Fortis Inc. (FTS): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Fortis Inc. (FTS) is a utility giant, but are you defintely clear on how a company that just reported a Q3 2025 adjusted EPS of $0.87 manages to deliver 52 consecutive years of dividend increases? This North American regulated electric and gas leader is a bedrock investment, projecting a massive $5.6 billion in capital expenditures for the full 2025 fiscal year to expand its regulated asset base, which currently sits around $42 billion. Understanding their regulated utility model-which generated year-to-date sales of CAD $9,091 million through September 2025-will show you exactly where the growth is coming from and why its story matters for your long-term portfolio.

Fortis Inc. (FTS) History

You're looking for the bedrock story of Fortis Inc., and honestly, it's a long one, starting well over a century ago. The company you see today-a North American utility giant with a $28.8 billion capital plan-didn't just appear. It evolved from a small, local electric company in Newfoundland, growing through strategic privatization and a series of massive, low-risk acquisitions to become the diversified, 100% regulated utility holding company it is as of late 2025.

Fortis Inc.'s Founding Timeline

Year established

The company's roots trace back to 1885, when it was founded as the St. John's Electric Light Company. The modern holding company, Fortis Inc., was formally established in 1987 to own its primary utility subsidiary.

Original location

The original location was St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. This remains the headquarters of Fortis Inc. today.

Founding team members

The initial 1885 company was established by a group of local businessmen in St. John's. The formal creation of Fortis Inc. in 1987 was driven by the shareholders of Newfoundland Light & Power Co. Limited, with key leadership like Angus Bruneau involved in its formation.

Initial capital/funding

The initial capital for the 1885 venture was raised through local investors to establish the electric utility. The 1987 formation of Fortis Inc. involved a share exchange where shareholders of the regulated utility, Newfoundland Light & Power Co., traded their shares for Fortis Inc. shares on a one-to-one basis, effectively capitalizing the new holding company.

Fortis Inc.'s Evolution Milestones

Fortis Inc.'s Transformative Moments

Fortis Inc.'s trajectory has been shaped by a few defintely bold, yet calculated, shifts that cemented its status as a premier regulated utility.

• The 1987 Privatization and Holding Company Creation: The move to privatize Newfoundland Light & Power Co. and create the Fortis Inc. holding company was the first critical step. It gave the company the corporate flexibility and access to capital markets needed to look beyond its home province. That's how you start a growth story.
• The Rebranding and Early Out-of-Province Growth: The 2001 acquisition of Maritime Electric Company, followed by the 2002 name change to Fortis Inc., was a clear signal to the market that this was no longer a regional player. It set the stage for the larger North American strategy.
• The US Utility Expansion (2013-2016): This was the true game-changer. The acquisitions of Central Hudson Gas & Electric in 2013, UNS Energy in 2014, and especially the $11.3 billion purchase of ITC Holdings Corp. in 2016, transformed Fortis into a geographically diverse, North American powerhouse. ITC, the largest independent electric transmission company in the US, instantly provided a massive, stable, and regulated asset base.
• The 2025 Capital and Portfolio Focus: The company is now 100% regulated, following the disposition of non-regulated assets like the Turks and Caicos and Belize utilities in 2025. This focus on low-risk, regulated assets is why the company is able to announce a new $28.8 billion five-year capital plan, which is expected to grow the rate base from an estimated $42 billion in 2025 to $58 billion by 2030. Here's the quick math: that's a consistent 7% compound annual growth rate, which directly supports their 52-year streak of dividend increases.

If you want to dive deeper into who is buying into this stable, regulated growth story, you should check out Exploring Fortis Inc. (FTS) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Fortis Inc. (FTS) Ownership Structure

Fortis Inc. is a publicly traded, diversified regulated electric and gas utility holding company whose common shares are majority-owned by institutional investors, which is typical for a stable utility stock. This structure means that while individual investors hold a significant stake, the large asset managers ultimately wield the most influence over corporate governance and long-term strategy.

Fortis Inc.'s Current Status

Fortis Inc. is a publicly traded company, not a private one, and its shares trade under the symbol FTS on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). As of the 2025 fiscal year, the company maintains a market capitalization of approximately $36 billion (CA$36.120 billion), reflecting its position as one of North America's largest utility holding companies. This public status subjects the company to rigorous reporting standards, providing you with transparent financial data, which is crucial for due diligence before you consider Breaking Down Fortis Inc. (FTS) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

The company's focus is now 100% regulated utility operations, following recent dispositions of non-regulated assets in the Caribbean, which helps reduce risk and provides stable, predictable cash flow. Honestly, a fully regulated model is defintely a big plus for dividend-focused investors.

