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The AES Corporation’s AES fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents by 58.8%. However, the bottom line declined 26% from 73 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

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The company generated GAAP earnings of 79 cents per share against the GAAP loss of 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2023.

AES reported 2024 adjusted earnings of $2.14 per share, which were higher than the year-ago figure of $1.76.

The year-over-year improvement was driven by higher contributions from renewables projects placed in service in the current year, a lower adjusted tax rate and higher contributions from the Utilities SBU.

AES’ Total Revenues

The company’s total revenues amounted to $2.96 billion, down 0.2% year over year due to lower non-regulated revenues. The figure also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.26 billion by 9.1%.

The company reported revenues of $12.28 billion in 2024, which were lower than $12.67 billion in 2023.

The AES Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

The AES Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The AES Corporation Quote

Highlights of AES’ Release

The total cost of sales in the fourth quarter was $2.54 billion, up 2.7% year over year.

The operating income totaled $420 million, down 15% from $494 million in the year-ago period.

Interest expenses amounted to $360 million, up 2% from $353 million in the prior-year quarter.

During 2024, the company signed 6.8 gigawatts (GW) of new agreements, including 4.4 GW of renewables under long-term PPAs, 2.1 GW of new data center load growth at AES Ohio and 310 megawatts of retail supply to support data centers throughout Ohio. This brought AES’ total backlog to 11.9 GW signed long-term PPAs, including 4.9 GW under construction.

AES’ Financial Condition

AES had cash and cash equivalents of $1.52 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, compared with $1.43 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023.

Non-recourse debt totaled $20.63 billion as of the same date, up from $18.48 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023.

The net cash flow from operating activities amounted to $2.75 billion during 2024 compared with $3.03 billion at the end of 2023.

Total capital expenditure was $1.73 billion during the fourth quarter, down from $2.43 billion recorded a year ago.

AES’ 2025 Guidance

AES introduced its 2025 earnings guidance.

It expects to generate adjusted earnings in the range of $2.10-$2.26 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2.02 per share, which lies below the company’s guided range.

The company reaffirmed its average annual earnings growth target to be in the band of 7-9% through 2027.

AES expects to add a total of 3.2 GW of new renewables to its operating portfolio by the end of 2025.

AES’ Zacks Rank

AES currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Utility Releases

NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 53 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents by 3.9%. The company reported operating revenues of $5.38 billion, which lagged the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion by 17%.

WEC Energy Group WEC reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.43 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 by 0.7%. The company reported operating revenues of $2.28 billion, which missed the consensus estimate of $2.6 billion by 12.1%.

National Fuel Gas Company NFG reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted operating earnings of $1.66 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.57 by 5.7%. The company reported sales of $549.5 million, which missed the consensus estimate of $594 million by 7.5%.

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research

Edison International EIX reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 by 2.8%. The bottom line also decreased 18% from $1.28 in the year-ago quarter.

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The company reported GAAP earnings of 88 cents per share compared with 99 cents recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The company reported 2024 adjusted earnings of $4.93 per share, which were much higher than the year-ago figure of $4.76. However, the full-year bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.95 per share.

EIX’s Total Revenues

Edison International's fourth-quarter operating revenues totaled $3.98 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.80 billion by 4.9%. The top line also increased 7.5% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $3.71 billion.

The company reported operating revenues of $17.60 billion in 2024, which were higher than $16.34 billion in 2023. The full-year top line also beat the consensus estimate of $17.28 billion.

Edison International Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Edison International price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Edison International Quote

Operational Highlights of Edison International

During 2024, EIX’s total operating expenses increased 7% year over year to $14.67 billion.

Purchased power and fuel costs decreased 5.1% year over year, while depreciation and amortization expenses rose 8.8% during the same time frame.

Operation and maintenance costs rose 25% in 2024, whereas property and other taxes climbed 9.3%.

The company’s operating income amounted to $2.93 billion during 2024 compared with $2.63 billion in the prior-year period.

Segmental Results of EIX

Southern California Edison’s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings were $1.28 per share compared with $1.45 in the year-ago quarter. The decrease can be attributed to higher operation and maintenance expenses and increased interest expenses.

Edison International Parent and Other incurred a loss of 23 cents per share, which deteriorated from the loss of 17 cents incurred in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year deterioration was primarily due to higher interest expense and the absence of gains on preferred stock repurchases in 2023.

