M. Susan Hardwick

M. Susan Hardwick became CEO of American Water Works in April 2025, succeeding Walter Lynch who led the company since 2020. She previously served as CFO since 2019, giving her deep visibility into the company's financial strategy and regulated utility model. American Water is the largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility in the United States, serving approximately 14 million people across 24 states and 18 military installations. American Water's business model is built on a straightforward thesis: America's water infrastructure is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the US needs over $1 trillion in water infrastructure investment over the coming decades. Thousands of small municipal water systems lack the capital, expertise, and regulatory capacity to maintain safe, reliable water service. American Water acquires these systems — typically small-town water authorities with aging pipes and treatment plants — and invests in upgrades, earning regulated returns. The company's growth strategy combines organic rate base expansion (investing in pipe replacement, treatment upgrades, and infrastructure hardening) with "tuck-in" acquisitions of municipal systems. Legislation in many states now facilitates this process through "fair market value" laws that allow municipalities to sell water systems at appraised values rather than depreciated book values, making sales more attractive for cash-strapped local governments. As a regulated utility, American Water offers investors predictability: the company targets 7-9% EPS growth, 8-10% rate base growth, and consistent dividend increases. The stock trades at a premium to other utilities due to the uniquely favorable supply-demand dynamics of the water sector — unlike electricity or gas, water has no substitute, faces growing scarcity, and benefits from bipartisan infrastructure spending support. The risk is predominantly regulatory: rate case outcomes, environmental compliance costs, and the political sensitivity of water pricing in an era of affordability concerns.