Share count
297Mpeak FY2024
← All companies ← SY Manual TAK → ← SOMN Electric Utilities TLN →
TAC, TransAlta Corporation
TransAlta maintains the flexibility to return the mothballed unit to service when market fundamentals or contracting opportunities are secured.
The Tolling Agreement provides a fixed-price capacity payment that provides PSE the exclusive right to the capacity, energy and ancillary service attributes of, as well as the dispatch rights to, the 700 MW facility.
Demand Transmission Service Contract On Oct. 3, 2025, we entered into a 230 MW Demand Transmission Service Contract with the AESO, representing the full allocation awarded to us through Phase I of the AESO's Data Centre Large Load Integration Program.
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
Revenue · FY2025
C$2.4B
−15.5% YoY · 3% 5-yr CAGR
Vital signs · TTM, with 5-yr average
Revenue C$2.4B 5-yr avg C$2.9B
Gross margin 60%
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What it is
- Revenue is led by Power and other (42%) and Merchant Revenue (37%), with 3 more lines behind.
- Situation
- Regulated utility. Returns are set by regulation on an approved rate base; the capital spending regulators approve becomes the growth, recovered through allowed rates. Unprofitable. No sustained operating profit across the record; an earnings multiple has nothing to rest on. What the record does show is revenue, the gross-margin trajectory, and the burn against the cash on hand. Cyclical. Margins collapse and recover repeatedly across the record; a single year, good or bad, misstates the through-cycle earning power.
- What moves the needle
- Gross margin has run about 54% and operating margin about 7.1% through the cycle, a wide spread between price and the cost of what it sells — whether that advantage is durable pricing power or a margin that can erode is the question the record is for. The margin is cyclical, swinging between −8.8% and 32% over the years, so the through-cycle figure carries more than any single year — and the balance sheet at the trough more than the peak. Capital spending runs about 15% of sales, below what it charges for depreciation, so the return earned on what it sinks into that plant weighs as much as the margin. Read this kind of business on rate base and the allowed return. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on pricing power & competition, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has rarely cleared the cost of capital (median 5%, above 15% in 1 of 7 years). By owner earnings: roughly 17% of revenue reaches owners as cash, consistently, and customers and suppliers fund the business through negative working capital. The cycle and the balance sheet decide this one; the worst year tells more than the median, and the rest is in the 10-K.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
Where the money comes from
read the 20-F →Revenue spreads across 5 lines, the largest Power and other at 42%.
Revenue by product line, FY2025
- Power and other42%C$999M
- Merchant Revenue37%C$900M
- Derivatives Income14%C$331M
- Environmental and tax attributes5%C$119M
- Other2%C$56M
By geographyCanada73%United States21%Western Australia6%
From the segment footnote of the company's own 20-F. Shares are of total revenue; the profit bar shows each segment's share of segment operating profit, before unallocated corporate costs.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2016–2025
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2016’16 | 2017’17 | 2018’18 | 2019’19 | 2020’20 | 2021’21 | 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | 2025’25 | TTMTTMDec 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||||||
| C$2.4B | C$2.3B | C$2.2B | C$2.3B | C$2.1B | C$2.7B | C$3.0B | C$3.4B | C$2.8B | C$2.4B | C$2.4B | RevenueRevenue |