Edison International’s Financial Update

As of Dec. 31, 2024, Edison International's cash and cash equivalents amounted to $193 million compared with $345 million as of Dec. 31, 2023.

The long-term debt was $33.53 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, higher than the 2023-end level of $30.32 billion.

The net cash flow from operating activities amounted to $5.01 billion during 2024 compared with $3.40 billion at the end of 2023.

Total capital expenditures were $5.71 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, higher than $5.45 billion in the year-ago period.

EIX’s 2025 Guidance

The company has introduced its 2025 guidance.

EIX expects to generate earnings in the range of $5.94-$6.34 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is currently pegged at $5.76 per share, which is below the company’s guided range.

Edison International’s Zacks Rank

Edison International currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Utility Releases

NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 53 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents by 3.9%. The company reported operating revenues of $5.38 billion, which lagged the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion by 17%.

WEC Energy Group WEC reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.43 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 by 0.7%. The company reported operating revenues of $2.28 billion, which missed the consensus estimate of $2.6 billion by 12.1%.

National Fuel Gas Company NFG reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted operating earnings of $1.66 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.57 by 5.7%. The company reported sales of $549.5 million, which missed the consensus estimate of $594 million by 7.5%.

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research

FirstEnergy FE reported fourth-quarter 2024 operating earnings of 67 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 70 cents by 4.3%.

Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

However, the bottom line increased 8.1% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of 62 cents. The year-over-year increase in earnings was due to rate base growth in the company's distribution and transmission formula rate programs, partially offset by a higher effective tax rate and lower Ohio distribution revenues resulting from the Electric Security Plan V order.

The company generated GAAP earnings of 45 cents per share compared with 30 cents in the fourth quarter of 2023.

FE reported earnings of $2.63 for 2024 compared with $2.56 per share in 2023, which reflects a year-over-year increase of 2.7%.

Total Revenues of FirstEnergy

Operating revenues of $3.18 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.67 billion by 13.5%. However, the top line increased by 1% from $3.15 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter.

FE reported total revenues of $13.47 billion for 2024 compared with $12.87 billion in 2023, which reflects a year-over-year increase of 4.7%.

FirstEnergy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

FirstEnergy Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | FirstEnergy Corporation Quote

Highlights of FE’s 2024 Earnings

Total operating expenses were $11.1 billion in 2024, up 4.6% from the year-ago level of $10.6 billion due to the higher other operating expenses, provision for depreciation and general taxes.

Operating income totaled $2.38 billion in 2024, up 4.8% from the year-ago recorded number of $2.27 billion.

The company incurred an interest expense of $1.14 billion in 2024, up 1.8% from the prior-year level of $1.12 billion.

Total distribution deliveries increased 2.8% in 2024 compared with 2023, reflecting cooling degree days were 37% above last year.

FE’s 2025 Guidance

FirstEnergy expects its 2025 earnings per share guidance in the range of $2.40-$2.60, which indicates a 5.5% increase over the 2024 guidance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2.89 per share, which is higher than the company’s guided range.

FirstEnergy expects its long-term EPS growth rate of 6-8%. FE now has a capital investment plan of $28 billion for the 2025-2029 period.

The company expects its 2025 capital investment to be $5 billion, up from $4.5 billion in 2024, which reflects an 11% year-over-year increase in investments.

FE’s Zacks Rank

FirstEnergy currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Releases

CMS Energy Corporation CMS reported a fourth-quarter 2024 EPS of 87 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 86 cents by 1.2%. However, the bottom line decreased 17.1% from $1.05 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Operating revenues totaled $1.99 billion, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.14 billion by 7.1%. However, the top line increased 2% from $1.95 billion in the prior-year quarter.

WEC Energy Group WEC reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.43 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 by 0.7%. However, the bottom line increased 30% from the year-ago quarter’s $1.10.

Operating revenues of $2.28 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.6 billion by around 12.1%. However, the top line increased 2.7% from $2.22 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Xcel Energy Inc. XEL reported fourth-quarter 2024 operating earnings of 81 cents per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 87 cents by 6.9%. The bottom line also decreased 2.4% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of 83 cents.

Revenues of $3.12 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.72 billion by 16.1%. The figure also declined 9.3% from the year-ago quarter’s $3.44 billion.

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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