NextEra Energy reported above-forecast third-quarter earnings and said early Wednesday it would be "disappointed" if it did not deliver financial results "at or near the top" of its profit forecast each year through 2027. NEE shares edged down early.
The large scale renewable energy utility play saw Q3 EPS grow 9% to $1.03 with revenue totaling $7.57 billion, up 5.5% compared to a year ago. Prior to the earnings release, analyst consensus predicted earnings of 98 cents per share and sales coming in at $8.11 billion.
"We will be disappointed if we are not able to deliver financial results at or near the top of our adjusted earnings per share expectations ranges each year through 2027, while maintaining our strong balance sheet and credit ratings," Chief Executive John Ketchum said in the earnings release Wednesday.
Florida-based NextEra Energy targets 2024 adjusted earnings per of $3.23-$3.43. For 2025, 2026 and 2027, NextEra Energy expects adjusted EPS of $3.45-$3.70, $3.63-$4.00 and $3.85-$4.32, respectively. NextEra Energy also continues to expect growing its dividends per share at a 10% rate per year through at least 2026.
Earlier this year, the company announced the number of gigawatts that data center customers are demanding is going up. At the end of Q2, data centers account for 18% of its gigawatt backlog, according to NextEra. NEE also reported that it signed a deal for 86o megawatts with Alphabet's Google in Q2.
Top hyperscalers — the largest cloud, data center and artificial intelligence providers — include Amazon.com's AWS and Microsoft. Also, Meta and Alphabet.
NextEra Energy Stock Performance
NEE shares angled down 0.1% to 83.62 during market trade on Wednesday. Going into Wednesday's market open, shares are down around 1% in October.
On Oct. 10, NEE hit 86.10 but then retreated, finding support at the 50-day moving average, according to MarketSurge analysis. NEE has advanced more than 38% in 2024.
NextEra Energy is the top stock by market capitalization in the IBD-tracked Utility-Electric Power industry group. The 31-stock group has collectively gained 32% this year, according to IBD data.
S&P 500 leader Vistra, a nuclear power utilities play, has gained 224% this year, pushing the overall Utility-Electric Power industry group higher.
So far in 2024, nuclear power and utility stocks, including Vistra and NextEra Energy, have been riding the artificial intelligence energy wave.
Artificial intelligence — and the data centers needed to train the systems — are expected to boost energy demand throughout this decade. In the U.S., McKinsey & Co. projects that data center energy demand will grow from around 4% currently, as percentage of total energy demand, to 11%-12% by 2030.
Many technology companies are investing in or partnering with power providers to ensure energy supplies for their data centers.
NextEra Energy stock has a 96 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. Shares have an 88 Relative Strength Rating and an 85 EPS Rating.
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