Evergy Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Evergy reported Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.69 (up from $0.55 a year ago), driven by recovery of regulated investments, 4.7% weather‑normalized demand growth and large‑load revenues, though mild winter weather trimmed earnings by about $0.06.
• Management signed a fifth large‑customer ESA for a data‑center developer, bringing five ESAs to roughly 2.5 GW of LLPS steady‑state peak load (about 3 GW including non‑LLPS customers) and highlighting a multi‑gigawatt pipeline with additional expansion upside beyond the current five‑year plan.
• Evergy reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.14–$4.34, raised retail load and rate‑base growth assumptions (retail load ~7–8% through 2030; rate‑base CAGR to ~12%), expects FFO/debt of 14–15% from 2026–2028, and plans $700–$900M of annual equity issuance from 2026–2029.

Evergy NASDAQ: EVRG reported higher first-quarter 2026 earnings and highlighted continued momentum in its large-load strategy, including the signing of a fifth large customer electric service agreement (ESA) and amendments to two previously signed contracts.

First-quarter earnings rise despite mild winter weather

Evergy delivered first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $0.69 per share, up from $0.55 per share in the first quarter of 2025. Chairman and CEO David Campbell said the increase was “primarily driven by recovery [of] regulated investments, growth in weather normalized demand, and revenues from our large load customers,” partially offset by mild weather, higher operations and maintenance expense, and higher depreciation.

Executive Vice President and CFO Bryan Buckler said adjusted earnings were $162 million, compared with $128 million a year earlier. He described load impacts as “essentially flat” year over year because strong weather-normalized demand growth was offset by mild winter conditions. Buckler said weather-normalized demand grew 4.7% during the quarter, while mild weather reduced heating degree days versus both the prior year and normal levels, impacting earnings by about $0.06 compared to budget.

Buckler said Panasonic and the startup of operations of a large data center in March—“a couple months ahead of plan”—provided a $0.02 earnings-per-share benefit compared to the prior year quarter. He added that “other revenues and incremental large load margin from the amended ESAs” are projected to fully offset the first-quarter mild-weather impact and support the company’s ability to meet the midpoint of its full-year adjusted EPS guidance.

Fifth ESA signed; large-load pipeline continues to build

Campbell said Evergy signed a new ESA with “a premier developer for a new data center project” in its Kansas Central service territory. While customer details were described as confidential, Campbell said the developer has “strong investment-grade credit ratings” and is working with “a hyperscaler off-taker,” with the company anticipating “further disclosure in the coming months.”

The customer will take service under Evergy’s Large Load Power Service (LLPS) tariff, which Campbell described as a structure in which new large customers “pay a premium rate that covers their fair share of existing and new system costs.” He said the agreement is expected to support adjusted EPS growth, demand growth, and credit metrics across the company’s five-year plan.

Campbell said Evergy has now executed ESAs for five data center projects under the LLPS tariff framework. He said the five ESAs represent approximately 2.5 gigawatts of steady-state peak load, and when including 450 megawatts of steady-state peak load from non-LLPS customers such as the Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant, the total reaches 3 gigawatts. Campbell said Evergy expects at least one additional ESA in 2026, noting that any further agreements would represent upside to the current financial plan.

Discussing the broader pipeline, Campbell said Evergy’s tier-one demand totals 3 gigawatts, consisting of projects already in operation progressing toward a steady state of 1.2 gigawatts and an additional 1.7 gigawatts tied to executed ESAs with minimum monthly bill requirements. He also pointed to 1 to 1.5 gigawatts of potential expansion opportunities from existing ESA customers, and said those expansions are not included in the five-year financial plan. Separately, he cited advanced discussions with new customers in a tier-two category representing about 1.5 to 3 gigawatts, with opportunities “primarily beyond 2030,” alongside a remaining pipeline “well over 10 additional gigawatts.”

Updated outlook: guidance reaffirmed; load growth and rate base expectations raised

Management reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.14 to $4.34 per share. Campbell also reaffirmed Evergy’s long-term adjusted EPS growth target of 6% to 8%+ through 2030, based on the 2026 midpoint of $4.24, and said the company expects adjusted EPS growth to exceed 8% annually beginning in 2028 through 2030.