| 60% | 56% | 51% | 54% | 54% | — | — | — | — | — | 60% | Gross marginGross mgn |
| C$478M | C$138M | C$160M | C$335M | (C$99M) | (C$239M) | C$531M | C$1.1B | C$585M | C$140M | C$140M | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| 19.9% | 6.0% | 7.1% | 14.3% | −4.7% | −8.8% | 17.8% | 32.5% | 20.6% | 5.8% | 5.8% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| C$169M | (C$160M) | (C$198M) | C$82M | (C$287M) | (C$537M) | C$50M | C$695M | C$229M | (C$138M) | (C$138M) | Net incomeNet inc. |
| 18% | — | — | 17% | — | — | — | 11% | 26% | — | — | Effective tax rateTax rate |
| Cash flow & returns | |||||||||||
| C$744M | C$626M | C$820M | C$849M | C$702M | C$1.0B | C$877M | C$1.5B | C$796M | C$646M | C$646M | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| C$601M | C$635M | C$574M | C$590M | C$654M | C$529M | C$599M | C$621M | C$531M | C$579M | C$579M | DepreciationDeprec. |
| (C$26M) | C$151M | C$444M | C$177M | C$335M | C$1.0B | C$228M | C$148M | C$36M | C$205M | C$205M | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| C$358M | C$338M | C$277M | C$417M | C$486M | C$480M | C$918M | C$875M | C$311M | C$249M | C$249M | CapexCapex |
| 14.9% | 14.7% | 12.3% | 17.8% | 23.1% | 17.6% | 30.8% | 26.1% | 10.9% | 10.4% | 10.4% | Capex / revenueCapex/rev |
| C$386M | C$288M | C$543M | C$432M | C$216M | C$521M | C$278M | C$843M | C$485M | C$397M | C$397M | Owner earningsOwner earn. |
| 16.1% | 12.5% | 24.1% | 18.4% | 10.3% | 19.1% | 9.3% | 25.1% | 17.0% | 16.5% | 16.5% | Owner earnings marginOE mgn |
| C$386M | C$288M | C$543M | C$432M | C$216M | C$521M | (C$41M) | C$589M | C$485M | C$397M | C$397M | Free cash flowFCF |
| 16.1% | 12.5% | 24.1% | 18.4% | 10.3% | 19.1% | −1.4% | 17.6% | 17.0% | 16.5% | 16.5% | Free cash flow marginFCF mgn |
| C$52M | C$30M | C$50M | C$30M | C$49M | C$39M | C$46M | C$51M | C$52M | C$52M | C$52M | Dividends paidDiv. paid |
| C$0 | C$0 | C$23M | C$68M | C$57M | C$4M | C$52M | C$87M | C$143M | C$24M | — | BuybacksBuybacks |
| 5% | — | — | — | -2% | -5% | 7% | 21% | 8% | 2% | 2% | ROICROIC |
| 5% | -5% | -7% | 3% | -12% | -34% | 5% | 45% | 13% | -10% | -10% | Return on equityROE |
| 3% | −6% | −8% | 2% | −14% | −36% | 0% | 42% | 10% | −14% | −14% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | |||||||||||
| C$305M | C$314M | C$89M | C$411M | C$703M | C$947M | C$1.1B | C$348M | C$337M | C$205M | C$205M | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| C$703M | C$933M | C$756M | C$462M | C$583M | C$651M | C$1.6B | C$807M | C$767M | C$699M | C$699M | ReceivablesReceiv. |
| C$213M | C$219M | C$242M | C$251M | C$238M | C$167M | C$157M | C$157M | C$134M | C$111M | C$111M | InventoryInvent. |
| C$413M | C$595M | C$496M | C$413M | C$599M | C$689M | C$1.3B | C$809M | C$756M | C$613M | C$613M | Accounts payablePayables |
| C$503M | C$557M | C$502M | C$300M | C$222M | C$129M | C$400M | C$155M | C$145M | C$197M | C$197M | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| C$1.6B | C$1.7B | C$1.3B | C$1.3B | C$1.9B | C$2.2B | C$3.7B | C$1.6B | C$1.8B | C$1.3B | C$1.3B | Current assetsCur. assets |
| C$1.2B | C$1.6B | C$880M | C$1.1B | C$935M | C$1.9B | C$2.9B | C$1.7B | C$2.6B | C$1.8B | C$1.8B | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| 1.3× | 1.1× | 1.5× | 1.2× | 2.0× | 1.1× | 1.3× | 0.9× | 0.7× | 0.7× | 0.7× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| C$464M | C$463M | C$464M | C$464M | C$463M | C$463M | C$464M | C$464M | C$517M | C$516M | C$516M | GoodwillGoodwill |
| C$11.0B | C$10.3B | C$9.4B | C$9.5B | C$9.7B | C$9.2B | C$10.7B | C$8.7B | C$9.5B | C$8.7B | C$8.7B | Total assetsAssets |
| C$4.3B | C$3.7B | C$3.2B | C$3.2B | C$3.4B | C$3.3B | C$3.6B | C$3.5B | C$3.8B | C$3.6B | C$3.6B | Total debtDebt |
