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.
Charlie and I have owned a lot of utilities in our time, and we learned to describe them honestly: a regulated utility is not a way to get rich, it's a way to stay rich. CMS Energy is a well-run example of the breed — arguably one of the two or three best-managed regulated utilities in America, operating in one of the most constructive regulatory jurisdictions, with a 20-year record of doing exactly what it said it would do. We tip our hats to the people running it. But admiration is not the same as ownership. This is a business whose returns are capped by law at roughly 10% on equity, that consumes every dollar of cash it generates and then borrows and issues stock for more, that carries about two dollars of debt for every dollar of equity, and whose "pricing power" is a petition filed in Lansing.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-07-28), 10-Q (2026-07-28), 8-K (2026-06-03), 8-K (2026-05-13).
Stock screener · Superinvestor 13F holdings · Analyst sentiment · Market valuation