Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes a presentation of American Water’s 2024 and 2025 earnings guidance ranges excluding the $0.10 per share of incremental interest income to be recognized from the amended HOS note. This presentation constitutes a “non-GAAP financial measure” under SEC rules. It is derived from American Water’s consolidated financial information but is not presented in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). This presentation supplements American Water’s GAAP disclosures and should be considered in addition to, and not in substitution of, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management believes this presentation is useful to American Water’s investors because it excludes an item not reflective of its ongoing operating results and the presentation will allow investors to understand better the operating performance of American Water’s regulated businesses. Although management will use this presentation internally to evaluate American Water’s results of operations and to facilitate a meaningful year-to-year comparison thereof, management does not intend this presentation to represent future results as defined by GAAP, and investors should not consider them as such. In addition, this presentation of guidance may not be comparable to similar presentations by other companies, and, accordingly, it may have significant limitations in its use.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release including, without limitation, 2024 and 2025 earnings guidance, the company’s long-term financial, growth and dividend targets, the ability to achieve the company’s strategies and goals, customer affordability and acquired customer growth, the outcome of the company’s pending acquisition activity, the amount and allocation of projected capital expenditures, and estimated revenues from rate cases and other government agency authorizations, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words with prospective meanings such as “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “predict,” “project,” “propose,” “assume,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “likely,” “uncertain,” “future,” “pending,” “goal,” “objective,” “potential,” “continue,” “seek to,” “may,” “can,” “will,” “should” and “could” and or the negative of such terms or other variations or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are predictions based on American Water’s current expectations and assumptions regarding future events. They are not guarantees or assurances of any outcomes, financial results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon them. The forward-looking statements are subject to a number of estimates and assumptions, and known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Actual results may vary materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release as a result of the factors discussed in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and subsequent filings with the SEC, and because of factors such as: the decisions of governmental and regulatory bodies, including decisions to raise or lower customer rates; the timeliness and outcome of regulatory commissions’ and other authorities’ actions concerning rates, capital structure, authorized return on equity, capital investment, system acquisitions and dispositions, taxes, permitting, water supply and management, and other decisions; changes in customer demand for, and patterns of use of, water and energy, such as may result from conservation efforts, or otherwise; limitations on the availability of the company’s water supplies or sources of water, or restrictions on its use thereof, resulting from allocation rights, governmental or regulatory requirements and restrictions, drought, overuse or other factors; a loss of one or more large industrial or commercial customers due to adverse economic conditions, or other factors; present and future proposed changes in laws, governmental regulations and policies, including with respect to the environment (such as, for example, potential improvements to existing Federal regulations with respect to lead and copper service lines and galvanized steel pipe), health and safety, data and consumer privacy, security and protection, water quality and water quality accountability, contaminants of emerging concern (including without limitation per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”)), public utility and tax regulations and policies, and impacts resulting from U.S., state and local elections and changes in federal, state and local executive administrations; the company’s ability to collect, distribute, use, secure and store consumer data in compliance with current or future governmental laws, regulations and policies with respect to data and consumer privacy, security and protection; the company’s plans and efforts to protect and remediate its computer networks and systems following the company’s October 3, 2024 cybersecurity incident, and the impacts of such incident on the company and/or its financial condition and results of operations; weather conditions and events, climate variability patterns, and natural disasters, including drought or abnormally high rainfall, prolonged and abnormal ice or freezing conditions, strong winds, coastal and intercoastal flooding, pandemics (including COVID-19) and epidemics, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, electrical storms, sinkholes and solar flares; the outcome of litigation and similar governmental and regulatory proceedings, investigations or actions; the risks associated with the company’s aging infrastructure, and its ability to appropriately improve the resiliency of or maintain, update, redesign and/or replace, current or future infrastructure and systems,
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PRESS RELEASE | | 4 | | www.amwater.com |