Hội nghị công bố kết quả kinh doanh quý 3/2026 của DTE Energy: Thương vụ bán Vantage trị giá 3 tỷ USD và tăng trưởng EPS trên 9%

Điểm nhấn chính

• DTE Energy báo cáo lợi nhuận từ hoạt động kinh doanh quý 3/2026 đạt 481 triệu USD, tương đương 2,30 USD/cổ phiếu. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết kết quả này giúp công ty có vị thế thuận lợi để đạt cận trên của kế hoạch EPS từ hoạt động kinh doanh năm 2026.
• DTE đã đồng ý bán phần lớn tài sản của DTE Vantage ngoại trừ EES Coke với giá khoảng 3 tỷ USD. Số tiền thu ròng sau thuế và phí dự kiến đạt từ 2,7 tỷ USD đến 2,8 tỷ USD, với mục tiêu hoàn tất thương vụ vào nửa đầu năm 2027.
• Kế hoạch đầu tư 5 năm vào mảng dịch vụ tiện ích đã tăng gần 10 tỷ USD lên khoảng 44 tỷ USD, bao gồm khoảng 39 tỷ USD dành cho DTE Electric.
• Ban lãnh đạo đã thiết lập mức cơ sở cho EPS từ hoạt động kinh doanh pro forma năm 2027 là 7,59 USD đến 7,73 USD, với mức trung vị là 7,66 USD, phản ánh thương vụ bán Vantage và việc chấm dứt các khoản ưu đãi thuế tạm thời cho khí tự nhiên tái tạo (RNG).
• DTE dự kiến tăng trưởng EPS từ hoạt động kinh doanh sẽ vượt xa mức 9% trong năm 2028 và 2029, sau đó duy trì mức tăng trưởng ít nhất 9% trong năm 2030 và 2031. Tốc độ tăng trưởng kép hàng năm (CAGR) dài hạn được tính từ mức trung vị pro forma năm 2027.
• Các thỏa thuận trung tâm dữ liệu đã được phê duyệt với Oracle và Google đại diện cho 2,4 gigawatt phụ tải. DTE cũng có danh mục dự án tiềm năng khoảng 5 đến 6 gigawatt, bao gồm khoảng 2 gigawatt đang trong quá trình đàm phán chuyên sâu.

Dữ liệu tài chính quan trọng

Mức sụt giảm so với cùng kỳ năm trước của DTE Electric chủ yếu phản ánh chênh lệch thời điểm ghi nhận thuế, chi phí cơ sở tính giá tăng và chi phí do bão. Các yếu tố này đã được bù đắp một phần nhờ việc áp dụng biểu giá mới và thời tiết ấm hơn. Công ty cho biết khoản chênh lệch thời điểm ghi nhận thuế theo quý trị giá 104 triệu USD chủ yếu liên quan đến mức so sánh thuận lợi trong quý 3/2025, và tác động tiêu cực về thời điểm này trong quý 3/2026 sẽ được hoàn nhập trong quý 4.

DTE Vantage được hưởng lợi từ các khoản ưu đãi thuế khí tự nhiên tái tạo và ưu đãi thuế đầu tư cao hơn. Sự cải thiện của mảng Energy Trading chủ yếu phản ánh yếu tố thời điểm trong danh mục khí đốt và điện của đơn vị này.

Kết quả kinh doanh và vận hành

Kế hoạch vốn mở rộng của DTE tập trung vào đầu tư cho mảng dịch vụ tiện ích chịu sự quản lý giá. Trong khoảng 39 tỷ USD dự kiến dành cho DTE Electric trong 5 năm, khoảng 23 tỷ USD được phân bổ cho nguồn phát điện sạch hơn, 12 tỷ USD cho hệ thống phân phối điện và 4 tỷ USD cho cơ sở hạ tầng nền tảng.

Kế hoạch phát điện bao gồm 7,6 gigawatt từ các nguồn điện mặt trời và điện gió mới, 2,1 gigawatt điện khí tự nhiên chu trình hỗn hợp và 2,7 gigawatt từ hệ thống lưu trữ năng lượng. Chi tiêu cho hệ thống phân phối nhằm hỗ trợ mục tiêu của DTE trong việc giảm 30% số sự cố mất điện của khách hàng và cắt giảm một nửa thời gian mất điện vào năm 2029.