| C$4.0B | C$3.4B | C$3.2B | C$2.8B | C$2.6B | C$2.3B | C$2.5B | C$3.1B | C$3.5B | C$3.4B | C$3.4B | Net debt / (cash)Net debt |
| 2.1× | 0.6× | 0.6× | 1.9× | — | — | 1.9× | 3.9× | 1.8× | 0.4× | 0.4× | Interest coverageInt. cov. |
| C$3.5B | C$3.3B | C$3.0B | C$3.0B | C$2.4B | C$1.6B | C$1.1B | C$1.5B | C$1.7B | C$1.4B | C$1.4B | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| Per share | |||||||||||
| 288M | 288M | 287M | 283M | 275M | 271M | 271M | 276M | 302M | 297M | 297M | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| C$8.32 | C$8.01 | C$7.84 | C$8.29 | C$7.64 | C$10.04 | C$10.98 | C$12.16 | C$9.42 | C$8.10 | C$8.10 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| C$0.59 | C$-0.56 | C$-0.69 | C$0.29 | C$-1.04 | C$-1.98 | C$0.18 | C$2.52 | C$0.76 | C$-0.46 | C$-0.46 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| C$1.34 | C$1.00 | C$1.89 | C$1.53 | C$0.79 | C$1.92 | C$1.03 | C$3.05 | C$1.61 | C$1.34 | C$1.34 | Owner earnings / shareOE/sh |
| C$1.34 | C$1.00 | C$1.89 | C$1.53 | C$0.79 | C$1.92 | C$-0.15 | C$2.13 | C$1.61 | C$1.34 | C$1.34 | Free cash flow / shareFCF/sh |
| C$0.18 | C$0.10 | C$0.17 | C$0.11 | C$0.18 | C$0.14 | C$0.17 | C$0.18 | C$0.17 | C$0.18 | C$0.18 | Dividends / shareDiv/sh |
| C$1.24 | C$1.17 | C$0.97 | C$1.47 | C$1.77 | C$1.77 | C$3.39 | C$3.17 | C$1.03 | C$0.84 | C$0.84 | Cap. spending / shareCapex/sh |
| C$12.19 | C$11.55 | C$10.44 | C$10.46 | C$8.55 | C$5.84 | C$4.10 | C$5.57 | C$5.78 | C$4.71 | C$4.71 | Book value / shareBVPS |
Per-share growththe realized rate an owner's share compounded
| 9-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | −0.3%/yr | +1.2%/yr |
| Owner earnings / share | −0.0%/yr | +11.2%/yr |
| Dividends / share | −0.3%/yr | −0.4%/yr |
| Capital spending / share | −4.3%/yr | −13.9%/yr |
| Book value / share | −10.0%/yr | −11.2%/yr |
The record, charted
FY2016–2025Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.
ROIC
2%low FY2021
Gross margin
54%low FY2018
Net debt ÷ owner earnings
8.5×peak FY2020
Owner earnings vs. net income
Owner earningsNet incomeThe accountant's number, and the cash an owner can take; the gap is the tell.
C$397Mowner earningsvs.(C$138M)net incomelow FY2020
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedEach year's operating cash, by what management did with it: the mix, and how it drifts.
FY2016FY2025
Net income is the accountant's number; owner earnings is the cash an owner could take out. The walk between them, off the cash-flow statement, and whether the gap is widening or holding.
In fiscal 2025 the business turned a C$138M loss into C$397M of owner earnings: more cash than the profit line showed, after the non-cash charges and the capital it put back in.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported net income | (C$138M) | C$229M | C$695M | C$50M | (C$537M) |
| Depreciation & amortizationnon-cash charge added back | +C$579M | +C$531M | +C$621M | +C$599M | +C$529M |
| Working capital & othertiming of cash in and out, other non-cash items | +C$205M | +C$36M | +C$148M | +C$228M | +C$1.0B |
| Cash from operations | C$646M | C$796M | C$1.5B | C$877M | C$1.0B |
| Maintenance capital expenditurethe spending needed just to hold position and volume | −C$249M | −C$311M | −C$621M | −C$599M | −C$480M |
| Owner earnings | C$397M | C$485M | C$843M | C$278M | C$521M |
| Growth capital expenditurediscretionary; spent to get bigger, not to stand still | — | — | −C$254M | −C$319M | — |
| Free cash flow | C$397M | C$485M | C$589M | (C$41M) | C$521M |
| Owner-earnings marginowner earnings ÷ revenue | 17% | 17% | 25% | 9% | 19% |
Owner earnings is the cash an owner could pull out without starving the business: operating cash less the capital it must spend to hold its position .
