ITRI (Itron, Inc.): Themes, ETFs, and Basket Ideas
Last updated June 2026
Short answer
What does Itron, Inc. do?
Itron is a technology company that provides products and services for utilities and cities to measure, manage, and optimize the delivery of electricity, gas, and water. It is best known for smart meters and the communication networks that connect them, enabling utilities to read consumption remotely, detect outages, manage demand, and reduce losses. Itron's business spans device solutions (meters and sensors), networked solutions (the communication infrastructure and data collection that turn meters into a connected grid), and outcomes (software, analytics, and managed services that help utilities act on the data). The company makes money selling hardware to utilities, building out networks, and increasingly through recurring software and services that analyze grid and resource data. Itron is positioned around grid modernization, energy efficiency, water conservation, and the integration of renewables and distributed energy resources. Headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington, Itron is a focused player in the utility technology and smart-infrastructure space, with long sales cycles tied to utility capital budgets.
Where is Itron, Inc. heading?
1. Grid modernization and smart metering.
Utilities worldwide are upgrading aging infrastructure to smarter, networked systems, driving demand for Itron's smart meters and communication networks. Modern grids must handle two-way power flows, electric vehicle charging, rooftop solar, and variable renewable supply, which requires the kind of measurement and connectivity Itron provides. This multi-year modernization cycle, supported by regulatory and efficiency mandates, underpins steady demand for Itron's core products.
2. Shift to recurring software and outcomes.
Itron is moving up the value chain from selling hardware toward recurring software, analytics, and managed services through its Outcomes segment and its distributed intelligence platform. Software that helps utilities forecast demand, manage outages, detect leaks, and integrate distributed energy carries higher margins and recurring revenue. Growing this software mix is central to improving Itron's profitability and reducing its dependence on lumpy hardware orders.
3. Water and resource efficiency.
Beyond electricity and gas, Itron serves water utilities with metering and analytics that detect leaks and reduce non-revenue water, addressing growing concern over water scarcity and infrastructure waste. Combined with energy-efficiency and emissions goals, Itron's offerings align with sustainability and conservation priorities, broadening its addressable market across multiple essential resources and providing diversification beyond any single utility vertical.
Risks worth tracking: Itron's revenue depends on utility capital spending, which moves slowly and is subject to regulatory approvals, so demand can be lumpy and tied to long, deal-by-deal sales cycles. Large contracts can swing results, and a single program delay can affect quarters. The hardware portion of the business is exposed to component shortages and supply chain disruptions, which have hurt Itron's deliveries and margins in the past. Competition from other meter and grid-technology vendors pressures pricing. The business is not high-growth and can be cyclical with utility budgets and infrastructure funding cycles. Executing the shift to higher-margin recurring software is ongoing and not guaranteed, and margins have historically been modest.
Earnings and valuation (approximate, early 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Itron, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$2.4 billion
- Operating margin: ~10%
- Net income (TTM): ~$200 million
- P/E (TTM): ~25x
- Revenue growth: mid-single-digit, project-driven
- Backlog: multi-year, large relative to annual revenue
- Free cash flow: positive, improving with mix
Itron trades at a valuation that reflects a mid-cap utility-technology company benefiting from grid modernization, balanced against modest growth, project-driven lumpiness, and historically thin margins. The market increasingly values the shift toward recurring software and the long backlog as sources of more durable, higher-margin revenue, while remaining mindful of utility-budget cyclicality and supply chain sensitivity.
ITRI's competitors
Smart meters and grid networks
Competes with Landis+Gyr, Sensus (a Xylem brand), Honeywell, and other advanced metering infrastructure vendors for electricity and gas metering and communication networks.
Water metering and utility software
Competes with Xylem, Badger Meter, Mueller Water Products, and various utility analytics and grid-software providers in water metering and resource-management software.
Using ITRI in a Walnut basket
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Build a basket around ITRI with Walnut
Use Itron, Inc. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What is ITRI's ticker symbol?
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ITRI, listed on the Nasdaq. The company is Itron, Inc. It is headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington, and trades during US market hours at every major US brokerage.
What does Itron do?
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Itron provides technology for utilities and cities to measure and manage electricity, gas, and water. It makes smart meters and the communication networks that connect them, plus software and analytics that help utilities read usage remotely, detect outages and leaks, manage demand, and integrate renewables and distributed energy resources.
Who are Itron's main competitors?
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In smart meters and grid networks: Landis+Gyr, Sensus (Xylem), and Honeywell. In water metering and utility software: Xylem, Badger Meter, and Mueller Water Products, plus various grid-analytics providers. Itron competes on technology, network reliability, and software capabilities.
Is Itron a smart grid stock?
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Yes. Itron is closely tied to grid modernization and smart-infrastructure themes. Its smart meters, communication networks, and software support utilities upgrading to smarter, two-way grids that handle renewables, EV charging, and distributed energy. It is one of the more focused public companies on smart metering and utility technology.
What is Itron's P/E ratio?
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Approximately 25x trailing twelve months as of early 2026. The valuation reflects a mid-cap utility-technology company benefiting from grid modernization, balanced against modest growth, project-driven revenue lumpiness, and historically thin margins that are improving as software mix grows.
Why is Itron's revenue lumpy?
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Itron sells large, multi-year projects to utilities whose capital spending is approved slowly and subject to regulation. Big deployment contracts can be won or delayed, causing revenue to swing quarter to quarter. The hardware portion is also exposed to component availability. Itron's growing recurring software business aims to make revenue steadier over time.
Does Itron benefit from infrastructure spending?
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Itron is positioned to benefit from utility infrastructure investment and grid-modernization funding, since upgrading aging electricity, gas, and water systems drives demand for its meters, networks, and software. Government and regulatory support for efficiency, electrification, and water conservation can expand its addressable projects, though timing depends on individual utility programs.
Which ETFs have the most Itron exposure?
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Smart-grid, clean-energy infrastructure, and mid-cap ETFs such as GRID and various small- and mid-cap funds hold ITRI. Broad funds like VTI include it at small weights. Industrial and utility-technology themed ETFs may also carry it. Exact weights vary by fund and over time.
Is Itron in the S&P 500?
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Itron is generally a mid-cap company and is more commonly found in the S&P MidCap 400 and mid-cap or smart-grid ETFs than in the large-cap S&P 500. Index membership can change, so investors confirm current status when it matters.
Which thematic baskets typically include Itron?
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Smart-grid, grid-modernization, water-infrastructure, and clean-energy-enablement baskets on Walnut. ITRI fits themes around utility digitization, energy efficiency, and water conservation, and is often used as a focused utility-technology holding within infrastructure baskets.
What is Itron's market cap?
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Roughly in the low single-digit billions of dollars as of early 2026, a mid-cap reflecting its focused utility-technology business and project-driven revenue. The market cap moves with grid-modernization momentum and the progress of its shift toward recurring software.
Is Itron a good stock to buy?
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Descriptive, not a recommendation. Itron is a focused utility-technology company leveraged to grid modernization, smart metering, and water efficiency, with a growing recurring-software mix, but it has modest, lumpy growth, historically thin margins, dependence on utility budgets, and supply chain sensitivity. Whether it fits a portfolio depends on your goals, risk tolerance, and views on infrastructure spending. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Itron, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.