# Meridian Energy (MEZ.AU)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/MEZ.AU

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z. Financial observations: FY2020–FY2026.

Listing currency: AUD. Reporting currency: NZD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: pass; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: AUD 4.57 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

Estimated value: low AUD 1.41 per share, central AUD 1.58 per share, high AUD 1.81 per share. Buy at or below the central value AUD 1.58 per share. Valuation as of 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z; scenarios are not confidence intervals.

Expected annual return: 5.2% at the stated quote. About 5.2% a year at today's price (required return 10.0%). required return 10.0% a year (10% floor; AU 10-year bond 5.2% + 4 points).

## Checklist

### understandable: pass

- 4 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- Financial history: 7 years

- Years with declining revenue: 4

- Years with a net loss: 1

- Operating margin variation: 0.27×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2020: 0.11×

- FY2021: 0.15×

- FY2022: 0.16×

- FY2023: 0.26×

- FY2024: 0.16×

- FY2025: 0.15×

- FY2026: 0.21×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: 5.8%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 5.4%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: -5.6 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 19.7%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 25.3%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 4.6%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 5.0%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2020: 4.1%

- FY2021: 6.1%

- FY2022: 6.7%

- FY2023: 8.8%

- FY2024: 5.8%

- FY2025: 5.4%

- FY2026: 5.7%

### economics: pass

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 2.03×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: NZD 1.3B

- Net income, five-year total: NZD 653M

- Return on incremental invested capital: >100%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: -0.6 pp

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2022: 1.25×

- FY2023: 0.57×

- FY2024: 1.11×

- FY2025: 0.42×

- FY2026: 3.22×

### management: fail

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 6.1% vs 5.7%

- Per-share earnings: 0.17 to 0.05 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 0.5%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 0.5%

- Per-share value growth: -26.3%

- Per-share value change: NZD -0.12

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: NZD 0.17

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: NZD 0.05

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.00

- Average buyback yield: 0.0%

- Buyback history: 7 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- ROIC, first three-year median: 6.1%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 5.7%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2020: NZD 0.07

- FY2021: NZD 0.17

- FY2022: NZD 0.18

- FY2023: NZD 0.04

- FY2024: NZD 0.17

- FY2025: NZD -0.17

- FY2026: NZD 0.05

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -4.0%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 1.08×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 0.0%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 6.23×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.01×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2020: -4.5%

- FY2021: -0.0%

- FY2022: -0.1%

- FY2023: -4.1%

- FY2024: -1.8%

- FY2025: -5.1%

- FY2026: -4.0%

## Holders

## Price story

Down 27% since May 2024 · sales -19.7%

Story as of 2026-10-16T10:00:07.142Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

Price needs cash profits to grow 15.1% a year for ten years

### Sales · FY2025–2026

sales -19.7%; source https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/; observed 2026-10-16.

- FY2020: NZD 3.4B 

- FY2021: NZD 4.0B 

- FY2022: NZD 3.8B 

- FY2023: NZD 3.2B 

- FY2024: NZD 4.9B 

- FY2025: NZD 4.8B 

- FY2026: NZD 3.8B 

### Gross margin · FY2026

gross margin 25.3%; source https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/; observed 2026-10-16.

- FY2020: 19.7% 

- FY2021: 17.5% 

- FY2022: 15.6% 

- FY2023: 20.0% 

- FY2024: 15.5% 

- FY2026: 25.3% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in utilities renewable; annual sales are NZD 3.8 billion.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2026-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2026: revenue 3848989217; grossProfit 975237142; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); MEZ.AU: Meridian Energy Limited engages in the renewable electricity generation and retail business to residential, business, and industrial customers in New Zealand. The company generates electricity through 7 hydro power stations; 8 wind farms; and 100MW battery energy storage system, as well as solar array. It sells electricity under the Meridian and Powershop brands. It also offers EV charging solutions; and software development, professional, and insurance services, as well as act as a licence holder and non-trading entity. The company was formerly known as Hydro Energy Limited. Meridian Energy Limited was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Wellington, New Zealand.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 15.5% to 100% during 2024–26; it earns 5.8% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2024-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 15.5%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2025-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 100%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2026-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2026: grossProfit / revenue = 25.3%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); 7-year return on capital observations [[2020,0.04136346419012592],[2021,0.06084452069479068],[2022,0.06667203016970459],[2023,0.08816650653820303],[2024,0.05791911886359877],[2025,0.05396382528381759],[2026,0.05730353118303022]]; median 0.05791911886359877. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Reinvests 15.8% of cash earnings; paid dividends in 7 of 7 years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2020-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2020: growth capex 0; upkeep 63000000; owner earnings 403200000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2021-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 114000000; owner earnings 573600000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2022-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2022: growth capex 0; upkeep 172000000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 563800000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2023-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2023: growth capex 0; upkeep 329000000; owner earnings 54600000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2024-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2024: growth capex 0; upkeep 281000000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 476000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2026-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2026: growth capex 0; upkeep 245807722; cash acquisitions 66000000; owner earnings 418672502. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.15764111491611646.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); Dividend observations: [[2020,546000000],[2021,433000000],[2022,360000000],[2023,423000000],[2024,436000000],[2025,387000000],[2026,375706112]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/api/fundamentals/MEZ.AU.json#2026-06-30 (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); FY2026: cash repurchases 1998436 NZD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 52.6% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); MEZ.AU SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 52.588 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price assumes cash profits grow 15.1% yearly over ten years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:36:16.823Z); Ten-year compound average after fade. Initial solved rate 0.20506910946328005. Price 4.57; FX 0.8124078517533463; discount 0.1; same standard ten-year fade to terminal 0.03.  Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (AUD per share)