Maintenance capex is estimated as depreciation where a growing business invests above it; free cash flow is the figure the scorecard's free-cash margin reads.
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
FY2025 40-F · source on SEC EDGAR →
Will it survive?
- Does not cover its interestOperating income C$140M ÷ interest expense C$347M
What this means
A full year of operating profit didn't cover the interest bill. This is the zombie zone: the business depends on refinancing, asset sales, or forbearance to service its debt.
- How heavy is the debt, net of cash? C$3.4B · 24.2× operating profitHeavy net debtCash C$205M − debt C$3.6B
What this means
Netting C$205M of cash and short-term investments against C$3.6B of debt leaves C$3.4B owed, about 24.2× a year's operating profit (25.6× on the gross debt, before the cash). Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Negative, funded by othersDSO 106 + DIO 42 − DPO 231 days
What this means
Days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. A negative cycle is a quiet moat: suppliers and customers fund the operation (Buffett's “float”), the company grows on other people's money.
Is it a good business?
- Below average through the cycle7-yr median, range -5%–21%; 2% latest = NOPAT C$111M ÷ invested capital C$4.8BIndustry peers: median 6%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. The headline is the median of the last 7 years (it ran 2% most recently), so one peak or trough year doesn't set the verdict. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- High through the cycle10-yr median margin, range 9%–25%; latest C$397M = operating cash C$646M − maintenance capex C$249MIndustry peers: median 13%
What this means
What an owner could take out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position — Buffett's owner earnings. That's 17% of revenue this year, a 17% median across 10 years.
- Are earnings backed by cash? C$646MLoss, but cash-generativeNet income (C$138M) · cash from operations C$646M
What this means
The company reported a net loss, so a conversion ratio isn't meaningful. What matters then is whether operations still threw off cash, here, they did.
How is the cash used?
- Reinvests most of itDividends + buybacks C$76M ÷ Owner Earnings C$397M
What this means
Of C$397M Owner Earnings, C$76M (19%) went back to shareholders, C$52M dividends, C$24M buybacks. Returning most of it is the mark of a mature business with little left to reinvest at a high return; reinvesting most could mean a long runway, or empire-building. The split doesn't say which; the return earned on it (see ROIC) does.
- Investing or harvesting? 0.43×HarvestingCapex C$249M ÷ depreciation C$579M
What this means
Descriptive, not a grade. Above ~1× means investing faster than assets wear out (growth, or, sustained for years, today's earnings carrying less depreciation than tomorrow's will). Below means spending less than it's wearing out (efficiency, or a melting asset base). The ratio won't tell you which; the filings will.
Graham’s defensive tests · 1 of 4 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size —Revenue ≥ $2B (a dollar floor) · C$2.4B
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's floor is a dollar figure — about $2B of revenue as a conservative modern stand-in. This company reports in its home currency and we carry no exchange rate, so we show the figure and leave the size bar for you to apply rather than convert it with a number we don't have.
- Strong liquidity MissCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 0.73×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt MissDebt ≤ working capital · C$3.6B vs (C$494M) WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Earnings stability MissA profit every year (10-yr record) · 5 loss years
What this means
Graham wanted earnings in each of the past ten years, the stability a defensive owner leans on.
- Dividend record PassUninterrupted dividends · paid every year (10)
What this means
An unbroken dividend was Graham's mark of durability. He wanted twenty years; the filings show about ten, and a single suspension breaks the streak. Non-payers, many fine modern compounders, fall outside his defensive net by design.
- Earnings growth —Earnings +33% over the record · —
What this means
Earnings were negative early in the record, a growth rate isn't meaningful.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are C$0.88/share (latest year C$-0.47), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is C$4.71/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2016–2025
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 5 of 10
What this means
Lost money in 5 year(s), look at what happened there before trusting the average.
- Return on capital ≥ 15% 1 of 10 yrs
What this means
A moat shows up as a high return on invested capital that holds year after year, not one good vintage.
- Operating margin 11% → 20% (3-yr avg ends)
In the filing’s words The margin widened even though the filing names price competition — the gain came from volume or cost, not pricing power. Read where.
