Water in Transition: Signals From the Top 50 Companies
04/22/25 • 26 min
Bluefield’s latest snapshot of the top 50 publicly traded water companies shows a sector still growing—but with turbulence under the surface. In this episode, host Reese Tisdale digs into Bluefield's Q1 2025 snapshot of the top companies in water, highlighting how they are navigating tariffs, tightening supply chains, and shifting strategies. While topline revenue growth remains strong, rising input costs and policy uncertainty are forcing companies to sharpen their focus—pruning non-core assets, streamlining operations, and zeroing in on their strongest water plays.
Meanwhile, regulated water utilities, with their steady cash flows and inelastic demand, are starting to look a lot more attractive. In a landscape shaped by tariffs, inflation, and bond market pressure, this might just be the moment where “boring is beautiful.”
If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.
If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.
Related Research & Analysis:
Bluefield’s latest snapshot of the top 50 publicly traded water companies shows a sector still growing—but with turbulence under the surface. In this episode, host Reese Tisdale digs into Bluefield's Q1 2025 snapshot of the top companies in water, highlighting how they are navigating tariffs, tightening supply chains, and shifting strategies. While topline revenue growth remains strong, rising input costs and policy uncertainty are forcing companies to sharpen their focus—pruning non-core assets, streamlining operations, and zeroing in on their strongest water plays.
Meanwhile, regulated water utilities, with their steady cash flows and inelastic demand, are starting to look a lot more attractive. In a landscape shaped by tariffs, inflation, and bond market pressure, this might just be the moment where “boring is beautiful.”
If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.
If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.
Related Research & Analysis:
Previous Episode
Clarifying the Chaos in Washington: Answering Top Questions on U.S. Water Policy
Policy in Washington is in flux—and our clients had questions. Lots of them. Following Bluefield’s recent client webcast, Uncertain Times: The State of Water Policy in Washington, podcast host Reese Tisdale and Senior Research Director Greg Goodwin reconvene to answer the questions they didn’t have time to address live. In this episode, they unpack critical developments shaping the water sector—from funding volatility and regulatory shifts to cross-border tensions and infrastructure outlooks.
Topics covered, questions answered:
- Is Bluefield's market sizing number across main verticals total or annualized?
- If the San Francisco vs. EPA court decision will lead to more niche requirements, will permitting get more complicated?
- Are Chicago’s US$15B consent decree costs included in the municipal total? Underestimated?
- What does a second Trump administration mean for the digital water market?
- Will agencies like USGS be affected too?
- Can you break down the US$13B in impounded funding? Which programs were impacted?
- Project 2025 and Mandy Gunasekara’s take on increased SRF funding—realistic or contradictory?
- With Russian gas returning, how does U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) outlook impact water markets?
- Is the Boundary Waters Treaty or International Joint Commission under threat?
- Are manufacturers reshoring due to political pressure?
- Has the federal share of water infrastructure funding declined—and where is it heading?
If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.
If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.
Related Research & Analysis:
Next Episode
Big Spend, Bigger Stakes: The Next 10 Years in U.S. Water & Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure
In this episode of The Future of Water, Reese Tisdale is joined by Bluefield Senior Analyst Charlie Suse to break down U.S. municipal water and wastewater treatment CAPEX forecasts through 2035.
Bluefield’s latest market model projects US$515 billion in treatment infrastructure capital expenditures, with spend expected to grow from US$37 billion in 2025 to over US$57 billion by 2035—driven by aging assets, stricter regulatory standards, and shifting service demands.
Together, Reese and Charlie dig into the methodology behind the forecast, which incorporates asset inventories for over 75,000 treatment plants, EPA data across all 50 states, and detailed spending breakouts by project type, utility size, and asset category. They also explore:
- Why nearly 80% of investment will go toward upgrades and rehab rather than new builds
- Why mid-sized utilities represent a key growth opportunity for infrastructure and technology providers
- How the Southern U.S.—especially Texas and Florida—is both a growth engine and a high-risk investment zone
- The uneven and uncertain rollout of IIJA funding, with only 14% of appropriated funds distributed so far
If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.
If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.
Related Research & Analysis:
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