CPK vs SR: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: SR is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CPK and SR share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CPK and SR exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) delivers energy through two segments. Regulated Energy is the larger one: natural gas distribution in Delaware, Maryland and Florida, electric distribution in northwest Florida through Florida Public Utilities, and interstate and intrastate gas transmission through Eastern Shore Natural Gas and Peninsula Pipeline. Unregulated Energy covers Sharp Energy propane distribution, Aspire Energy gathering and processing in Ohio, and Marlin Gas Services, which trucks compressed natural gas and renewable natural gas to customers off the pipeline grid. The company employs roughly 1,300 people and generated ~$994 million of revenue over the trailing twelve months. Its 2023 purchase of Florida City Gas for ~$923 million roughly doubled the Florida gas footprint and reshaped where growth now comes from.

Full CPK guide

Spire Inc. is a public utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis with roots going back to the 1850s. Its regulated distribution utilities (Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama, Spire Gulf, Spire Mississippi and Spire Tennessee) buy natural gas, move it through their own distribution and transmission pipelines, and sell it to residential, commercial and industrial customers under rates set by state commissions. A small Midstream segment holds pipeline and storage assets that serve the utilities. The company closed a ~$2.48 billion purchase of Duke Energy's Piedmont Tennessee local distribution business on March 31, 2026, adding more than 200,000 customers around Nashville and nearly 3,800 miles of pipeline, and it agreed in April 2026 to sell its smaller Mississippi utility to Delta Utilities for ~$75 million. Spire's fiscal year ends September 30, which matters when reading any trailing figure.

Full SR guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CPK drivers: Florida rate base after Florida City Gas; The Florida Energy Pathway pipeline.
• SR drivers: Rate base growth is the earnings engine; Tennessee is the newest and fastest-growing piece.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The capital program is large relative to the company's size, so financing terms are a live risk: higher interest costs or equity issued at unfavorable prices would dilute the per-share benefit of the same projects. For SR, regulatory outcomes drive nearly everything here: Alabama and Gulf RSE renewal hearings were held in August 2026 with requested returns on equity of ~10.5% to 10.75%, and Spire expects to make its first Missouri future test year rate case filing around November 2026, so an unfavorable order in either place would flow straight to earnings.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CPK if you believe its drivers more; SR if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CPK and SR guides.

CPK. Second-quarter 2026 net income was ~$25.4 million, or ~$1.05 per diluted share, against ~$1.02 a year earlier, with year-to-date EPS of ~$3.51 versus ~$3.22 and adjusted EPS growth of ~8.0%. Adjusted gross margin rose ~$31.2 million, or ~9.6%, through June, driven by transmission projects and regulated infrastructure programs. Analyst consensus for full-year 2026 sits near ~$6.51 per share, and the reaffirmed 2028 range of ~$7.75 to ~$8.00 implies high-single-digit annual growth, which is what the above-peer multiple is priced on.

SR. At roughly $81 a share, SR trades near ~20 times the midpoint of fiscal 2026 adjusted guidance and closer to ~15 times the fiscal 2027 midpoint. Those two multiples describe different companies, because fiscal 2027 carries a first full year of Tennessee earnings plus the Missouri and Alabama rates that took effect during fiscal 2026, so anchoring on the trailing number overstates how expensive the shares look. Pure-play gas distributors have generally traded in the high teens to low twenties on forward earnings, which puts Spire inside its peer band rather than at either edge of it.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CPK shows revenue (ttm) ~$994 million, net income (ttm) ~$150 million, diluted eps (ttm) ~$6.27, p/e (trailing / forward) ~21x / ~19.5x; SR shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.7B, with ~$2.14B in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, adjusted eps guidance ~$3.90 to $4.10 for FY2026, ~$5.40 to $5.60 for FY2027, market cap ~$4.8B at a share price near ~$81, dividend ~$0.825 per quarter (~$3.30 annualized), ~4.1% yield, 23rd consecutive annual increase.

CPK and SR are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CPK and SR exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.