NRG ENERGY, INC.NRG
NRG ENERGY, INC. Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosure
Goodwill and Other Intangibles
Goodwill
The following table presents the changes in goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 based on the Company's reportable segments:
| (in millions) | Texas | East | West/Other | Vivint Smart Home | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of January 1, 2024 | $ | 643 | $ | 721 | $ | 192 | $ | 3,523 | $ | 5,079 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Impairment | — | — | (15) | — | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of Airtron | — | — | (43) | — | (43) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | — | — | (10) | — | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2024 | $ | 643 | $ | 721 | $ | 124 | $ | 3,523 | $ | 5,011 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | — | — | 6 | — | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2025 | $ | 643 | $ | 721 | $ | 130 | $ | 3,523 | $ | 5,017 | |||||||||||||||||||
Intangible Assets
The Company's intangible assets as of December 31, 2025, primarily reflect intangible assets established with the acquisitions of various companies, including Vivint Smart Home, Direct Energy, other retail acquisitions and Texas Genco. Intangible assets are comprised of the following:
•Customer relationships — These intangibles represent the fair value at the acquisition date of acquired businesses' customer base from the acquisition of Vivint Smart Home, Direct Energy and other acquisitions. Customer relationships are amortized to depreciation and amortization expense based on the expected discounted future net cash flows by year.
•Emission Allowances — These intangibles primarily consist of SO2 emission allowances, including those established with the 2006 acquisition of Texas Genco, RGGI emission credits and California carbon allowances. These emission allowances are held-for-use and are amortized to cost of operations based on units of production.
•Customer and supply contracts — These intangibles include the fair value at the acquisition date of in-market and out-of-market customer and supply contracts from the acquisition of Direct Energy and are amortized to revenue and cost of operations, respectively, based upon the fair market value, as of the acquisition date, for each delivery month.
•Marketing partnerships — These intangibles represent the fair value at the acquisition date of existing agreements with marketing vendors and loyalty and affinity partners for customer acquisition. Marketing partnerships are amortized to depreciation and amortization expense based on the expected discounted future net cash flows by year.
•Technology — These intangibles represent the fair value at the acquisition date of developed technology for Vivint Smart Home integrated software and products. Technology is amortized to depreciation and amortization expense, ratably based on the expected discounted future net cash flows by year.
•Trade names — These intangibles are amortized to depreciation and amortization expense on a straight-line basis.
•Other — These intangibles primarily include renewable energy certificates. RECs are retired, as required, for the applicable compliance period. RECs are expensed to cost of operations based on NRG’s customer usage. Other also included in-market nuclear fuel contracts established from the Texas Genco acquisition in 2006 which were amortized to cost of operations over expected volumes over the life of each contract.
The following tables summarize the components of NRG's intangible assets:
| (In millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, 2025 | Customer Relationships | Emission Allowances | Customer and Supply Contracts | Marketing Partnerships | Technology | Trade Names | Other(a) | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 1, 2025 | $ | 3,093 | $ | 625 | $ | 606 | $ | 294 | $ | 861 | $ | 801 | $ | 260 | $ | 6,540 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purchases | — | 58 | — | — | — | — | 543 | 601 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acquisition of businesses(b) | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Usage/Sales/Retirements/Transfers | — | (50) | — | — | — | — | (508) | (558) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Write-off of fully amortized balances | (81) | (1) | — | — | — | (193) | (45) | (320) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 2 | (5) | 1 | 1 | (1) | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2025 | 3,046 | 627 | 607 | 295 | 860 | 611 | 251 | 6,297 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Less accumulated amortization | (1,843) | (548) | (450) | (217) | (632) | (296) | (2) | (3,988) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net carrying amount | $ | 1,203 | $ | 79 | $ | 157 | $ | 78 | $ | 228 | $ | 315 | $ | 249 | $ | 2,309 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(a)RECs are not subject to amortization and had a carrying value of $248 million
(b)The weighted average amortization period for total amortizable intangible assets is approximately 5 years
| (In millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, 2024 | Customer Relationships | Emission Allowances | Customer and Supply Contracts | Marketing Partnerships | Technology | Trade Names | Other(a) | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 1, 2024 | $ | 3,464 | $ | 628 | $ | 609 | $ | 295 | $ | 860 | $ | 841 | $ | 224 | $ | 6,921 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purchases | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | 497 | 519 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acquisition of businesses(b) | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Usage/Sales/Retirements | — | (19) | — | — | — | — | (461) | (480) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Write-off of fully amortized balances | (146) | — | — | — | — | (11) | — | (157) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of Airtron(c) | (255) | — | — | — | — | (24) | — | (279) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | (5) | (6) | (3) | (1) | 1 | (5) | — | (19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | 3,093 | 625 | 606 | 294 | 861 | 801 | 260 | 6,540 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Less accumulated amortization | (1,555) | (538) | (399) | (193) | (457) | (443) | (47) | (3,632) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net carrying amount | $ | 1,538 | $ | 87 | $ | 207 | $ | 101 | $ | 404 | $ | 358 | $ | 213 | $ | 2,908 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(a)RECs are not subject to amortization and had a carrying value of $213 million
(b)The weighted average amortization period for total amortizable intangible assets is approximately 5 years
(c)Includes $81 million of intangibles that were amortized
The following table presents NRG's amortization of intangible assets for each of the past three years:
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| (In millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Customer relationships | $ | 368 | $ | 476 | $ | 556 | |||||||||||
| Customer and supply contracts | 51 | 71 | 121 | ||||||||||||||
| Emission allowances | 10 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| Marketing partnerships | 23 | 23 | 24 | ||||||||||||||
| Technology | 176 | 227 | 230 | ||||||||||||||
| Trade names | 45 | 59 | 60 | ||||||||||||||
Other(a) | — | 15 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Total amortization | $ | 673 | $ | 876 | $ | 1,001 | |||||||||||
(a)For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2023, other intangibles amortized to depreciation and amortization expense were de minimis. For the year ended December 31, 2024, other intangibles amortized to depreciation and amortization expense was $15 million
The following table presents estimated amortization of NRG's intangible assets included in the Company’s balance sheet as of December 31, 2025 for each of the next five years:
| (In millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | Customer Relationships | Emission Allowances | Customer and Supply Contracts | Marketing Partnerships | Technology | Trade Names | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | $ | 298 | $ | 20 | $ | 52 | $ | 23 | $ | 130 | $ | 37 | $ | 560 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2027 | 227 | 17 | 30 | 23 | 89 | 37 | 423 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2028 | 182 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 37 | 270 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2029 | 140 | 9 | 13 | 5 | — | 37 | 204 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2030 | 111 | 8 | 13 | 4 | — | 37 | 173 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 24, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 26, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 23, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 24, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Mar 1, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 27, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 28, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Feb 28, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 29, 2016 | |
About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures
Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.
Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.