FirstEnergy Corp.FE reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 98 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents by 8.89%. The bottom line increased 18.1% from 83 cents in the year-ago quarter, benefiting from stronger customer demand, rate-based investments, lower operating costs and favorable income tax adjustments.
Total Revenues of FE
Operating revenues of $4.56 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.28 billion by 6.47%. The top line increased 9.9% from $4.15 billion in the prior-year quarter. Industrial electricity sales rose 3.3%, reflecting strength in manufacturing and data-center activity.
FirstEnergy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
FirstEnergy Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | FirstEnergy Corporation Quote
FE's Revenue Mix Reflects Broad-Based Growth
Distribution: Revenues from this segment totaled $2.25 billion, up 11.5% from $2.02 billion in the prior-year quarter . Electric sales revenues increased 12% year over year to $2.21 billion, supported by higher customer demand and investments in the distribution network.
Integrated: Revenues from this segment amounted to $1.81 billion, up 9.5% from $1.65 billion in the year-ago quarter. Electric sales revenues increased to $1.78 billion from $1.64 billion, while other revenues climbed to $26 million from $13 million.
Stand-Alone Transmission: Revenues from this segment reached $501 million, up 2.7% from $488 million in the prior-year quarter. Continued transmission investments supported the segment's revenue growth.
FirstEnergy's Operating Costs and Profitability
Total operating expenses were $3.62 billion, up 9.2% from $3.32 billion in the year-ago quarter. Purchased-power costs increased 9.7% year over year to $1.47 billion, while other operating expenses rose 35.2% to $1.32 billion.
Operating income nevertheless increased 12.7% to $935 million from $830 million, reflecting revenue growth that outpaced the rise in operating expenses.
Interest expense increased 10.6% year over year to $345 million.
FE's Electricity Demand and Data-Center Pipeline Expand
Total electricity sales increased 2.2% year over year to 40.57 million megawatt-hours (MWh). Residential and commercial electricity sales increased 1% and 2.4%, respectively. Weather-adjusted electricity sales rose 1.2%, indicating underlying consumption growth.
FirstEnergy's contracted data-center demand nearly doubled from year-end 2025 to 7.9 gigawatts (GW). Total contracted and pipeline demand reached approximately 27 GW, an increase of around 60% from year-end 2025.
The company is actively negotiating contracts for approximately 4 GW of additional demand. West Virginia's contracted and pipeline demand increased roughly sixfold since the beginning of 2026 to approximately 6 GW.
FE's Capital Investments and Generation Project Advances
FirstEnergy deployed $4.9 billion of capital during the first nine months of 2026, representing a 23% year-over-year increase. The investments focused on system reliability, resiliency, new customer connections and storm-related infrastructure requirements.
FirstEnergy continues to progress with its proposed Maidsville Energy Center, a combined-cycle natural gas generation facility in West Virginia. The company secured a turbine reservation agreement with Siemens, targeting delivery in 2030. FE expects a regulatory decision on the project during the fourth quarter of 2026.
FirstEnergy Reaffirms 2026 Earnings Guidance
FirstEnergy reaffirmed its 2026 core earnings guidance of $2.62-$2.82 per share, with management expecting results at or slightly above the midpoint. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is currently pegged at $2.74 per share, slightly above the midpoint of the company's guided range.
The company maintained its $36 billion Energize365 investment plan for 2026-2030, targeting a 10.4% compound annual growth rate. It continues to anticipate core earnings growth near the upper end of its 6-8% annual target range through 2030.
FE's Zacks Rank
FirstEnergy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming Releases
EntergyETR is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 2, before the market opens. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.71 per share, which implies a year-over-year growth of 11.76%.
ETR's long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 10.16%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 sales is pinned at $4.16 billion, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 9%.
EvergyEVRG is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 5, before the market opens. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.27 per share, which implies year-over-year growth of 11.82%.
EVRG's long-term earnings growth rate is 9.07%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 sales is pinned at $1.90 billion, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 4.71%.
PPL CorporationPPL is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 6, before the market opens. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 53 cents per share, which implies year-over-year growth of 10.42%.
PPL's long-term earnings growth rate is 5.26%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 sales is pinned at $2.44 billion, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 8.91%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
