American Electric Power Company, Inc. AEP is slated to release first-quarter 2026 results on May 5, before market open. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 3.48%.
Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.
Factors to Note Ahead of AEP’s Q1 Earnings
AEP’s first-quarter earnings are likely to have benefited from its operations as a high-quality, pure-play electric utility in growth regions, driven by its focus on delivering reliable, affordable power to customers and leveraging its scale to secure critical resources to meet rising customer demand across its service territories.
Factors such as favorable rate revisions in prior quarters, industrial load growth, rising data center demand and higher normalized retail sales, supported by economic development across AEP’s operating states, are likely to have contributed to the company’s top-line performance in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.
Higher interest expenses are likely to have offset some of the gains in its first-quarter earnings. However, favorable revenue expectations are expected to have supported the company’s overall bottom-line performance.
Q1 Expectations for AEP
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEP’s sales is pegged at $5.69 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 4.1%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.55 per share, which suggests a year-over-year rise of 0.7%.
What the Zacks Model Unveils for AEP
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for American Electric this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here, as you will see below.
American Electric Power Company, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
American Electric Power Company, Inc. price-eps-surprise | American Electric Power Company, Inc. Quote
Earnings ESP: AEP has an Earnings ESP of -0.21%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Currently, American Electric carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Stocks to Consider
Here, we have mentioned a few players from the same industry that have the right combination of elements to beat earnings in the upcoming releases:
WEC Energy Group WEC is set to report first-quarter 2026 earnings on May 5, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.54% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.
WEC’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 7.44%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at $2.31 per share, which implies a year-over-year rise of 1.8%.
Duke Energy Corporation DUK is slated to report its first-quarter 2026 results on May 5, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.31% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at $1.79 per share, which implies a year-over-year rise of 1.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales stands at $8.40 billion, which suggests a year-over-year improvement of 1.8%.
NiSource Inc. NI is scheduled to report its first-quarter 2026 results on May 6, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.34% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.
NI’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.11%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at $1.03 per share, which indicates a year-over-year jump of 5.1%.
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NiSource, Inc (NI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report
American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP): Free Stock Analysis Report
WEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).