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 owned a lot of utilities in our lifetimes, so let us say up front: there is nothing scandalous about DTE Energy. It is a legal monopoly selling a product civilization cannot do without, run by people who appear competent and honest. But the question before us is never "is this a respectable company?" It is "is this a wonderful business that compounds owner wealth over decades?" And on that question, the answer is no. DTE is the textbook case of what one of us has called a business that "grows on a treadmill." It must pour billions into wires, poles, and power plants every year — $2.7 billion in the first six months of 2026 alone, against $1.7 billion of operating cash flow — and its reward for doing so is a return on equity capped by a state commission at roughly 9.9%, a figure the Michigan Attorney General fights publicly every time the company asks for it.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-07-31), 8-K (2026-07-28), 10-Q (2026-07-28), 8-K (2026-06-22).
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