PPL (NYSE:PPL) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• PPL beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.63 versus the $0.61 consensus and revenue of $2.77 billion, also ahead of estimates. Revenue rose 10.8% year over year.
• Management reaffirmed its growth plan, keeping 2026 ongoing EPS guidance at $1.90–$1.98 and targeting 6%–8% annual EPS growth, 4%–6% dividend growth, and about $23 billion in capital spending through 2029.
• Long-term opportunities and risks are both in focus: data center demand and the Blackstone JV could support additional transmission and generation growth, while regulatory issues in Kentucky and ISO-NE create some earnings uncertainty.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. PPL had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from PPL's conference call:

• Reaffirmed 2026 guidance and long-term targets: PPL reaffirmed 2026 ongoing EPS guidance of $1.90–$1.98 (midpoint $1.94), targets 6%–8% annual EPS growth and 4%–6% annual dividend growth, and plans roughly $23 billion of capital investment through 2029 supporting ~10.3% average annual rate base growth.
• Pennsylvania rate-case settlement provides near-term revenue visibility: PPL Electric Utilities reached a settlement (ALJ recommended approval) that limits bill impacts to under 4% for all classes and includes a two‑year stay‑out, supporting rate stability and affordability.
• Blackstone joint venture gaining momentum: The JV is advancing ESSA discussions with hyperscalers, has submitted multiple generation projects into PJM and completed turbine reservation activity, increasing the probability of JV-owned generation and upside beyond the current plan.
• Large data center pipelines driving incremental opportunity: Project pipelines of ~28.3 GW in Pennsylvania and ~12.9 GW in Kentucky are creating additional transmission and generation needs (management estimates at least ~$0.5B of upside transmission CapEx beyond the current plan) and supporting long‑term commercial demand.
• Regulatory and market risks remain: Kentucky base‑rate reconsideration by the KPSC and an ISO‑NE transmission ROE reduction (and related ~ $25M refund exposure) create regulatory uncertainty that could affect near‑term earnings and cost recovery.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded down $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.86. 9,304,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,629,112. The business's 50 day moving average is $38.32 and its 200-day moving average is $36.77. The company has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. PPL has a 1-year low of $33.12 and a 1-year high of $40.10.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.25%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in PPL by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 115,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,054,000 after acquiring an additional 44,657 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $1,060,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of PPL by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 62,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 18,057 shares in the last quarter. Align Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $361,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its position in shares of PPL by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 249,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,446,000 after purchasing an additional 9,118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on PPL from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.00.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns and operates electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides related customer services. The company's core business centers on delivering electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers through regulated utility operations, maintaining grid reliability, responding to outages and managing customer billing and account services.

PPL's activities include construction and maintenance of distribution and transmission lines, meter and grid management, and programs to support energy efficiency and the interconnection of distributed resources.

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