Nhu cầu từ các trung tâm dữ liệu là động lực cốt lõi thúc đẩy kế hoạch đầu tư cao hơn. Ủy ban Dịch vụ Công Michigan đã phê duyệt thỏa thuận cấp điện của DTE cho trung tâm dữ liệu 1 gigawatt của Google vào tháng 10. Dự án này tiếp nối thỏa thuận quy mô 1,4 gigawatt với Oracle đã được phê duyệt trước đó.

Ban lãnh đạo cho biết hợp đồng với Google hỗ trợ khoảng 5 tỷ USD đầu tư vào năng lượng tái tạo, trong khi dự án với Oracle hỗ trợ hơn 2 tỷ USD một chút, chủ yếu cho hệ thống pin lưu trữ. Oracle dự kiến sẽ bắt đầu tiếp nhận phụ tải vào năm 2027, với tiến độ xây dựng diễn ra đúng kế hoạch.

DTE cho biết các hợp đồng yêu cầu khách hàng trung tâm dữ liệu phải chi trả chi phí phát điện và hạ tầng gia tăng cần thiết để phục vụ họ. Google cũng đã thanh toán trước cho một số thiết bị có thời gian đặt hàng dài. Ban lãnh đạo kỳ vọng lượng phụ tải bổ sung này sẽ giúp phân bổ chi phí cố định của hệ thống trên quy mô doanh số lớn hơn và hỗ trợ khả năng chi trả của khách hàng.

Kế hoạch định hướng của ban lãnh đạo

DTE duy trì khung mục tiêu EPS từ hoạt động kinh doanh năm 2026, tương ứng mức tăng trưởng từ 6% đến 8% so với mức trung vị của kế hoạch định hướng năm 2025. Ban lãnh đạo kỳ vọng kết quả sẽ đạt cận trên của phạm vi đó, nhờ sự hỗ trợ từ các khoản ưu đãi thuế RNG.

Đối với năm 2027, DTE đã đưa ra khoảng EPS từ hoạt động kinh doanh pro forma từ 7,59 USD đến 7,73 USD. Phạm vi này giả định giao dịch Vantage đã hoàn tất vào cuối năm 2026 nhằm chuẩn hóa tác động của việc hạch toán hoạt động kinh doanh đã chấm dứt và thời điểm hoàn tất thực tế (dự kiến trong nửa đầu năm 2027).

Công ty kỳ vọng tốc độ tăng trưởng kép hàng năm (CAGR) của EPS từ hoạt động kinh doanh dài hạn đạt trên 9% tính từ mức trung vị pro forma 7,66 USD. Tăng trưởng dự kiến sẽ vượt xa mức 9% trong năm 2028 và 2029 khi các khoản đầu tư vào dịch vụ tiện ích liên quan đến trung tâm dữ liệu tăng tốc, sau đó đạt ít nhất 9% trong năm 2030 và 2031.

DTE đặt mục tiêu phát hành vốn cổ phần bình quân hàng năm khoảng 1 tỷ USD từ năm 2027 đến hết năm 2031. Thương vụ bán Vantage dự kiến sẽ giảm nhu cầu huy động vốn cổ phần khoảng 1 tỷ USD so với kế hoạch hiện tại của công ty và giảm nhu cầu vay nợ của công ty mẹ khoảng 2 tỷ USD. DTE tiếp tục đặt mục tiêu tỷ lệ FFO trên nợ khoảng 15% và lên kế hoạch tăng cổ tức 7% vào năm 2027.