For modeling purposes, Buckler provided second-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of 17% to 19% of the $4.24 midpoint of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance.

On sales trends, Buckler said first-quarter weather-normalized growth was broad-based:

• Residential demand grew 3.3%, which he attributed to customer growth and migration into Evergy’s communities.
• Commercial demand rose 3.8%, “driven primarily by the initial ramp-up of data centers.”
• Industrial demand increased 10.1%, driven by Panasonic’s continued ramp and higher usage from a large customer that had an unplanned outage in the prior-year quarter.

Buckler said the company’s updated forecast reflects retail load growth of approximately 7% to 8% through 2030, up from a previous 6% forecast, with load growth expected to range from 6% to 11% across Evergy’s three utilities over the next five years. He also said the amended ESAs accelerate revenue earlier than expected and that the fifth ESA will begin contributing in early 2027.

In discussing the capital plan, Buckler said upcoming integrated resource plans (IRPs) in Missouri and Kansas are expected to outline generation capacity needed to serve signed customers. He said Evergy’s “preferred plan” in those IRPs is expected to represent “modest upside” to the company’s $21.6 billion capital investment plan, bringing projected rate base compound annual growth to approximately 12%, compared with prior disclosure of 11.5%.

In response to analyst questions, Campbell said the additional signed ESAs provide “tremendous line of sight” due to minimum bills and “great counterparties,” and he signaled confidence that the company can exceed 8% earnings growth in the out years, adding that it is “trending towards” the implied math of higher growth.

Balance sheet, equity funding, and credit metrics

Buckler said Evergy’s equity issuance plan remains unchanged, calling for $700 million to $900 million per year from 2026 through 2029, with “still no needs in 2030,” totaling $3.3 billion in the aggregate. He added that Evergy has already priced $125 million for 2026, and said the company has “no plans currently for a block issuance,” expecting to use its at-the-market program to meet remaining 2026 needs.

Management also discussed strengthening credit metrics. Buckler said that compared with an estimated 14% funds from operations (FFO) to debt forecast previously disclosed, Evergy now anticipates higher FFO to debt across the five-year plan. He said Evergy expects FFO to debt of 14% to 15% from 2026 to 2028, “further strengthening thereafter as our large customers ramp towards their peak load.” Campbell also pointed to the impact of flowing back nuclear production tax credits in Kansas over a three-year period.

Regulatory agenda and resource planning in Kansas and Missouri

Campbell outlined several regulatory milestones. In Kansas, he said Evergy expects to file its 2026 integrated resource plan in the second quarter, reflecting higher long-term demand growth tied to new ESAs, Southwest Power Pool capacity reserve requirements, changes to federal tax credit policies, updated construction cost estimates based on requests for proposals, and coal plant retirement schedules. He said related generation predetermination filings are expected later in the year.

Campbell also said the Kansas Corporation Commission approved a unanimous stipulation and agreement to return deferred nuclear production tax credits to customers over three years. He said Evergy expects to monetize more than $100 million per year of nuclear production tax credits that will be flowed back to customers over time.

In Missouri, Campbell said Evergy filed its Missouri Metro rate case on Feb. 6. The procedural schedule calls for staff and intervener testimony by June 30, settlement conferences on Sept. 23 and 24, and hearings beginning Oct. 5, with new rates expected to take effect around Jan. 1, 2027. Campbell said Evergy would file its 2026 Missouri IRP “later today,” and anticipates multiple certificate of convenience and necessity filings throughout the year.

On affordability, Campbell said Evergy expects rate increases for the “significant majority” of residential customers to be in line with or below inflation over the next several years. He added that Missouri West customers “may see rate increases above inflation over the next five years” due to infrastructure investment needs, including dispatchable baseload generation, while saying those rates should remain regionally competitive and become more stable as reliance on market energy declines.

About Evergy NASDAQ: EVRG

Evergy, Inc is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily across Kansas and western Missouri. The company provides core utility services including retail electric delivery, grid operations, customer service and outage restoration, operating under state regulatory frameworks. Evergy serves a mix of urban and rural communities, including portions of the Kansas City metropolitan area and other population centers in its service territory.

The company's business activities span power generation, system planning, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and customer-facing programs such as energy efficiency and demand-side management.

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