Fundamental analysis: The AES Corporation (AES)

Awarener score: 6.3

Conclusion

The higher the Awarener score, the more bang you get for the buck. It measures how much genuine funds the company generates for the stock price paid (Average), the business stability (Very good) and growth (Lacking), and the company's inclination to return cash to the stockholders (Superb).

Note: All scores range from 1 (worst) to 10 (best). Conclusions are updated daily with closing stock prices and new reported quarterly financial statements.

Revenue score: 6.0

Business has been slightly shrinking. It's been weak when measured against peer companies.
The AES Corporation business trend stability is very good. The higher the stability, the lower the risk. It looks somewhat better than rivals.

Margins score: 6.5

AES profit margins -on goods and services sold- are usually meagre. They stand bottom tier against rival companies.
Business profit on sales tends to be excellent. It's similar to competitors.
Profits on sales made -available to repay debt and purchase properties- are usually very good. They remain in a weak position compared to peers.
Earnings -before income taxes and interests on loans taken- tend to be good in relation to total revenues. They're still worse than most similar companies.
Profits -before income taxes- are usually sufficient considering total sales, and remain last-in-rank when measured against rivals.
Total net profit tends to be hardly sufficient when confronted to sales. Company stands last-in-rank when measured against comparable firms.

Growth score: 3.7

The AES Corporation profit -on goods and services sold- has been growing at a good pace. It's been excellent in relation to competitors.
In recent years, earnings growth -on operations- have been almost stagnant, which has been slightly worse than comparable firms.
Profits -available to repay debt and purchase properties- have been growing at a very good pace, which compares top tier when measured against peer enterprises.
Earnings -before income taxes and interests on loans taken- have been growing at a slow tempo. It turns to be close to average when compared to similar stocks.
In past years, at least once the company lost money -before income taxes-. It was bottom tier against rivals.
In the previous years, the firm had at least a total net loss, and last-in-rank when measured against peer companies.
The company lost money at least once in the past years. It's been a disappointment compared to industry peers.

Miscellaneous score: 2.0

AES had to pay too much income taxes in relation to profits made in the past years. It's been worse than most peers.
The company does not report R&D expenses. It's meaningless to measure in relation to competitors.
We have insufficient data to estimate how effective is research and development effort. It stands unknown against rival companies.

Profitability score: 6.0

The AES Corporation usually gets good returns on the resources it controls. It proves below average when measured against peer firms.
The company normally gets sufficient proceeds -on the resources directly invested in the business-. They remain lacking compared to similar companies.
Profitability -in relation to owned resources- is usually lacking. It ranks last-in-rank when measured against competitors.
In the past, got good returns -on the tangible resources it controls-. This metric is usually related to the industry in which operates and combines profitability versus reinvestment needs. It's below average when measured against comparable enterprises.

Usage of Funds score: 5.1

AES usually uses a very large portion of genuine funds generated to buy or replace property, plant, or equipment. The need for reinvestments is heavy. It stands below average when measured against rival firms.
The company is usually largely investing in new property, plant, and equipment, to expand its operating capabilities, which is below average when measured against industry peers.
In the past twelve months it paid some dividends, considering the current stock price. It came mediocre against competitors.
In recent years, has slightly cut back dividend payments. The company has behaved rather normal in relation to similar firms.
The company generates very few genuine funds. Dividend payments are usually on borrowed money, which isn't sustainable in the long run. Unless business prospects improve greatly, future payments could be at risk. Sustainability looks bottom tier against comparable companies.
The company usually significantly reduces the pool of investors, resulting in fewer mouths feeding on the pie of profits. It remains impressive in relation to peer enterprises.
Repurchase effectiveness metric is very complex. Run again in analytical mode if you're interested in a technical explanation. It stands in a weak position compared to rivals.
We do not have sufficient data to comment on buybacks and their sustainability. It still looks dubious against competitors.