Rủi ro và các yếu tố cần theo dõi

• Thời điểm hoàn tất thương vụ Vantage sẽ ảnh hưởng đến lợi nhuận báo cáo năm 2027 do lợi nhuận của Vantage sẽ được phân loại là hoạt động kinh doanh đã chấm dứt trước khi DTE ghi nhận đầy đủ lợi ích từ số tiền thu được từ thương vụ.
• Giao dịch này cần một số phê duyệt, dù ban lãnh đạo cho biết không có phê duyệt nào dự kiến sẽ làm chậm tiến độ hoàn tất mục tiêu trong nửa đầu năm 2027.
• Lộ trình đầu tư và lợi nhuận của DTE phụ thuộc một phần vào tiến độ tăng phụ tải của các trung tâm dữ liệu cùng việc triển khai hạ tầng liên quan.
• Chi phí cơ sở tính giá tăng cao và chi phí do bão đã gây áp lực lên kết quả kinh doanh quý 3 của DTE Electric.
• Vụ việc xét duyệt biểu giá điện hiện tại có hơn 30 bên tham gia can thiệp. Ban lãnh đạo không kỳ vọng vào một thỏa thuận hòa giải và dự kiến cơ quan quản lý sẽ ra phán quyết vào tháng 2.
• Các dự án trung tâm dữ liệu bổ sung có thể đòi hỏi tài trợ vốn cổ phần trong ngắn hạn trước khi dòng tiền từ các dự án này bắt đầu đóng góp.

Điểm nhấn phiên hỏi đáp với chuyên gia phân tích

Ban lãnh đạo cho biết bất kỳ thỏa thuận trung tâm dữ liệu bổ sung nào cũng sẽ mang tính gia tăng so với kế hoạch hiện tại và có thể đẩy nhanh tốc độ tăng trưởng ngắn hạn đồng thời mở rộng dư địa tăng trưởng dài hạn hơn. DTE tiếp tục tập trung ký kết ít nhất một thỏa thuận bổ sung trước cuối năm 2026.

Về phân bổ vốn, ban lãnh đạo cho biết tiền thu từ việc bán Vantage sẽ được giải ngân nhanh chóng. Khoảng 2 tỷ USD dự kiến sẽ được dùng để giảm nợ của công ty mẹ, bao gồm các khoản nợ đáo hạn vào năm 2027, đồng thời giao dịch này cũng giúp giảm nhu cầu huy động vốn cổ phần theo kế hoạch. Việc thanh toán khoản vốn cổ phần trị giá 500 triệu USD đã bán theo hợp đồng kỳ hạn trước đây sẽ được chuyển từ năm 2026 sang năm 2027.

Ban lãnh đạo cho biết phụ tải từ Oracle có thể hỗ trợ công ty không phải tham gia các đợt xem xét điều chỉnh biểu giá điện cơ sở cho đến ít nhất là năm 2028. Thỏa thuận với Google có thể kéo dài thời hạn đó thêm một năm hoặc hơn, tùy thuộc vào cách thức xử lý cơ chế chuyển tiếp phụ tải lớn mà DTE đề xuất trong phán quyết về biểu giá vào tháng 2.

Công ty cũng làm rõ rằng lộ trình tăng trưởng dự kiến sẽ không diễn ra theo đường thẳng. Các tài sản liên quan đến Oracle dự kiến sẽ được đưa vào kế hoạch trước tiên, tiếp theo là các khoản đầu tư liên quan đến Google và sau đó là các dự án điện khí tự nhiên chu trình hỗn hợp gắn liền với lộ trình đóng cửa các nhà máy than và nhu cầu phụ tải tăng cao.

Toàn văn biên bản cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Toàn văn cuộc gọi công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Phần trình bày của ban lãnh đạo

Operator

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the DTE Energy Q3 2026 Earnings Conference Call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]. I will now hand the conference over to Matt Krupinski, Director of Investor Relations. Matt, please go ahead.

Matt Krupinski

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Before we get started, I'd like to remind you to read the safe harbor statement on Page 2 of the presentation, including the reference to forward-looking statements. Our presentation also includes references to operating earnings, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please refer to the reconciliation of GAAP earnings to operating earnings provided in the appendix. With us this morning are Joi Harris, President and CEO; and Dave Ruud, CFO. And now I'll turn it over to Joi to start our call this morning.

Joi Harris

Thanks, Matt. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'm happy to be with you today. We have very exciting updates to share today. DTE is exceptionally well positioned to deliver long-term growth while making investments that will have a meaningful impact for our customers and communities. That growth is underpinned by substantial investment opportunities across our utility businesses. which drives significant affordability benefits for our customers, support economic development in Michigan and continue enhancing reliability and service for our customers.

