Munger Mode rating: 2 out of 5 — Sell. Our own rating from the research report below, on business quality first: moat durability and management, with price separating the top three.
We have spent our lives looking for businesses that can raise prices without a committee's permission, that gush more cash than they consume, and that grow without passing the hat to shareholders. Ameren fails all three tests — not because it is badly run (it is, in fact, run quite well), but because it is structurally incapable of passing them. It is a regulated utility: its prices are set by commissions in Jefferson City, Springfield, and Washington, its return on equity is capped by law at roughly 9.6% to 10.25%, and its growth is financed with borrowed money and freshly printed shares. Charlie's summary: "It's a bond with a growth kicker and a construction risk attached, priced like neither." This is a decent, honest, well-managed average business trading at roughly 20.5 times this year's earnings — the high end of its own history and its peer group.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-08-04), 10-Q (2026-08-03), 8-K (2026-07-30), 8-K (2026-06-29).
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