Edison International Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Edison International NYSE: EIX reported second-quarter 2026 core earnings per share of $1.54, compared with $0.97 a year earlier, and reaffirmed its full-year core EPS guidance of $5.90 to $6.20. Year-to-date core EPS totaled $2.97.

President and Chief Executive Officer Pedro Pizarro said the company’s first-half performance supported its confidence in its 2026 outlook and in its long-term target for 5% to 7% core EPS growth. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Aaron Moss said quarterly results reflected regulatory decisions made last year, including Southern California Edison’s general rate case decision, as well as lower interest expense associated with Woolsey Fire cost recovery.

Moss, delivering his first earnings report as CFO, said the company’s parent-and-other core loss improved by $0.06 year over year, primarily due to financing benefits from preferred-stock redemptions initiated late in 2025 and completed during the first quarter.

Wildfire Legislation Remains a Key Uncertainty

Management said it remains engaged with California’s governor’s office, legislators and other stakeholders on wildfire reform and customer affordability. Pizarro said the current wildfire framework is creating increasing pressure on customers, communities and the cost of financing utility investments needed to support California’s climate goals.

While the company said it is encouraged by Sacramento’s focus on the issue, Pizarro cautioned that the legislative outcome remains uncertain. Southern California Edison, or SCE, has approved capital-spending visibility through 2028 under its current general rate case authorization, and Pizarro said Edison can execute that plan without an equity need. The company also continues to see no need for equity through 2030 based on its extended outlook.

However, Pizarro said the quality of the legislative outcome could affect the company’s future capital allocation. A durable and financeable framework could help preserve access to lower-cost capital, while an outcome that lacks predictability could raise financing costs and make investments more expensive for customers.

During the question-and-answer session, Pizarro said the company would assess any legislative package after the session concludes. If the outcome materially changes Edison’s cost of equity, management would need to avoid making decisions with negative net present value for investors while continuing to meet safety and reliability obligations.

He also said California affordability concerns extend beyond electricity rates, with housing costs representing a major affordability pressure for customers. Still, he said a failure to enact a credit-supportive wildfire framework could increase debt costs that are ultimately passed through to utility customers.

Wildfire Mitigation and Eaton Fire Recovery

SCE filed its Risk Assessment Mitigation Phase, or RAMP, application in May, outlining proposed investments related to wildfire risk, transmission and distribution reliability, cybersecurity, climate adaptation and other safety measures. Moss said the application includes approximately $2.5 billion of spending, or slightly more than one-third of the company’s expected general rate case request.

For the 2029 through 2032 period, SCE’s preliminary RAMP estimates include about 450 miles of additional covered conductor and approximately 190 miles of targeted undergrounding. Pizarro said the utility is using enhanced wildfire-risk modeling, climate-informed analysis and broader failure scenarios to prioritize projects where potential consequences to communities are greatest.

SCE has hardened about 90% of its roughly 16,800 distribution-line miles in high-fire-risk areas, including nearly 7,200 miles of covered conductor, Moss said. Since January 2025, the utility has deployed about 800 miles of covered conductor and roughly 90 miles of undergrounding, including work in all rebuild areas. Pizarro said SCE has not experienced a covered-conductor failure associated with the risks the technology is designed to address.

Regarding the Eaton Fire, Pizarro said SCE’s revised 10-Q wording stating that its equipment was likely associated with the events reflected the passage of time and the absence of viable alternative explanations based on information currently available. He said the company continues to view liability as probable, while noting that weather and other factors affected the extent of the fire.

SCE’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program has extended more than 2,200 offers totaling over $775 million to more than 12,300 community members affected by the Eaton Fire. Moss said that, combined with subrogation settlements, the company has crossed the $1 billion threshold for California Wildfire Fund reimbursement. SCE has arranged pre-funding mechanisms with the California Earthquake Authority, the fund’s administrator, so it does not have to fund those claim payments out of pocket.

Pizarro said the volume of compensation-program settlements and insurer settlements remains insufficient to estimate the low end of Edison’s potential Eaton Fire liability range under GAAP accounting principles. He added that more than 30,000 claims have been filed in litigation. The company has settled two insurer subrogation claims at about $0.55 on the dollar.

Capital Plan, Financing and Operational Initiatives

Moss said Edison’s capital plan is driven by infrastructure replacement, wildfire mitigation and growing electrification demand, supporting long-term rate-base growth of about 7%. The company’s 2029 capital forecast calls for $8 billion to $9 billion of capital expenditures.

SCE also completed its Woolsey Fire cost-recovery securitization during the week of the call, generating approximately $2 billion in proceeds. Moss said the proceeds will be used to recover claims and other costs, including the retirement of related debt.

Management highlighted efforts to use artificial intelligence and automation to improve productivity. Moss said SCE produces roughly 100,000 project designs annually and is deploying tools designed to automate initial designs and validate final designs against standards. The company expects the initiatives to accelerate design cycles by 20% to 30%.

SCE also processes approximately 40,000 permits each year across multiple agencies and systems. Moss said the utility sees an opportunity to reduce permit cycle times by about 20% while improving throughput.

Separately, Pizarro said Edison sold Trio, describing it as a nonmaterial business and stating that a different owner would be a better fit for its continuing needs. He said the company continues to believe in Trio’s underlying business and wished its team well.

On clean energy, Pizarro said SCE supplied at least 60% carbon-free power to customers, more than 70% cleaner than the national average. The utility also contracted for approximately 900 megawatts of energy storage, bringing its owned or contracted storage portfolio to about 9,200 megawatts at year-end.

About Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

Edison International is a publicly traded utility holding company based in Rosemead, California, whose principal subsidiary is Southern California Edison (SCE). As an electric utility holding company, Edison International oversees the delivery of electricity through SCE's integrated network of generation procurement, transmission and distribution infrastructure, serving millions of customers across central, coastal and southern California. The company's operations focus on reliable energy delivery, customer service, regulatory compliance and long-term infrastructure planning for a complex and high-demand service territory.

The company's activities include procuring and managing a diverse resource mix, maintaining and upgrading transmission and distribution systems, and implementing grid modernization projects.

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