- 2016-10: AUD 2.42 per share

- 2016-11: AUD 2.49 per share

- 2016-12: AUD 2.50 per share

- 2017-01: AUD 2.59 per share

- 2017-02: AUD 2.55 per share

- 2017-03: AUD 2.59 per share

- 2017-04: AUD 2.55 per share

- 2017-05: AUD 2.72 per share

- 2017-06: AUD 2.78 per share

- 2017-07: AUD 2.71 per share

- 2017-08: AUD 2.68 per share

- 2017-09: AUD 2.64 per share

- 2017-10: AUD 2.52 per share

- 2017-11: AUD 2.59 per share

- 2017-12: AUD 2.66 per share

- 2018-01: AUD 2.61 per share

- 2018-02: AUD 2.59 per share

- 2018-03: AUD 2.69 per share

- 2018-04: AUD 2.76 per share

- 2018-05: AUD 2.82 per share

- 2018-06: AUD 2.86 per share

- 2018-07: AUD 2.90 per share

- 2018-08: AUD 2.98 per share

- 2018-09: AUD 2.98 per share

- 2018-10: AUD 2.88 per share

- 2018-11: AUD 3.12 per share

- 2018-12: AUD 3.25 per share

- 2019-01: AUD 3.34 per share

- 2019-02: AUD 3.54 per share

- 2019-03: AUD 4.01 per share

- 2019-04: AUD 3.85 per share

- 2019-05: AUD 3.99 per share

- 2019-06: AUD 4.64 per share

- 2019-07: AUD 4.55 per share

- 2019-08: AUD 4.60 per share

- 2019-09: AUD 4.75 per share

- 2019-10: AUD 4.20 per share

- 2019-11: AUD 4.47 per share

- 2019-12: AUD 4.83 per share

- 2020-01: AUD 5.13 per share

- 2020-02: AUD 4.43 per share

- 2020-03: AUD 4.02 per share

- 2020-04: AUD 4.34 per share

- 2020-05: AUD 4.53 per share

- 2020-06: AUD 4.60 per share

- 2020-07: AUD 4.48 per share

- 2020-08: AUD 4.93 per share

- 2020-09: AUD 4.58 per share

- 2020-10: AUD 5.00 per share

- 2020-11: AUD 6.09 per share

- 2020-12: AUD 7.10 per share

- 2021-01: AUD 6.70 per share

- 2021-02: AUD 5.32 per share

- 2021-03: AUD 5.10 per share

- 2021-04: AUD 5.07 per share

- 2021-05: AUD 5.00 per share

- 2021-06: AUD 4.95 per share

- 2021-07: AUD 4.96 per share

- 2021-08: AUD 5.07 per share

- 2021-09: AUD 4.72 per share

- 2021-10: AUD 4.76 per share

- 2021-11: AUD 4.52 per share

- 2021-12: AUD 4.65 per share

- 2022-01: AUD 4.18 per share

- 2022-02: AUD 4.62 per share

- 2022-03: AUD 4.81 per share

- 2022-04: AUD 4.35 per share

- 2022-05: AUD 4.27 per share

- 2022-06: AUD 4.14 per share

- 2022-07: AUD 4.50 per share

- 2022-08: AUD 4.45 per share

- 2022-09: AUD 4.46 per share

- 2022-10: AUD 4.49 per share

- 2022-11: AUD 4.55 per share

- 2022-12: AUD 5.02 per share

- 2023-01: AUD 4.95 per share

- 2023-02: AUD 4.85 per share

- 2023-03: AUD 4.99 per share

- 2023-04: AUD 5.09 per share

- 2023-05: AUD 5.04 per share

- 2023-06: AUD 5.14 per share

- 2023-07: AUD 5.21 per share

- 2023-08: AUD 4.84 per share

- 2023-09: AUD 4.79 per share

- 2023-10: AUD 4.40 per share

- 2023-11: AUD 4.79 per share

- 2023-12: AUD 5.10 per share

- 2024-01: AUD 5.30 per share

- 2024-02: AUD 5.28 per share

- 2024-03: AUD 5.45 per share

- 2024-04: AUD 5.45 per share

- 2024-05: AUD 6.24 per share

- 2024-06: AUD 5.77 per share

- 2024-07: AUD 5.86 per share

- 2024-08: AUD 5.80 per share

- 2024-09: AUD 5.44 per share

- 2024-10: AUD 5.33 per share

- 2024-11: AUD 5.74 per share

- 2024-12: AUD 5.39 per share

- 2025-01: AUD 5.34 per share

- 2025-02: AUD 5.30 per share

- 2025-03: AUD 5.00 per share

- 2025-04: AUD 5.07 per share

- 2025-05: AUD 5.18 per share

- 2025-06: AUD 5.40 per share

- 2025-07: AUD 5.28 per share

- 2025-08: AUD 5.01 per share

- 2025-09: AUD 4.90 per share

- 2025-10: AUD 5.13 per share

- 2025-11: AUD 5.00 per share

- 2025-12: AUD 4.90 per share

- 2026-01: AUD 4.86 per share

- 2026-02: AUD 4.65 per share

- 2026-03: AUD 4.62 per share

- 2026-04: AUD 4.58 per share

- 2026-05: AUD 4.79 per share

- 2026-06: AUD 4.80 per share

- 2026-07: AUD 4.59 per share

- 2026-08: AUD 4.51 per share

- 2026-09: AUD 4.39 per share

- 2026-10: AUD 4.40 per share

## Annual estimated value (AUD per share)

- FY2024: low AUD 2.02 per share, central AUD 2.30 per share, high AUD 2.66 per share

- FY2025: low AUD 1.61 per share, central AUD 1.83 per share, high AUD 2.13 per share

- FY2026: low AUD 1.41 per share, central AUD 1.58 per share, high AUD 1.81 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.