Entergy Q3 EPS Rises to $1.98, 2026 Guidance Narrowed

Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) reported third-quarter 2026 earnings of $940 million, or $1.98 per diluted share, up from $694 million, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier, as strong electricity sales and warm weather lifted utility revenue. The company narrowed its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $4.35 to $4.45 per share and maintained its longer-term outlook for adjusted EPS growth of more than 8% annually through 2030 from a 2025 base.

Adjusted earnings were also $940 million, or $1.98 per share, because Entergy recorded no adjustments to GAAP results in either the current or prior-year quarter. Operating cash flow totaled $2.2 billion for the period.

The utility segment earned $1.08 billion, or $2.28 per share, compared with $810 million, or $1.79 per share, in the third quarter of 2025. Parent and Other posted a loss of $139 million, or $0.29 per share, widening from a loss of $117 million, or $0.26 per share.

Higher utility operating revenue, net of fuel, purchased power and regulatory charges, added $0.76 per share to the year-over-year result. That benefit was partly offset by higher operating and maintenance costs, other operating expenses, lower other income, increased interest expense and a larger Parent and Other loss. Income taxes contributed $0.11 per share to the comparison.

For the first nine months of 2026, adjusted EPS totaled $3.89. Weather-adjusted retail sales volume and other revenue added $0.54 per share compared with the prior-year period. Offsets included $0.18 per share from utility operating and maintenance expenses, $0.17 from other utility operating expenses, and $0.18 from the effect of additional shares.

Customer growth and investment pipeline

Entergy said it continued to advance customer-growth opportunities, including a data-center expansion in Arkansas. Management also pointed to a broader pipeline of potential customers that is not included in the company’s base plan, creating possible additional customer-led investment opportunities.

In Louisiana, Entergy has proposed generation and transmission investments to support load growth associated with a new Meta data-center project. The plan includes seven combined-cycle combustion turbine facilities totaling more than 5,200 megawatts, with estimated investment of $12.9 billion, as well as $1.5 billion of transmission and related facilities and at least $700 million of battery storage. A settlement agreement has been filed, and a commission decision is expected in December 2026.

The Louisiana agreement also provides for subscriptions of up to 2,500 MW of additional renewable resources under the utility’s existing green tariff and addresses funding for planned and potential nuclear uprates. Entergy said the arrangement includes customer protections consistent with or stronger than Louisiana Public Service Commission guidelines and the company’s Fair Share Plus commitment.

Across its system, Entergy listed multiple generation projects that are approved, under development or awaiting regulatory review. These include gas-fired generation, solar facilities and battery storage scheduled primarily between 2027 and 2031. The company is also pursuing resilience and grid-hardening investments, including a proposed $600 million Louisiana resilience program for 2027 through 2030 and a $400 million New Orleans plan covering 2027 through 2031.

Capital and financing outlook

Entergy’s 2027-2030 plan calls for $55 billion of capital investment and $5.2 billion of equity. The company said its equity requirements have been completed well into 2028. Its earlier five-year 2026-2030 plan contemplated $67 billion of capital spending and $7 billion of equity.

During the third quarter, Entergy Corp. issued two tranches of junior subordinated debentures totaling $1.5 billion and settled equity forwards for net proceeds of $913 million, involving about 11 million shares. Entergy Louisiana also issued $1 billion of debt during the quarter.

The company said its projected credit metrics for 2026 through 2030 remain above rating-agency thresholds. It expects Moody’s CFO before working capital to debt to remain above 14% and S&P funds from operations to debt to remain above 13%. The ratings and outlooks presented for Entergy and its operating companies were stable.

Earnings outlook and risks

Entergy’s adjusted EPS outlook is $4.90 to $5.20 for 2027, $5.55 to $5.85 for 2028, $6.25 to $6.55 for 2029 and $7.05 to $7.35 for 2030. Management plans to provide further details on its strategy, capital allocation, financing plan, rate-base growth and preliminary 2027 earnings drivers at the EEI Financial Conference.

The outlook depends in part on regulatory approvals and timely cost recovery for generation, transmission, distribution and resilience investments. Entergy also identified uncertainty around whether contracted or expected electricity demand—particularly from large data centers and other major customers—will materialize and remain sustained. Other risks include project execution, storm frequency and restoration costs, nuclear operations and decommissioning, financing and commodity-market conditions, cybersecurity threats, and changes in utility, tax, environmental, trade and energy policy.