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
Entergy ETR 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%.
Evergy EVRG 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 Corporation PPL 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%.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This innovative software-as-a-service firm upped its user base +22% year over year. That rate is increasing and margins are expanding as AI efficiencies take effect. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners, but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like D-Wave Quantum, which shot up +680.1%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
FirstEnergy Corporation (FE): Free Stock Analysis Report
PPL Corporation (PPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Entergy Corporation (ETR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Evergy Inc. (EVRG): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).