Edison International Q3 Core EPS Falls; Guidance Reaffirmed

Edison International reported lower third-quarter earnings as weaker results at Southern California Edison weighed on performance, but the utility owner reaffirmed its core earnings guidance through 2028 and maintained its longer-term growth target. The company also kept wildfire liability reform among its central priorities as uncertainty surrounding the Eaton Fire remains unresolved.

For the quarter ended September 30, Edison International posted basic GAAP earnings of $1.88 per share, down from $2.16 a year earlier. Diluted earnings declined to $1.87 per share from $2.16. Core earnings, a non-GAAP measure that excludes wildfire-related and other designated items, fell to $1.92 per share from $2.34.

Southern California Edison, or SCE, generated core EPS of $2.14, compared with $2.58 in the prior-year quarter. The largest negative driver was a $0.62-per-share impact from lower revenue, which the company primarily attributed to the adoption of the 2025 General Rate Case final decision in the third quarter of 2025. Higher operations and maintenance expenses, property taxes and lower other income also reduced earnings. Those effects were partly offset by lower depreciation and income tax benefits.

Edison International’s parent and other operations recorded a core loss of $0.22 per share, narrowing from $0.24. Lower preferred-stock dividends more than offset higher interest expense.

For the first nine months of 2026, core EPS increased to $4.89 from $4.68. SCE’s year-to-date core EPS rose to $5.53 from $5.42, supported by the escalation mechanism authorized in the 2025 General Rate Case decision. The benefit was partly offset by the absence of a favorable interest-expense item tied to the TKM Settlement Agreement in 2025. Basic GAAP EPS for the period declined to $4.65 from $6.78, reflecting a substantial change in non-core items.

Guidance and capital investment

Edison International reaffirmed its 2026 core EPS guidance of $5.90 to $6.20. The range comprises projected SCE EPS of $6.81 to $7.07 and a loss of $0.91 to $0.87 per share from the parent and other operations.

The company also maintained core EPS guidance of $6.25 to $6.65 for 2027 and $6.74 to $7.14 for 2028. Its longer-term target calls for core EPS of $7.45 to $8.20 in 2030, representing a 5% to 7% compound annual growth rate from a 2025 starting point of $5.84.

SCE plans approximately $38 billion to $41 billion of capital expenditures from 2026 through 2030 to strengthen grid reliability and resilience and prepare for customer demand. The program includes investments authorized in the 2025 General Rate Case, transmission projects awarded by the California Independent System Operator, advanced metering infrastructure and spending associated with a planned 2029 rate case request.

The investment plan is expected to support roughly 7% annual rate-base growth, from $47.6 billion in 2025 to $67.9 billion in 2030. Edison International’s financing plan assumes $36 billion to $38 billion of net cash from operating activities and $9 billion to $12 billion of incremental debt, with no equity issuance forecast through 2030.

The company expects customer-driven electricity demand to rise by about 30% to 40% by 2035 and nearly double by 2045 from 2025 levels. It also expects its system average rate growth to remain at or below local inflation through 2030.

Wildfire exposure remains a central uncertainty

SCE has hardened approximately 90% of its distribution system in high-fire-risk areas and said it continues to make targeted investments to address the remaining risk. However, Edison International said a durable change to California’s wildfire liability framework remains necessary to protect customer affordability and support continued grid investment.

California’s regular legislative session ended without structural reform, leaving the existing liability framework unchanged. SCE is seeking a clear and durable source of liquidity for resolving claims and a shareholder liability cap that is not tied to the life of the state’s Wildfire Fund. The utility said it continues to engage with stakeholders and supports reconvening the legislature in a special session. If no action is taken in 2026, reform efforts would continue with the new governor and legislature in 2027.

For the Eaton Fire, SCE had entered into $1.8 billion of settlements as of September 30. It recorded expected recoveries of $917 million from self-insurance, $859 million from the Wildfire Fund and $70 million through Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rates. The utility had received $207 million from the Wildfire Fund by quarter-end.

Despite the settlements, Edison International and SCE said they could not reasonably estimate the range of potential Eaton Fire losses. SCE said it believes it can make a good-faith showing of prudence when it submits its application to the California Public Utilities Commission. It also said it sees no basis for findings of felony liability or conscious or willful disregard in connection with the fire.

Actual results remain subject to regulatory cost recovery, wildfire claims and liability determinations, the availability of the Wildfire Fund, financing conditions and the execution of SCE’s capital program. Other uncertainties identified by the company include permitting and construction delays, customer affordability pressures, cybersecurity, extreme weather, inflation, interest rates and access to capital markets.