Data center development is a key driver of this growth and the associated benefits it creates for our customers and communities in Michigan. In October, the MPSC approved our contract to supply Google's 1 gigawatt data center. Together with the 1.4 gigawatt Oracle transaction approved last year, these projects will provide unprecedented customer bill benefits by spreading system fixed costs across a larger base of electric sales to help keep bills more affordable for existing customers. The timing of these customer load ramps also creates an opportunity to delay our next electric rig case filing.

Combined with a constructive outcome in the current electric rate case, the significant affordability benefits from the Oracle project support our ability to stay out of rate cases through at least 2028 and the Google project offers the opportunity to extend that stay-out period even further. This would allow us to continue investing in system reliability for our customers without increasing base rates. Beyond these 2 agreements, we continue to see strong demand for new large load development.

We currently have a pipeline of approximately 5 to 6 gigawatts of additional opportunities, including roughly 2 gigawatts in advanced discussions. We're encouraged by the continued level of customer interest and remain focused on securing an additional agreement by year-end. As we look to support the significant utility investment and delivered these meaningful affordability and benefits for our customers, today, we're announcing the strategic sale of the DTE Vantage business.

The transaction further sharpens our focus on regulated utility operations supports our ability to execute on the significant utility investment opportunities and strengthens our position as a high-growth premium utility. Importantly, the proceeds from the transaction will be invested in our utility businesses, reducing our future equity and debt needs providing additional financial flexibility to fund our significant utility investment plan.

I'll cover the transaction in greater detail in a few moments, including describing how it creates significant value for both customers and shareholders. We remain highly confident in our financial outlook. For this year, our 2026 operating EPS guidance represents growth of 6% to 8% over the 2025 guidance midpoint. And we remain well positioned to achieve the high end of that range, supported by RNG tax credits.

Looking forward, we are also providing an improved long-term growth outlook through 2031. Our updated plan calls for an annual operating EPS CAGR of greater than 9% as we increase our utility investment by approximately 30% to deliver significant affordability benefits from data centers and continue to drive reliability improvements and advanced cleaner generation for our customers. This growth is measured from the midpoint of our 2027 pro forma operating EPS baseline of $7.59 to $7.73 which is calculated as if the Vantage transaction closes at year-end 2026.

We are using this pro forma method -- to normalize the impacts we will experience due to discontinued operations accounting treatment and the actual timing of the close of the sale of Vantage, which is expected to take place in the first half of 2027. Regardless of the potential timing and onetime items, the $7.66 midpoint of the pro forma operating EPS range in 2027 will remain the baseline for our long-term operating EPS growth, reflecting the Vantage asset sale and the associated loss of temporary R&D tax credit benefits.

We expect the operating EPS CAGR to be well above 9% in 2028 and 2029 as the utility investments supporting data center developments begin to ramp followed by an EPS CAGR of at least 9% in 2030 and 2031. So over the long term, our operating EPS is positioned to exceed the high end of our prior plans EPS with growth now driven by a stronger utility investment profile that delivers affordability benefits for our existing customers.

The Vantage transaction and the associated rotation of capital toward our expanded utility investment plan, combined with the continued momentum in large load development, support the stronger long-term growth trajectory while maintaining a solid balance sheet. Overall, DTE is exceptionally well positioned with a focused regulated model, significant utility investment opportunities and the ability to deliver long-term value for customers and shareholders.

Let's move to Slide 5 to review our significant utility investment plan. At the core of our plan is significant customer-focused investment that will strengthen our infrastructure, improve reliability and support long-term affordability. Our 5-year utility investment plan now totals approximately $44 billion, representing an increase of nearly $10 billion compared to our prior plan. These investments are designed to deliver the outcomes our customers expect, which includes improving reliability, modernizing our infrastructure, supporting economic growth and continuing the transition to cleaner energy.

At DTE Electric, we plan to invest approximately $39 billion over the next 5 years. This includes approximately $23 billion of cleaner generation investment, supporting cleaner and more affordable energy for our customers while meeting demand growth, including the significant new data center load. The plan includes 7.6 gigawatts of new solar and wind resources, 2.1 gigawatts of new combined cycle natural gas generation and 2.7 gigawatts of energy storage.

