Entergy (NYSE:ETR) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.98, citing customer growth and hotter summer weather, while narrowing its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance range by raising the low end by $0.10.
Chair and CEO Drew Marsh said the company’s results reflected financial, regulatory and operational progress. He said higher temperatures, industrial sales growth and new peak-demand records contributed to the quarter, while Entergy continued to invest in reliability and resilience initiatives.
“With results to date and our biggest quarter behind us, we are narrowing our 2026 adjusted EPS guidance range, raising the bottom by $0.10,” Marsh said.
Customer Growth and Google Expansion
Entergy Arkansas announced an amended service agreement with Google covering an expansion of the company’s West Memphis campus. Marsh said the agreement is structured to require Google to cover its share of new investments and system costs under Entergy’s Fair Share Plus and Ratepayer Protection pledges.
The expansion is expected to increase anticipated customer bill savings in Arkansas by at least $500 million, bringing total projected Fair Share Plus customer bill savings across Entergy’s utilities to at least $7.5 billion, according to Marsh. Entergy Arkansas has requested approval for the Google contract, $600 million in battery-storage investments and a power-purchase agreement for Big Island Solar’s clean attributes. Pending regulatory approval expected during the first half of 2027, the expansion is expected to begin ramping in 2028.
Marsh said Entergy continues to see data-center interest in the range of 7 gigawatts to 12 gigawatts, while traditional industrial segments account for another 3 gigawatts to 5 gigawatts of discussions. The company views those projects as potential signed agreements within the next 24 months, though they are not included in its base plan.
During August, Entergy’s system recorded more than 24,000 megawatt-hours of coincident peak demand, up 2% from the prior peak. Entergy Mississippi posted the largest increase, with peak demand 11% higher, which Marsh attributed to data-center ramping.
Capital Plan, Generation and Transmission
Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Fontan said Entergy increased planned capital spending by approximately $1.5 billion for 2027 through 2030. The increase includes the $600 million associated with the Google expansion, primarily for two battery projects, along with transmission investments and updates from the company’s annual planning process.
Fontan said the incremental capital spending moves Entergy into the upper half of its earnings outlook ranges for the 2027-2030 period. However, she said the plan does not include approximately $1.4 billion of transmission tied to a pending Entergy Louisiana regulatory proceeding, nor potential additional clean-generation investments requested by customers.
Entergy completed the Orange County Advanced Power Station, a 1,200-megawatt facility serving Entergy Texas customers. Marsh said the facility was completed at a cost below what a comparable plant would require if construction began today. The company now has 23 gigawatts, or 31 natural-gas plants, in its development queue, including 10 plants under construction, nine in regulatory review in Louisiana and four later-cycle projects in its supply plan.
The company also has more than 1,000 miles of transmission lines planned, primarily in Louisiana and Texas, with 85% designed as 500-kilovolt lines. About 70% of the investment is approved and roughly one-third of the planned line miles are under construction, Marsh said.
In the third quarter, Entergy signed natural-gas firm transportation agreements totaling 1.325 billion cubic feet per day. Marsh said that volume would be sufficient to fuel 10 new combined-cycle plants in Louisiana.
Regulatory and Resilience Developments
In Arkansas, Entergy reached a settlement with regulatory staff in its rate case that would result in essentially no rate change. The agreement includes a 9.7% return on equity and a 47.5% equity capital structure after adjusting for deferred taxes. Entergy expects a commission decision before year-end.
In Louisiana, Entergy filed a settlement agreement with staff and Walmart in its Evest proceeding, with the commission expected to consider the matter at its December business and executive meeting. The Louisiana Public Service Commission also approved the $1.2 billion Babel-to-Webre transmission project in October.
Entergy New Orleans received approval to extend its formula rate plan by four years through 2030. Meanwhile, Entergy Louisiana requested approval for additional resilience and reliability investments and a one-year extension of its formula rate plan, with a decision targeted by the end of the year.
Marsh said Entergy is advancing a $2 billion Phase I accelerated resilience program. Projects include a $270 million grid-resilience effort outside New Orleans that would replace more than 500 poles and related infrastructure. The Department of Energy also awarded Entergy utilities $14 million through its SPARK program to deploy dynamic line-rating technology on more than 1,000 miles of transmission lines in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Financing and Outlook
Fontan said Entergy settled more than $900 million of equity forwards in September and issued $1.5 billion of junior subordinated notes, which received 50% equity treatment. Entergy Louisiana also issued $1 billion in bonds, primarily to finance new growth, with 10-year and 30-year maturities at an average rate below 6%.
The company’s planned financing for 2026 is complete, Fontan said. More than 40% of Entergy’s equity needs for 2027 through 2030 are already contracted, taking the company into 2028. Its equity needs for the four-year period are currently about 9% to 9.5% of the capital plan, below its targeted 10% to 15% range due to the timing of capital additions.
Entergy expects Moody’s funds-from-operations-to-debt metric to remain at 15% or better throughout its outlook period. Fontan said the company remains on a trajectory for earnings growth of more than 8%, supported by sales growth, capital investment and regulatory mechanisms.
About Entergy (NYSE:ETR)
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company that operates as a regulated electric utility. Through its operating companies, the company generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers. Its generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, renewable and other power resources, while its transmission and distribution networks deliver electricity across its service territories.
Entergy serves customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, including the New Orleans area through Entergy New Orleans.