Fortis Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

Institutional investors hold the lion's share of Fortis Inc.'s common stock, a common scenario for companies generating reliable, regulated earnings. This concentration of ownership means that decisions by a few major funds can significantly impact the stock's trading volume and price. Here's the quick math for the breakdown as of the end of the 2025 fiscal year reporting periods:

The fact that insiders own less than 1% is not a red flag for a company this large; it's a utility, not a founder-led tech startup. Still, their collective holding of CA$38 million shows their interests are aligned with shareholder return.

Fortis Inc.'s Leadership

The executive team at Fortis Inc. is seasoned, with an average management team tenure of 4.3 years, providing stability in a capital-intensive, regulated industry. This stability is key because long-term utility planning requires consistent execution over decades, not quarters.

The key leaders steering the organization as of November 2025 are:

• David Hutchens: President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His total yearly compensation for the 2025 fiscal year was approximately CA$15.72 million.
• Jocelyn Perry: Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
• Jim Reid: Executive Vice President, Sustainability and Chief Legal Officer.
• Gary Smith: Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology.
• Jo Mark Zurel: Chair of the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors, chaired by Jo Mark Zurel, provides oversight, and their average tenure of 8 years suggests deep institutional knowledge of the utility sector's unique regulatory and operational challenges. Their primary focus is on executing the company's $28.8 billion five-year capital plan through 2030, which is projected to drive a 7.0% annual growth rate in the rate base.

Fortis Inc. (FTS) Mission and Values

Fortis Inc.'s purpose extends beyond its regulated utility profits, centering on a commitment to deliver essential, reliable energy while driving sustainable growth for both customers and shareholders. This dual focus is the foundation of its cultural DNA, translating into massive capital investments that shape the near-term future of North American energy infrastructure.

You're investing in a utility, so you need to know what they stand for when the lights go out or when a rate increase is on the table. Their core principles are clear: operational excellence, financial strength, and a transition to cleaner energy that remains affordable for the 3.5 million customers they serve across North America and the Caribbean.

Fortis Inc.'s Core Purpose

The company's core purpose is to be a low-risk, fully regulated utility leader. This means everything they do is anchored in providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective electricity and natural gas service, which is a defintely foundational requirement for any modern economy. This singular focus on regulated assets reduces risk, which is why they transitioned to a portfolio of 100% regulated assets in 2025.

Official mission statement

Fortis Inc.'s mission is best captured by its three core pillars: Sustainable Growth, Operational Excellence, and Financial Strength. This is how they ensure long-term value creation without sacrificing the quality of service today.

• Sustainable Growth: Strategically expanding the regulated utility base and investing in renewable energy projects to ensure long-term value while minimizing environmental impact.
• Operational Excellence: Delivering safe, reliable, and cost-effective utility services by leveraging advanced grid technologies to maintain high system availability.
• Financial Strength: Maintaining a robust financial position to support ongoing infrastructure investments and consistent shareholder returns.

To put this into perspective, their capital plan for 2025 is on track, with $1.4 billion already invested in the first quarter to upgrade utility systems, directly reflecting this commitment to operational excellence and growth.

Vision statement

The vision for Fortis Inc. is to cement its position as a leading North American regulated electric and gas utility, focused on generating superior and sustainable shareholder value. It's a vision that balances growth with responsibility.

• Industry Leadership: Being a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry.
• Value Creation: Providing sustainable shareholder value through organic growth, strategic acquisitions, and sound financial management.
• Community Focus: Maintaining a strong commitment to reliability, customer satisfaction, and community engagement.

Here's the quick math: The company's new $28.8 billion five-year capital plan (2026-2030) is the primary engine for this vision, expected to grow the rate base from an estimated $42 billion in 2025 to $58 billion by 2030. That's how a vision translates into a tangible investment pipeline. For a deeper dive into how this capital plan affects their balance sheet, you should check out Breaking Down Fortis Inc. (FTS) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Fortis Inc. slogan/tagline

While a utility doesn't always have a catchy consumer-facing slogan, Fortis Inc. consistently uses a phrase that captures its strategic direction and value proposition in the current market.

• Delivering a Cleaner Energy Future.

This tagline is a concrete reflection of their investment strategy, which includes major projects like the conversion of the Springerville Generating Station in Arizona from coal to natural gas, aligning their operations with decarbonization goals. The focus is on cleaner energy, but also on ensuring that transition remains affordable for customers, which is a tough balancing act.