What this means
Through the cycle the operating margin widened — about 11% early to 20% lately, median 7% — pricing power intact or improving.
- Reinvestment, incremental ROIC returns capital
What this means
The capital base barely grew: this business returns cash through dividends and buybacks rather than reinvesting. Judge it on the cash returned, not on compounding.
- Owner earnings growth +3%/yr
What this means
Owner earnings grew about 3% a year over the record.
- Worst year 2021 · −8.8% op. margin
What this means
Operations went underwater in 2021, understand why before trusting the good years.
- Share count +0.3%/yr
What this means
Roughly flat share count, little dilution, little buyback.
- Dividend record paid
What this means
Paid a dividend in 10 of the years on record.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Low contestabilityThe moat is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded, the kind AI cuts costs within but does not contest.
In its own filing Raised, but not as a competitor
The filing raises AI among its risks, but in other terms (security, regulation, energy or the like), not as a competitor to its product; it frames AI mainly as a capability.
AI is unlikely to contest a moat that is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded; here it reads more as a cost tool than a threat, and the company is using it that way.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of fiscal year-end, Dec 31, 2025Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
Current assetsC$1.3B
- Cash & short-term investmentsC$205M
- ReceivablesC$699M
- InventoryC$111M
- Other current assetsC$321M
Current liabilitiesC$1.8B
- Debt due within a yearC$170M
- Accounts payableC$613M
- Other current liabilitiesC$1.0B
Current ratio0.73×all current assets ÷ what's due · Graham looked for 2×
Quick ratio0.67×stricter: inventory excluded
Cash ratio0.11×strictest: cash alone against what's due
Working capital(C$494M)the cushion left after near-term bills
Debt due this year vs. cashC$170M due · C$205M cash
covered by cash on hand, no refinancing forced · both figures from the Dec 31, 2025 balance sheet
Deeper floors
Tangible book valueC$640Mequity stripped of goodwill & intangibles
Net current asset value(C$5.9B)Graham's net-net: current assets less all liabilities
Debt incl. operating leasesC$3.6BC$52M of it operating leases
Deferred revenueC$17Mcustomer cash collected before delivery; operating float
From the company's latest filing.
Debt maturity
the debt note, SEC EDGAR →Not how much it owes, but when it falls due, and against what. The ladder the company files, beside cash on hand and a year's owner earnings.
Bars scaled to the largest single year.
Due in the next 12 monthsC$170Mthe first rung: what must be repaid or rolled over within the year
Within two yearsC$501Mthe near wall, the part most exposed to today’s credit conditions
Biggest single yearC$2.2Bin 2031the lumpiest maturity, where a refinancing, if needed, is largest
Due over the next five yearsC$3.5Bthe near slice; the balance sheet carries C$3.6B of debt in all
Against what the business has and earns
Cash & short-term investments, Dec 31, 2025C$205M
One year of owner earnings (FY2025)C$397M
Together, against C$170M due next year3.5×
Cash on hand as of Dec 31, 2025 plus a year’s owner earnings comes to C$602M against the C$170M due in the twelve months after the Dec 31, 2025 schedule: 3.5 times it.
Maturity schedule extracted from the company’s Dec 31, 2025 annual report and reconciled to the total the table states.
How the cash was used, 2016–2025
Over the record, the business generated C$8.5B of operating cash; how management split it reads as a reinvestor, most operating cash is plowed back into the business.
- ReinvestedC$4.7B · 55%
- DividendsC$451M · 5%
- BuybacksC$458M · 5%
- Retained (debt / cash)C$2.9B · 34%
- Returned to ownersC$909M
21% of the owner earnings the business produced over the span, C$451M as dividends and C$458M as buybacks.
- Average price paid for buybacks—
Buybacks ran C$458M over the span, but the filings don't tag the share count needed to deduce the average price paid.
- Net change in share count3.1%
The diluted count rose from 288M to 297M: issuance (stock pay, deals) outran any buybacks, so owners were diluted on net.
- Dividend recordC$0.18/sh
Paid in 10 of the years on record, the per-share dividend shrinking about 0% a year. It was cut at least once along the way.
Buybacks are gross of stock issued to staff; the share-count line above is the net of that, the figure that decides whether owners gained. The average price paid blends a year of purchases (and any accelerated repurchase), so it is close, not exact. The record of where the cash went and on what terms.
