NiSource Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• NiSource reaffirmed its 2026 outlook despite lower second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.16, down from $0.22 a year earlier. The company maintained its $2.02–$2.07 adjusted EPS guidance and long-term earnings growth targets.
• Data-center agreements with Amazon and Alphabet are a major growth driver, representing 4 GW of signed load and $7.6 billion in planned GenCo investment. NiSource expects the contracts to reduce NIPSCO customers’ bills by approximately $1.4 billion, with savings potentially beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026.
• NiSource kept its five-year capital plan unchanged, including $21 billion in base-business investment and up to $2 billion in additional opportunities. Management said regulatory developments in Indiana have not changed its capital spending, earnings outlook or rate-case timing.

NiSource NYSE: NI reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $0.16 per share, compared with $0.22 per share a year earlier, while reaffirming its full-year earnings outlook and long-term growth targets. Year-to-date adjusted earnings rose to $1.22 per share, up $0.03 from the same period in 2025.

President and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Yates said the company remains on track to meet its 2026 commitments, supported by regulatory progress, infrastructure investment and its strategy to serve large data-center customers. NiSource operates regulated gas and electric utilities across six states.

“With strong visibility into second-half performance, we remain firmly on track to deliver on our full-year commitments,” Yates said.

Second-Quarter Results and Full-Year Outlook

Chief Financial Officer Shawn Anderson said higher revenue from new rates and recovery mechanisms, including rate implementation at NIPSCO Electric and Columbia Gas operations in Ohio and Pennsylvania, supported results. Those benefits were offset by increased operations and maintenance expense associated with unusually active storm activity and expenses intended to maintain workforce continuity during ongoing union negotiations.

NiSource said 2026 has included a record number of tornadoes, which contributed to outages and other system impacts across its service territory. The company said its field, operations and customer-care teams responded to assess damage, restore service and support affected communities.

The company expects earnings growth to be more heavily weighted toward the second half of 2026. Anderson cited approved recovery mechanisms, new regulatory activity in Virginia and Ohio, and Alphabet-related energization activity expected during the second half.

NiSource reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.02 to $2.07. It also reaffirmed its base-plan adjusted EPS growth target of 6% to 8% annually through 2030, as well as a consolidated adjusted EPS compound annual growth rate of 9% to 10% from 2026 through 2033.

The company said it has identified more than $40 million in cost-optimization initiatives, including process improvements and technology-enabled efficiencies. NiSource expects many of these efforts to improve its cost structure beyond 2026 while benefiting customer rate structures.

Data Center Agreements and Customer Savings

NiSource highlighted its data-center strategy as a source of growth and customer bill relief. The company said its agreements with Amazon and Alphabet are expected to provide approximately $1.4 billion in bill reductions for existing NIPSCO electric customers over the terms of the contracts.

According to the company, the savings could equal up to $124 annually for an average residential customer, or roughly one month of an electric bill. NiSource expects those benefits to begin reaching customers as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the original Amazon special contract, the related power purchase agreement and supporting generation resource in June. NiSource subsequently filed for approval of amendments to Amazon’s agreement that would increase contracted load by 400 megawatts. The company is seeking a final order by November.

NiSource also received IURC approval of its Alphabet agreement in July. The company said it is prepared to energize that project this summer, with load expected to ramp to full capacity by 2030.

Yates said NiSource has signed agreements representing 4 gigawatts of load, has 3 GW in active strategic negotiations and sees approximately 2 GW of additional potential customers. The company is also reviewing ways to expand its opportunity set beyond its current 9 GW pipeline.

Michael Luhrs, executive vice president of technology, customer and chief commercial officer, said the company’s work to assess potential expansion reflects planning around factors including land, zoning, transmission, fuel supply and equipment. He said investors should not interpret that effort as a sign of constraints on the existing 9 GW pipeline.

Indiana Regulatory Developments

Management addressed a recent IURC order related to NIPSCO’s gas modernization investments. Yates said the company was still evaluating the order, but he said it did not alter NiSource’s view that Indiana remains a constructive regulatory environment.

The commission recognized the need for continued investment, according to Yates, while indicating that the company should more clearly demonstrate the specific benefits of individual projects. NiSource said it could seek recovery through other tracker mechanisms, the FMCA mechanism, or future base-rate proceedings.

Anderson said the company was not reporting any change to its capital-expenditure plan or earnings outlook. Management said the order does not change its rate-case timing.

NiSource also plans to participate in an Indiana affordability technical conference scheduled for Aug. 7. Yates said he expects the discussions to be collaborative and balanced, with attention to bill transparency, multi-year rate planning, return on equity and the risks associated with those frameworks.

The company said savings tied to data-center agreements will flow to customers once projects receive appropriate approvals and are energized, rather than waiting for a future rate case.

Capital Plan and Financing

NiSource’s five-year capital investment outlook was unchanged. The plan includes $21 billion in base-business investment, up to $2 billion of additional upside opportunities and $7.6 billion of GenCo capital investment supporting data-center customers.

• $21 billion of base-business investment across gas and electric operations.
• Up to $2 billion of potential upside investment, primarily related to generation, gas advanced metering infrastructure, system modernization, economic development and electric transmission and distribution.
• $7.6 billion of GenCo capital investment associated with serving data-center customers.

The company said possible investments outside its current base and upside plans include electric generation needed for MISO resource requirements, gas and electric transmission, grid resiliency work, PHMSA compliance and advanced metering infrastructure.

NiSource expects to begin reporting GenCo segment information by the end of the fiscal year. Its financing plan targets funds from operations to debt of 14% to 16% annually, supported by operating cash flow, long-term debt, annual equity issuance of roughly $400 million to $600 million, and minority-interest contributions.

Yates said the company continues to view economic development, including data centers, onshoring and manufacturing investment, as important to improving affordability while supporting infrastructure investment and long-term customer demand.

About NiSource (NYSE:NI)

NiSource, Inc NYSE: NI is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning.

The company's core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response.

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