Fortis Inc. (FTS) How It Works

Fortis Inc. operates as a diversified North American regulated electric and gas utility holding company, making money by owning and upgrading essential energy infrastructure-transmission lines, distribution networks, and some generation facilities-and earning a regulated rate of return (ROR) on those assets. Essentially, you're investing in the grid itself, which provides stable, predictable cash flow because nearly 100% of its assets are regulated utilities.

This is a capital-intensive business; Fortis plans to invest approximately $5.6 billion in capital expenditures for the 2025 fiscal year alone, which is how they grow their rate base (the asset value on which they earn a return). That investment drives their earnings, which analysts forecast will be around $2.35 per share for 2025.

Fortis Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

Fortis's value delivery is straightforward: they provide the essential infrastructure to move electricity and natural gas reliably to your home or business. Their portfolio is a collection of ten regulated utility subsidiaries across five Canadian provinces, ten U.S. states, and three Caribbean countries.

Fortis Inc.'s Operational Framework

The operational framework at Fortis is built on a decentralized, regulated model that ensures consistent earnings and allows for massive, predictable capital deployment. This isn't a high-growth tech stock; it's a slow, steady engine of infrastructure improvement.

• Rate Base Growth: The core process is investing capital into utility infrastructure-like upgrading transmission lines at ITC or modernizing substations at Tucson Electric Power-then applying to a regulator to include that spending in the rate base. This is the foundation for their expected midyear 2025 rate base of $41.9 billion.
• Decentralized Management: They use a local business model, meaning each utility subsidiary has its own board with local directors. This helps them navigate the specific regulatory and political landscape of each jurisdiction, which is crucial for rate case approvals.
• Technology Integration: Operational excellence is increasingly driven by technology. They are using grid-enhancing technologies and even artificial intelligence (AI) for things like vegetation management to prevent outages and reduce costs across their vast service territory.
• Energy Transition Investment: A significant portion of their capital plan is dedicated to integrating cleaner energy, which involves building new transmission to connect renewable generation and converting existing coal-fired units to natural gas at facilities like Tucson Electric Power.

The whole thing is a long-term capital deployment machine. For more on the numbers, you should read Breaking Down Fortis Inc. (FTS) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Fortis Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

Fortis's market success comes down to three things: diversification, regulatory stability, and a massive, executable capital plan. They have built a moat around their business that is difficult to breach.

• Geographic and Asset Diversification: Operating in multiple jurisdictions (Canada, U.S., Caribbean) and across both electric and gas utilities mitigates the risk of a single adverse regulatory decision or extreme weather event. A bad rate case in one state won't sink the ship.
• Regulated Business Model: The nearly 100% regulated nature of their business provides a high degree of earnings visibility, which is what financial professionals call a low-risk profile. Regulated returns, approved by commissions, provide cash flow consistency independent of short-term market volatility.
• Large, Executable Capital Plan: Fortis has a robust, highly executable five-year capital plan of $28.8 billion (for 2026-2030) that is expected to grow their rate base at a compound annual growth rate of 7.0%. This commitment to spending is the primary lever for future earnings growth.
• Data Center and Load Growth Tailwinds: The surging demand for electricity, particularly from new large customers like data centers in their service territories (e.g., Tucson Electric Power), presents a significant, near-term opportunity to boost load growth and justify further transmission investments.
• Dividend Track Record: They have one of the longest records of consecutive annual dividend increases in North America, with 51 years of increases, which appeals directly to income-focused institutional and retail investors. That consistency is a powerful signal of financial strength.

Fortis Inc. (FTS) How It Makes Money

Fortis Inc. generates almost all of its revenue by owning and operating a diversified portfolio of regulated electric and gas utility assets, which provide essential transmission and distribution services to over 3.5 million customers across North America and the Caribbean. This regulated business model ensures highly predictable cash flows, as rates are set by government bodies to allow for a reasonable return on the company's invested capital (rate base).

Fortis Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

The company's revenue stability comes from its geographic and business diversification, with the vast majority of its total revenue, which was approximately C$12.04 billion for the twelve months ending September 30, 2025, coming from regulated utility operations. The primary revenue streams are segmented by geography, reflecting the company's diverse operating jurisdictions.

The U.S. operations, which include companies like ITC and UNS Energy, are the largest contributor to revenue and are a key focus for capital investment. Honestly, the regulated nature of the business is the real story here, not just the geography.

Business Economics

Fortis Inc.'s financial engine is driven by its regulated utility business model, which is fundamentally a low-risk, capital-intensive strategy. The core economic driver is the 'rate base,' which is the total value of assets on which a utility is permitted to earn a regulated rate of return (ROE).

