FirstEnergy Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

FirstEnergy reaffirmed its outlook , maintaining its 2026 Core EPS guidance of $2.62–$2.82 per share, $6 billion in planned capital spending and its five-year $36 billion investment plan. Data-center demand is accelerating: forecasted demand rose 30% to roughly 25 gigawatts, while contracted demand reached 6.4 gigawatts. The company expects further contracting and estimates related investment could extend beyond its current capital plan. FirstEnergy is pursuing additional growth through the proposed 1.2-gigawatt Moundsville Energy Center, multiple state rate cases and transmission expansion, with transmission expected to grow at a 16% compound annual rate through 2030.

FirstEnergy NYSE: FE reaffirmed its 2026 earnings and capital-spending outlook as the utility reported second-quarter results in line with its plan and highlighted growing electricity demand from data centers across its service territory. The company maintained its 2026 capital investment plan of $6 billion and its Core EPS guidance range of $2.62 to $2.82 per share. It also reaffirmed its five-year, $36 billion capital plan and said it expects Core EPS growth near the upper end of its 6% to 8% target through 2030.

“We have made significant progress in key strategic and regulatory priorities and are executing well against our 2026 plan,” Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Tierney said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

FirstEnergy reported second-quarter GAAP earnings of $0.50 per share, up from $0.46 per share in the second quarter of 2025. Core earnings were $0.50 per share, compared with $0.52 per share a year earlier. For the first six months of 2026, Core earnings totaled $1.22 per share, compared with $1.19 per share in the prior-year period. Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jon Taylor said results reflected returns from regulated, customer-focused formula-rate investment programs, partly offset by the planned timing of higher operating expenses. The company invested $2.9 billion in capital during the first half of 2026, representing a 19% increase from the comparable period in 2025. FirstEnergy’s trailing 12-month consolidated return on equity was 9.5%, which Taylor said was in line with the company’s targeted returns. Weather-adjusted customer load rose about 2% during the quarter. Industrial load increased more than 4%, with growth led by metals, oil and gas, and chemicals. Taylor said the trends reflect stronger order activity and tailwinds from artificial intelligence and data-center infrastructure development.

FirstEnergy said total forecasted data-center demand across its system increased 30% from the first quarter to roughly 25 gigawatts. The company contracted an additional 2.1 gigawatts during the second quarter, bringing contracted demand to 6.4 gigawatts. Tierney said the company expects another 1.5 gigawatts of demand to enter contracts in the coming weeks. Contracted and pipeline demand together represent about 70% of FirstEnergy’s July system peak load of 34.8 gigawatts, according to the company. In West Virginia, FirstEnergy has 4.3 gigawatts of contracted and pipeline data-center demand and expects that total to increase by year-end. Tierney said West Virginia offers a “one-stop-shop” advantage because the utility can provide both transmission arrangements and generation service, unlike in deregulated jurisdictions. Management said the most significant current data-center interest is in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The company cited its geographic position between the...