NextEra Energy, Inc.

NextEra Energy reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share up 9.7% year over year; adjusted EPS was up 9.5% year over year for the first nine months. FPL third-quarter EPS increased $0.06 year over year, driven mainly by approximately 9.2% year-over-year growth in regulatory capital employed. FPL capital expenditures were about $2.4 billion in the quarter, with full-year capital investments expected to be about $12 billion. FPL retail sales increased 2.8% year over year, or 1.4% on a weather-normalized basis. Energy Resources adjusted earnings grew about 13% year over year, with adjusted EPS up $0.06 year over year. Energy Resources added 3.7 GW to backlog, and backlog totaled nearly 36.7 GW after more than 1.8 GW of projects were placed into service since the last call. Corporate and other decreased adjusted EPS by $0.01 year over year. The company said its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance remains $3.92 to $4.02 and it is targeting the high end. Management continues to expect 8%+ adjusted EPS CAGR through 2032 off the 2025 base of $3.71, with the same 8%+ target from 2032 through 2035. It also reiterated expected dividend growth of roughly 10% per year through 2026 off the 2024 base and 6% per year from year-end 2026 through 2028.

John Ketchum emphasized execution against the company’s longer-term growth plan and framed NextEra as well positioned to meet rising U.S. power demand with scale, balance sheet strength, supply chain reach, and development capability. He highlighted storm-resilience investments at FPL, saying hardened poles did not fail in Hurricane Isaias and smart-grid technology avoided about 140,000 outages. He was upbeat on large-load/data-center opportunities, saying interest remains high, the large-load outlook was raised to 8 GW by 2032, and the company expects to announce a large-load transaction by year-end.

Mike Dunne focused on the mechanics of earnings growth and capital deployment. He said FPL’s Q3 EPS benefit came from approximately 9.2% growth in regulatory capital employed, while Energy Resources saw about 13% adjusted earnings growth and a backlog increase to nearly 36.7 GW. He also cited more than $48 billion of forward-starting interest-rate hedges with an average rate of about 4% and average tenor of about 9 years, noting that a 50 basis-point move in rates would only affect 2028 EPS by $0.01-$0.03 per share. He reiterated that the 2026 EPS range of $3.92-$4.02 is unchanged, that the company expects 8%+ EPS CAGR through 2032, and that equity needs remain roughly $12 billion-$17 billion through 2032.

Analysts focused on whether the company is already tracking to the high end of guidance and whether the federal hub structure could pull earnings forward; management said the current range already reflects expected fourth-quarter wind impacts and that federal hub payments are modest in 2026-2027 before growing later. Questions also centered on Virginia merger approval, with management defending the proposal on affordability, jobs, and clean energy while acknowledging rebuttals and hearings are still ahead. Other topics included data-center deal timing in Florida, equity needs and financing flexibility, solar cost pass-through, and the outlook for nuclear and transmission expansion; management generally responded that it has multiple funding channels, strong pricing power, and confidence in its development pipeline.