Together, these investments provide the generation portfolio needed to support customer growth, replace retiring coal generation, maintain system reliability and meet the requirements of the Michigan Clean energy law. We are investing approximately $12 billion in our electric distribution system. These investments continue to build the grid of the future by strengthening and hardening the system, expanding automation and improving resiliency against increasingly severe weather. They remain critical to continue our progress toward achieving our goal of reducing customer outages by 30% and cutting outage duration in half by 2029.

We are also investing approximately $4 billion in electric base infrastructure to support the continued safe and reliable operation of our existing assets. On the gas side, we continue to make significant investments in infrastructure modernization. Our plan supports ongoing main renewal work, transmission and distribution upgrades and compression and storage improvements, all with a focus on ensuring safety, reliability and affordability. We have renewed more than 2,100 miles of gas main infrastructure since the inception of the main renewal program, delivering tangible benefits for customers and communities across our service territory. As I stated earlier, the sale of DTE Vantage supports our ability to execute on these significant utility investment opportunities.

Let's move to Slide 6 and 7 to provide an overview of the transaction and the benefits it provides. As I noted, this transaction represents a valuable outcome for DTE. DTE Vantage has been a strong business and a value part of DTE Energy for more than 30 years. The exceptional Vantage team has consistently delivered for all of their customers, while delivering solid earnings and cash flow and building a strong foundation for continued growth. This transaction provides an opportunity for DTE Vantage to further build on that success. -- and enter its next phase of growth while allowing DTE to direct capital and resources towards the significant growth opportunities at our utilities and continue to deliver meaningful benefits to our customers.

The approximately $3 billion transaction with institutional investors advised by the Global Infrastructure Group at JPMorgan Asset Management includes the sale of essentially all DTE Vantage assets except EES Coke. Proceeds will reduce future equity needs and support the reduction of parent company debt. We are targeting to close the transaction in the first half of next year. At its core, this transaction further sharpens our strategic focus, positioning DTE as a premier regulated electric and gas utility focused on delivering affordable, cleaner and reliable energy for customers and communities we serve.

The transaction enhances our positioning to execute the substantial increase in customer-focused investments at our electric and gas utilities, which requires approximately $44 billion over the next 5 years. As I mentioned, the transaction also significantly strengthens our long-term growth profile as we now expect long-term operating EPS growth of greater than 9% after 2027 with the EPS CAGR well above 9% in 2028 and 2029. As investments to support data center developments begin to ramp. It also enhances our capital financing strategy by reducing the amount of equity needed to fund our increased investment plan.

Our business will be centered exclusively on our regulated utility operations, which translates into a lower risk profile and greater earnings visibility supporting a premium valuation. So when you step back and look at the full picture, this transaction further transforms DTE into a simpler, more focused, faster-growing utility. It enhances our ability to make customer-focused investments needed to support growing data center demand and deliver meaningful affordability benefits for our existing customers. It also strengthens our long-term growth outlook and further improves the quality of our earnings stream.

Together, these benefits position DTE to deliver substantial value to customers and shareholders. Let's move to Slide 8 and take a closer look at the progress we're making with data centers. Data centers provide meaningful affordability benefits for our customers, while also creating substantial long-term growth opportunities for DTE. Michigan has some of the strongest protections in the country to ensure these large customers pay their own way and that's the principle behind every agreement DTE considers.

We have secured agreements representing 2.4 gigawatts of load with strong customer protections and affordability benefits embedded in each contract. This includes provisions and contract structures that are designed to ensure data centers pay the cost needed to serve them without shifting those costs to existing customers. This is supported by in-depth regulatory review that ensures affordability, reliability and fairness across the customer base.

The 1.4-gigawatt Oracle project is fully approved and construction is advancing as scheduled. We recently achieved another important milestone with MPSC approval of the 1 gigawatt Google agreement. -- with this agreement underpinning a significant portion of the increase in utility capital investment from the prior plan. These projects demonstrate that Michigan is an attractive market for large-scale economic development and that DTE has the infrastructure, regulatory framework and customer protection is needed to successfully serve this demand.

