XCEL ENERGY INC.

Red flags

• Marshall Wildfire litigation produced a $299 million pretax charge in 2025, including a $287 million settlement charge and an additional $12 million estimate; the settlement involved claims tied to at least 4,087 plaintiffs.
• Short-term borrowings were $1.55 billion at Dec. 31, 2025, versus $695 million a year earlier; maximum borrowings during 2025 reached $2.965 billion.
• Xcel Energy’s debt-to-total-capitalization ratio was 59.8% at year-end, against a 70% covenant limit for the parent company, leaving less headroom than at lower leverage levels.
• The company’s regulated subsidiaries may not recover all costs: regulators can disallow expenditures, lower allowed returns, eliminate riders or impose cost caps, creating earnings and cash-flow risk.