• Rate Base Growth: The company's strategy focuses on large, predictable capital expenditures to grow its rate base, which is expected to increase from approximately C$41.9 billion in 2025 to C$57.9 billion by 2030. This 7.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) directly translates into higher future earnings.
• Regulatory Certainty: Nearly 100% of the company's assets are regulated, meaning revenue is not tied to volatile commodity prices or economic cycles, but rather to the approved rate of return on its infrastructure investments. This makes for defintely resilient earnings.
• Pricing Mechanism: Rates are set by independent regulatory bodies, such as the New York State Public Service Commission, to cover operating costs, depreciation, interest expense, and allow for an authorized Return on Equity (ROE). For instance, a recent rate plan for the Central Hudson subsidiary approved an ROE of 9.5%.
• Capital Plan: The new five-year capital plan is a massive C$28.8 billion, with 59% of the funding expected to come from cash flow from operations, minimizing reliance on external equity and supporting the dividend growth guidance.

To understand the foundation of this business, you should review the company's core principles in detail: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Fortis Inc. (FTS).

Fortis Inc.'s Financial Performance

The company's performance as of the 2025 fiscal year demonstrates the stability and growth inherent in its regulated model, prioritizing long-term shareholder returns through consistent dividend increases and rate base expansion.

• Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS): Year-to-date (YTD) September 2025 adjusted EPS reached C$2.63 per common share, up from the prior year, reflecting strong performance across the regulated utilities. Analysts estimate a full-year 2025 EPS of approximately C$2.44.
• Capital Investment: Fortis Inc. is on track to execute a significant capital investment of C$5.6 billion in 2025, with C$4.2 billion already spent through September, primarily on transmission projects and energy storage. This investment is the fuel for future rate base growth.
• Dividend Record: The company boasts a 52-year streak of consecutive annual dividend increases, a powerful signal of financial health. The fourth quarter 2025 common share dividend was increased by 4.1% to C$0.640 quarterly.
• Financial Leverage: The company maintains an investment-grade credit rating of A- from S&P, which is crucial for funding its capital-intensive growth plan efficiently.

Here's the quick math: the consistent 4-6% annual dividend growth target through 2030 is directly supported by the projected 7.0% annual rate base growth, creating a clear, low-risk path for investor returns. What this estimate hides is the potential for regulatory lag-the time between capital investment and new customer rates-but the company's diversified portfolio helps smooth out those risks.

Fortis Inc. (FTS) Market Position & Future Outlook

Fortis Inc. is positioned as a low-risk, high-stability anchor in the North American utility sector, driven by its strategic shift to a fully regulated asset base and a massive capital investment program. This focus on regulated growth provides clear visibility for earnings and dividend increases through the end of the decade, making it a reliable choice for income-focused investors.

You're defintely looking at a company that prioritizes predictable returns over high-wire growth, and that's a good thing in this market.

Competitive Landscape

In the highly regulated utility space, true market share is often defined by geographic monopolies, so comparing overall size via market capitalization and core business focus is more instructive. Here's how Fortis Inc. stacks up against its primary Canadian peers, using relative market capitalization as a proxy for industry standing among this group as of November 2025.

Here's the quick math: Fortis Inc.'s market capitalization is approximately C$36 billion, giving it the largest slice of the top three Canadian utility holding companies, followed closely by Hydro One at about C$32.3 billion and Emera at roughly C$20.2 billion.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's future trajectory hinges on the execution of its substantial capital plan and its ability to navigate a complex regulatory and interest rate environment. The strategy is clear: invest heavily in transmission and distribution (T&D) to capture growth from electrification trends.

Industry Position

Fortis Inc. maintains a premium industry standing, largely due to its predictable, regulated revenue model. The recent disposition of non-regulated Caribbean assets (Turks and Caicos and Belize in 2025) solidifies its position as a 100% regulated utility, reducing overall business risk.

• Rate Base Growth: The new 2026-2030 capital plan is expected to grow the rate base from an estimated $41.9 billion in 2025 to $57.9 billion by 2030, a 7.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
• Dividend Reliability: The company extended its annual dividend growth guidance of 4-6% through 2030, building on a 52-year streak of increases-a key differentiator in the sector.
• Financial Resilience: Fortis Inc. secured approval for Central Hudson's three-year rate plan in Q3 2025, allowing a return on equity (ROE) of 9.5%, which helps mitigate regulatory uncertainty.

What this estimate hides is the impact of regulatory lag, like the over $700 million of rate base at UNS Energy not yet reflected in rates, which is a drag on current earnings. For a deeper dive into the numbers underpinning this stability, you should check out Breaking Down Fortis Inc. (FTS) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.