Inverting the record
Invert: instead of why TransAlta Corporation is a good business, the question is what would make owning it a mistake, and whether those marks are in the record. Disconfirming tests across 2016–2025.
1 of the 4 tests turned up something to look into; the other 3 came back clean.
- Look hereDid the share count rise anyway?3.1%
Diluted shares grew 3.1% over 2016–2025, even as the company spent C$458M on buybacks. The repurchases were outrun by issuance — to staff, in a raise, or in a deal — and the filing says which; owners' slice still shrank. Read the buyback line beside this one, not on its own.
And these came back clean
- Is it less profitable than it was?
- Did debt outgrow the business?
- Did receivables and inventory outpace sales?
Each test is read from the filings and is noisy alone; a flag can mark a cyclical trough or a year of heavy investment as easily as a problem. The filing says which.
Peers, Electric Utilities
The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PORPortland General Electric | $3.6B | — | 15.6% | 5% | 9% |
| OGEOGE Energy | $3.2B | 61% | 23.5% | 6% | 15% |
| HEHawaiian Electric Industries Inc. | $3.1B | — | 11.9% | 6% | 7% |
| TLNTalen Energy Corporation | $2.6B | — | 3.5% | 2% | 4% |
| TACTransAlta Corporation | C$2.4B | 54% | 10.7% | 5% | 17% |
| BKHBlack Hills | $2.3B | — | 23.0% | 6% | 17% |
| CWENClearway Energy Inc. | $1.4B | 67% | 21.6% | 2% | 36% |
| OTTROtter Tail | $1.3B | — | 18.8% | 10% | 13% |
| Group median | — | 61% | 17.2% | 6% | 14% |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFEnter the home-market price, not the US ADR quote. TransAlta Corporation reports in CAD, and every figure here (owner earnings, book value, the share count) is on that CAD, ordinary-share basis. Enter the price on the same basis: the local-exchange quote per ordinary share in CAD. A US ADR price in dollars bundles the ADR-to-ordinary ratio and the exchange rate, so it will not reconcile with these figures and would throw the multiple off.
Type today's close and see the owner-earnings growth you'd have to believe to justify it, beside what TransAlta Corporation has delivered.
C$
Through the cycle, TransAlta Corporation earns about C$403M on its 16.8% median owner-earnings margin. This year’s 16.5% margin runs in line with that. Normalize, below, values the price on that through-cycle figure rather than the latest year.
Base
—
The assumptions
9.0% = the 4.55% 10-year Treasury (Jul 15, 2026) + 4.45 points of equity premium. The rate you require is yours to set.
Enter a price above to run it.
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Implied by the price—
Owner-earnings growth · ’21→’25+3%/yr
Owner-earnings growth · ’16→’25+3%/yr
Owner-earnings growth · ’16→’25+3%/yr
Owner-earnings yield—
What a growth belief costs, in multiples
The growth each return requires, at your price
P/E (3-yr earnings ’23–’25)—
P/B—
Graham’s price gate—
Graham capped the multiple at 15×; Buffett and Munger let that rule go: a wonderful business can deserve 50× if the thesis holds. The gate marks the bargain-hunter's floor.
Against a high-grade bond: Graham’s yardstick bond yield%
Prefilled with the 10-year Treasury (4.55%, as of Jul 15, 2026). Edit it for today’s exact figure, or a AAA corporate yield.
Graham measured a stock against the bond you could own instead, the heart of his margin of safety. Enter a price above to weigh the owner-earnings yield against this bond.
Owner-earnings yield—
High-grade bond yield—
Margin over the bond—
Owner earnings C$397M on 297M shares outstanding, per the 40-F cover, as of 2025-12-31; net debt C$3.4B. The base is the latest year by default; Normalize values it on the through-cycle median owner-earnings margin (to avoid paying on a peak year). Net of stock comp treats option pay as the expense it is. The dials set the multiple a growth belief justifies; the price, and every dollar on this page, is yours.
Cite: Owner Scorecard, "TransAlta Corporation (TAC), the owner's record," https://ownerscorecard.com/c/TAC, data as of 2026-07-09.
Manual order: ← SY its page in the Manual TAK →
Industry order: ← SOMN the Electric Utilities chapter TLN →