The Southern Company Q3 FY2026 Earnings Call

· Earnings call transcript and AI-powered summary

Financial Performance Highlights

  • Q3 2026 adjusted EPS: $1.94 per share, up $0.34 from Q3 2025 and $0.29 above company estimate. Primary drivers vs. prior year: warmer weather, increased usage/customer growth, large commercial/industrial revenue (incl. data centers), and higher Southern Power earnings. Partially offset by higher nonfuel O&M, taxes, and share dilution.
  • Year-to-date 2026 adjusted EPS: $4.40 vs. $3.76 for same period in 2025.
  • Full-year 2026 outlook: $4.70 (9% YoY growth), $0.10 above original guidance top end, based on Q4 estimate of $0.30.
  • Company expects to exceed original 2026 guidance and is positioned to potentially raise 2027+ earnings outlook in February 2027 update.

Sales and Customer Growth (vs. Q3 2025 unless noted)

  • Weather-normal sales: +3.5% in Q3; +2.7% YTD (highest levels in generations; all classes up, led by commercial +7.3%).
  • Data center usage: +59% in Q3; +52% YTD due to accelerating load ramps.
  • Residential sales: +1.3%; ~15,000 new electric residential customers and ~6,000 new gas customers.
  • Industrial sales: meaningfully higher, driven by primary metals, lumber, and transportation segments.

Strategic and Operational Updates

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Operator: Good afternoon. My name is Alicia, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would now like to welcome everyone to the Southern Company Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Greg MacLeod, Director, Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Greg MacLeod: Thank you, Alicia. Good afternoon, and welcome to Southern Company's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Joining me today are Chris Womack, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company; and David Poroch, Chief Financial Officer. Let me remind you that we will make forward-looking statements today in addition to providing historical information. Various important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, including those discussed in our Form 10-K, Form 10-Qs and subsequent securities filings. In addition, we will present non-GAAP financial information on this call. Reconciliations to the applicable GAAP measures are included in the financial information we released this morning as well as the slides for this conference call, which are both available on our Investor Relations website at investor.southerncompany.com. At this time, I'll turn the call over to Chris. Christopher Womack: Thank you, Greg, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's update. Southern Company continues to deliver strong results for our customers, co
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