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It sells electricity to homes and businesses in Hawaii and also owns a small bank.
Hawaiian Electric Industries does two quite different things under one roof. First, it runs the electric utility that powers almost all of Hawaii — the lights, air conditioners, and businesses on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island. Second, it owns American Savings Bank, a local bank that takes deposits and makes loans to Hawaii residents and small businesses. The utility is the giant piece, bringing in roughly 85 to 90 percent of total revenue, while the bank supplies the rest. So think of it as a company where one side keeps the islands' lights on and the other side holds the islands' savings.
The way it makes money is simple on the surface. The utility builds and maintains power plants, poles, and wires, then charges customers for the electricity they use. Because it's a regulated monopoly, state regulators approve the rates it can charge, which usually allows a steady, modest profit as long as costs stay under control. The bank makes money the old-fashioned way: it pays you a little interest on your deposits, lends that money out at a higher rate, and keeps the difference. It also earns fees from things like mortgages and credit cards. Together, these two businesses give the company two very different kinds of cash flow — one regulated and predictable, the other tied to Hawaii's economy.
The recent story here is dominated by disaster and risk. The deadly August 2023 Maui wildfires led to lawsuits claiming the utility's equipment helped start the fires, and that legal overhang has crushed the stock and raised serious questions about the company's finances and future. That's why the market value sits far below what a normal island utility might be worth. Management has been working to shore up the balance sheet, and there's been ongoing talk about whether the utility and the bank should be split apart. The bank has been a steady profit source, but the utility's wildfire liabilities are the main thing any investor has to weigh. In plain terms, this is a company whose core business is boring and reliable, but whose biggest problem is anything but.
Saved answer · last researched 11 Oct 2026