At least, they seem to be going in the right direction, since Enel, it has to be said, has not enjoyed the insolent success - admittedly unique - of Iberdrola.

Like the Spanish group, the Italian company has recently embarked on a new investment program in grids, where profitability is modest but visibility excellent. visibility, with the expected stabilizing effect on the consolidated results of energy companies with highly diversified and sometimes volatile business portfolios.

Two years ago, the Group - which generates half of its operating profit outside its home market - was on the brink of collapse. Its over-aggressive expansion in renewables was putting cash flow under pressure, and debt was accumulating dangerously at a time when interest rates were rising.

Under the impetus of new CEO Flavio Cattaneo, who replaced Francesco Starace, a strategic inflexion was urgently needed. Cattaneo, moreover, made no secret of his number-one priority: to put the store back in order, and at the same time balance the books.

The market greeted these developments with relief, unless it was the EUR24 billion in asset disposals that reassured it. The share price rebounded strongly from its lows of autumn 2022. This suggests that the promise of a return to generous free cash flow has been taken at face value by investors.

Like many of its peers, Enel has largely retreated from its "all-renewables" ambition, to return to a more balanced portfolio. It is now at the level of governance that things could change, since the grip of the Italian government - which still controls 23% of the capital - is vigorously contested by certain shareholders.

In this context, the market's vote of confidence may be premature, and MarketScreener analysts will reassess the situation in the light of the Group's annual results. At this point, it's impossible not to point out that the five billion euros in dividends distributed in previous years were financed by asset disposals - or additional debt, depending on how you look at it.