BTU — Peabody Energy

World's largest private-sector coal company. AGI Score 7. P/TB 1.17. Thermal + metallurgical coal. | Analysis date: 2026-03-13

Why are we looking at this?

Peabody is the world's largest private coal producer, operating 16 mines in the US and Australia. Two distinct businesses: thermal coal (electricity generation) and metallurgical coal (steelmaking). The AGI angle is surprising: data center power demand is so massive that even coal plants are being kept online and restarted. BTU went from $9.61 (52-week low) to $34.64 — already a 3.6x move. The question: has the AGI-driven power demand re-rating already happened, or is there more upside?

$34.64
Stock Price
$4.2B
Market Cap
1.19x
Price / Book
$3.86B
Revenue (FY2025)
$334M
Operating Cash Flow
-$43M
Net Income (FY2025)
$575M
Cash
-$0.43
EPS (FY2025)
0.8%
Dividend Yield
Stock Price — BTU

1. Financial History — Boom and Bust

YearRevenueNet IncomeEPSOCFShares
FY2020$2.88B-$1.87B-$18.99-$10M97.7M
FY2021$3.32B$371M$3.00$420M111.1M
FY2022$4.98B$1.32B$8.29$1.17B142.1M
FY2023$4.95B$816M$5.00$1.04B137.6M
FY2024$4.24B$404M$2.73$607M125.1M
FY2025$3.86B-$43M-$0.43$334M121.8M

2. Balance Sheet

ItemFY2025Notes
Total Assets$5.81B
PP&E (mines)$3.15B54% of assets
Cash$575M
Long-Term Debt$321MVery manageable
Total Debt$460M
Stockholders' Equity$3.58BBook/share: $29.08
Net Cash$115MCash minus total debt

Shares have been declining: 142M (2022) to 122M (2025) — 14% buyback. Modest but positive.

3. 10x Analysis — Working Backwards

Bull Case: $346/share

Global coal demand persists or grows as AGI data centers consume power. Thermal coal prices stay elevated. Met coal demand grows with infrastructure buildout (steel for data centers). Revenue recovers to $5B+, net income $1B+. On 120M shares at 8x P/E: $67-83/share. With further buybacks to 90M shares: $89-111.

Maximum optimism: coal becomes "strategic energy asset," P/E re-rates to 12x, shares to 80M, EPS $12 = $144. Still only ~4x from here.

Bull case target: $346/share. Entry for 10x: ~$35. Current price is $34.64 — at the entry level, but this target is unrealistic for coal.

Bear Case

Coal is a structurally declining industry in developed markets. Environmental regulations tighten. FY2025 was already net income negative. Previous bankruptcy (2016). Mine reclamation liabilities. Floor is probably $15-20 (0.5x book).

Verdict

BTU has already had its re-rating (3.6x from 52-week low). The stock is near book value with manageable debt. But coal is a terminal industry — the question is how slowly it dies. The 10x math does not work for coal. This is a 2-3x play at best if coal prices spike again. The AGI-driven power demand narrative is real but coal will lose market share to gas, nuclear, and solar over 10 years. Not a 10x candidate.

Data sources: SEC EDGAR XBRL (CIK 1064728), yfinance, 10-K filing. Analysis date: 2026-03-13.