Evergy, Inc.

Evergy reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $209 million, or $0.88 per share, versus $191 million, or $0.82 per share, in Q2 2025. Management said year-over-year EPS was helped by $0.10 from load growth, about $0.10 from recovery of and return on regulated investments, and about $0.04 from two large customers (the March 2026 start of a large data center and Panasonic ramp), partially offset by $0.08 from higher O&M, depreciation and interest expense and $0.06 from other items, including $0.02 of convertible-bond dilution. Weather-normalized demand grew 1.8% in the quarter and 3.3% year to date. Evergy reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.14 to $4.34 and said it is targeting the midpoint of $4.24; it also guided third-quarter adjusted EPS to 50% to 53% of that midpoint. The company kept its long-term adjusted EPS growth target at 6% to 8%+ through 2030, with annual growth expected to exceed 8% beginning in 2028. It also reiterated a $21.6 billion five-year capital plan, plus about $1 billion of incremental capital from its 2026 IRP preferred plans, which lifted expected rate-base CAGR through 2030 to about 12% from 11.5%.

David Campbell framed the quarter as evidence that Evergy’s growth story is becoming more visible, citing strong execution on regulated investments, load growth and large-customer agreements. His tone was confident and constructive, repeatedly emphasizing that the pipeline is “outstanding” and that the company is highly confident it will sign at least one more ESA in 2026. He also highlighted safety, storm restoration performance and reliability, while stressing that large-load growth can support affordability by spreading system costs across a broader base.

Bryan Buckler focused on the financial bridge: $0.88 adjusted EPS in Q2 versus $0.82 last year, with load growth, regulated investment recovery and large-customer ramping as the key positives. He cited 1.8% weather-normalized demand growth in the quarter and 3.3% year-to-date, with commercial demand up 4% and industrial up 6.2%. On the balance sheet and funding side, he said Evergy expects $700 million to $900 million of equity issuance in 2026, has already priced about $425 million through forward sales agreements as of June 30, and has no plan for a block issuance; he also said FFO-to-debt is currently projected at 14% to 15% from 2026 to 2028. He tied the $1 billion IRP-related capital increase to a higher 12% rate-base CAGR through 2030 and reiterated that the company will use a prudent mix of debt and equity to support investment-grade credit.

Analysts pressed on how much more large-load signing and incremental capital could come from the Tier 1 bucket, and management said there is meaningful upside but declined to quantify additional 2026 ESAs beyond saying it has high confidence in at least one more signing. Questions also focused on whether management would extend disclosure further into the next decade; Campbell said the company expects to provide more specificity as it converts pipeline opportunities, but noted that expansion and Tier 2 projects can extend well into the 2030s. Another thread centered on the Kansas political debate around data centers; Campbell said the issue has not been as prominent as in some other states and that siting still depends on local suitability and community receptivity. Analysts also asked about affordability and the Missouri Metro rate case, and management said the initial filing reduced the requested revenue requirement by $25 million, or about 15%, because of data-center benefits, with a settlement conference still on the procedural calendar.