Southern Co beats first-quarter profit estimates as power demand soars

April 30 (Reuters) - Southern Co SO.N beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by an increase in power demand.

U.S. power consumption, which hit a second straight annual record high in 2025, is expected to rise further this year, according to the Energy Information Administration, driven by surging demand from data centers dedicated to AI and cryptocurrency, and as homes and businesses use more electricity for heat and transportation.

Kilowatt-hour sales in the commercial segment for the quarter rose 4.2%, while the industrial segment saw a 1.5% increase.

With 9 million customers, Southern Co ranks as the second-largest U.S. utility, serving the states of Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.

The utility had said in February it contracted 10 gigawatts of large load customers, including Google GOOGL.O, Meta META.O, Microsoft MSFT.O and Compass Datacenters, across its service areas.

Its first-quarter revenue rose nearly 8% to $8.4 billion, while operating expenses jumped more than 10%.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based utility posted an adjusted profit of $1.32 per share for the three months ended March 31. Analysts on an average estimated $1.21 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.