Balance Sheet score: 5.0

The AES Corporation intangible assets (like brands and goodwill) represent a significant portion of resources controlled, according to accounting books. There could be significant difficulties in liquidating them if the company ever gets in financial distress. It happens to be last-in-rank when measured against peer companies.
The company has somewhat more short-term resources than short-term obligations. Liquidity concerns might not be that important. It turns to be rather normal in relation to similar firms.
A substantial part of resources controlled were provided for with financial debt. Creditors have as many claims on the company as shareholders. The situation is somewhat risky. It remains worse than most rival firms.
Controlled resources might be turned into cash and equivalents neither fast nor too slow. Liquidity and risk might be run-of-the-mill. It looks encouraging in relation to rivals.
For every dollar of short-term obligations, the company has almost another of cash and short-term receivables. It's rather normal in relation to peer firms.
For every dollar of short-term obligations, the company has roughly half of cash and equivalents, which is somewhat better than similar enterprises.
Usually, sales are on a two-months credit. It still ranks substantially worse when measured against peers.
Normally has approximately somewhat less than two months of sales worth in inventory. It comes up as close to average when compared to competitors.
On average, it takes higher than three months from the purchase to charging customers. It happens to be slightly better than peers.
On average pays suppliers longer than two months after the purchase. It ranks great when measured against industry peers.
The company pays its suppliers less than one month before charging its customers, so there's little money invested in working capital. It's rather normal in relation to similar companies.
Net interest expenses consume a slight portion of usual business earnings, and are very easily bearable. It stands better than most rival firms.
Business earnings have usually been very low when measured against loans taken. Even significantly cutting back reinvesting in the business, it could take more than ten years to repay the obligations with current profitability. It ranks substantially worse when measured against comparable enterprises.
Last twelve months revenues were non-significant in relation to fixed assets. The company must improve income to take advantage of used resources. It looks rather normal in relation to similar firms.
Resource exploitation is slightly low when yearly sales are considered, business volume should be increased. This metric is normally tied to the industry where the firm belongs. It's still slightly worse than peer companies.

Valuation score: 4.3

The AES Corporation reported losses, so valuating it in relation to earnings is meaningless. It happens to be last-in-rank when measured against competitors.
Price-to-Tangible-Book-Value is a fairly complex metric. Run again in analytical mode if you're interested in a technical explanation. It remains in a very weak position compared to peers.
In the past twelve months, the company consumed funds. Either it reinvested in the business or genuine fund generation might be challenging, which stands bottom tier against similar companies.
In the past years the company hardly generated enough genuine funds to cover up for its business needs. Business prospects should improve enough to be in a better position to reward investors. It's still similar to industry firms.
In the past twelve months, the company has significantly rewarded investors, considering both dividends and share on the pie of earnings. It came up impressive in relation to peer ventures.
The company is largely indebted. It should focus on loan repayment before rewarding stockholders. It looks bottom tier against similar enterprises.
Considering the past twelve months, traditional Price-to-Earnings relation has been negative, as the company lost money. It ranks last-in-rank when measured against peer companies.
Comparing the current stock price with the past twelve-months revenues gives a more than one-to-one relationship. This is an important metric to check its evolution through time, and to compare to industry peers. It looks impressive in relation to rival firms.
The relation between the stock price and accounting book value is really high, which may be good or bad depending on context. Run again in analytic mode if you want to dig deeper. The company remains worse than most peer firms.
In the past twelve months, the operating business earned some money when compared to the current stock price and financial position. It happens to be almost average when measured against industry peers.
In an alternate metric of bang for the buck, the company has usually shown a good earnings power ability when measured against the current stock price and financial position. It's still in a very weak position compared to peer companies.

Total score: 4.8

Company at a glance: The AES Corporation (AES)

Sector, industry: Utilities, Utilities—Diversified

Market Cap: 13.30 billions

Revenues TTM: 13.00 billions

The AES Corporation operates as a diversified power generation and utility company. It owns and/or operates power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries. The company also owns and/or operates utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit, and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors; and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market. It uses a range of fuels and technologies to generate electricity, including coal, gas, hydro, wind, solar, and biomass; and renewables, such as energy storage and landfill gas. The company owns and/or operates a generation portfolio of approximately 31,459 megawatts. It has operations in the United States, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Applied Energy Services, Inc. and changed its name to The AES Corporation in April 2000. The AES Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.