performance and the capacity of pipeline and storage operators to meet delivery obligations. Spire’s Midstream segment also depends on third-party pipelines and facilities for distribution. Any disruption in supplier performance or delivery capacity could negatively impact the company’s financial results.
Spire’s operations are subject to extensive environmental regulations. Compliance increases operating costs, while noncompliance could lead to loss of permits and licenses, fines, penalties, or operational disruptions. Such charges may materially affect the company’s profitability.
In the past year, SR shares have rallied 17.6% compared with the industry’s rise of 9.2%.
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Some better-ranked stocks from the same sector are Sempra Energy SRE, Northwest Natural NWN and IDACORP, Inc. IDA, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SRE’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 7.9%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 0.56% in the last four quarters.
NWN delivered an average earnings surprise of 33.20% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 revenues is pegged at $1.32 billion, which implies a rise of 14.4%.
IDA’s long-term earnings growth rate is 8.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 revenues stands at $1.85 billion, which indicates a year-over-year improvement of 1.6%.