Ameren Corporation

Ameren reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of $1.28 per share, up from $1.07 per share in Q1 2025, an increase of $0.21 per share. Management said the year-over-year gain was primarily driven by increased infrastructure investments across all operating segments, partially offset by warmer-than-normal winter temperatures that hurt Ameren Missouri electric retail sales versus last year. The company also said it made more than $1.5 billion of infrastructure investments in the quarter. Forward guidance was reaffirmed at 2026 EPS of $5.25 to $5.45, and management said the five-year growth plan still implies annual EPS growth near the upper end of a 6% to 8% CAGR from 2026 through 2030, supported by 10.6% compound annual rate base growth.

Martin Lyons emphasized that Ameren’s strategy is centered on disciplined investment in regulated infrastructure, regulatory execution, and business optimization. He said the company is seeing meaningful progress on large-load/data center opportunities, with 2.2 GW of Missouri ESAs signed and more conversion opportunities in the near term, and he framed those as upside to the current sales and earnings plan. His tone was constructive and confident, especially around reliability, generation buildout, and the long-term growth pipeline.

Lenny Singh highlighted the Q1 EPS increase to $1.28 from $1.07, saying infrastructure investment was the main driver while weather reduced retail sales. He reaffirmed full-year EPS guidance of $5.25 to $5.45 and warned that tree-trimming costs should be higher in 2026, especially in Q2, because of ongoing reliability-focused spending. On financing, he said Ameren completed planned debt issuances in the quarter, is progressing toward about $4 billion of equity issuance from 2026 through 2030, has sold forward about $600 million for 2026 needs and another about $600 million via ATM for 2027 and beyond, and that S&P affirmed a BBB+ rating with a stable outlook.

Analysts focused on large-load/data center growth, asking about the size of the opportunity, zoning/site readiness, community receptivity, and whether sales could outpace current assumptions. Management said the 2.2 GW of Missouri ESAs already have secured sites, that some groundbreaking could occur in the second quarter, and that additional gigawatts of interest exist in both Missouri and Illinois at the engineering-study stage. Questions also covered generation options such as fuel cells, nuclear, transmission bids, and the timing of the remaining 1.2 GW of Missouri construction agreements; management said fuel cells are only a possibility, nuclear remains a long-term study area, transmission offers upside, and some of the remaining 1.2 GW could convert to ESAs and begin contributing within the five-year period.