Importantly, these agreements are expected to generate meaningful affordability benefits for our existing customers. As I mentioned earlier, those benefits support a rig case day out through at least 2028 with the Oracle load, and the Google Load offers an opportunity to extend the stay out even further. Looking ahead, our data center development pipeline remains robust. We continue to see approximately 5 to 6 gigawatts of additional opportunities, including 2 gigawatts currently in advanced discussions.

Our goal remains to reach at least 1 additional agreement by the end of 2026, while continuing to advance longer-term opportunities as we head into 2027. We are also making progress on the large low tariff filed earlier this year, which establishes a clear framework for serving future large low customers. Like the terms in the Oracle and Google agreements. The tariff is designed to ensure that new large load customers support the incremental infrastructure and generation costs needed to serve them, and that existing customers are protected from subsidizing any costs related to data centers.

The large load tariff also provides a transparent framework for future projects with appropriate safeguards around large load ramp timing, cost recovery and reliability planning. And it should also provide a more efficient pathway for future data center agreements. Overall, we continue to see substantial runway for future growth, supported by a strong expanding pipeline. As projects in the pipeline move forward, we see opportunities for both incremental growth and related affordability benefits for our customers.

Let me wrap up on Slide 9 and highlight our continued focus on customer affordability. One of the things we're most excited about is the affordability opportunities for all customers that is created by data center growth. As new large low customers come on to the system, we can sell excess capacity that already exists on our network, spread fixed costs across a larger customer base and create meaningful affordability benefits for existing customers.

The contracts and tariff structures are designed to protect existing customers from bearing costs tied to new large load demand and to ensure that the benefits of growth are shared across the system in a way that supports long-term affordability. Additionally, we remain intensely focused on disciplined cost management to further support customer affordability. Our distinctive continuous improvement culture continues to drive productivity and cost management across the company, helping us deliver more for customers while maintaining financial discipline. We also continue to see benefits from the ongoing transition of our generation fleet.

As we move from coal generation toward renewables and natural gas resources, we expect lower fuel costs, reduced operating and maintenance expenses and a cleaner generation portfolio. Importantly, our diverse energy mix provides flexibility, allowing us to adapt as technologies continue to evolve while maintaining reliability and affordability for our customers. Finally, provisions in the inflation Reduction Act continue to support our clean energy transition. These incentives help lower the cost of new investments, support customer affordability objectives and allow us to advance our cleaner energy goals in a cost-effective manner.

Taken together, these affordability efforts are delivering meaningful benefits for our customers. You can see that reflected in our affordability metrics. With customer bill increases remaining significantly below the national average. The typical Michigan residential electric bill represents less than 2% of the median household income. And our residential bill growth since 2021 is 17% below the national average. We also continue to support our most vulnerable customers through expanded energy assistance, including millions of dollars in direct assistance and continued support of nonprofit organizations across Michigan.

When you put it all together, this plan demonstrates that affordability and investment can go hand in hand. We are making the necessary investments to improve reliability, modernize our infrastructure, support cleaner energy and enable economic growth, while continuing to keep customer bills affordable and deliver long-term value for shareholders. To wrap up my remarks, we are excited about the opportunities in front of us. The strategic sale of DTE Vantage, combined with our growing utility investment opportunity, positions DTE for stronger, more durable long-term growth.

Most importantly, we believe we can deliver that growth while maintaining a strong focus on affordability, reliability, cleaner generation and creating value for our customers and shareholders. With that, I'll hand it over to Dave. Dave, over to you.

David Ruud

Thanks, Joi, and good morning, everyone. Let me start on Slide 10 to review our third quarter financial results. Operating earnings for the quarter were $481 million. This translates into $2.30 per share. You'll find a detailed breakdown of EPS by segment, including a reconciliation to GAAP reported earnings in the appendix.

I'll start the review at the top of the page with our utilities. DTE Electric earnings were $468 million for the quarter. Earnings were $73 million lower than in the third quarter of 2025. The main drivers of the variance were timing of taxes and higher rate base and storm costs, partially offset by rate implementation and warmer weather. On the timing of taxes, we experienced a $104 million quarterly variance relative to last year, primarily driven by a large positive timing variance in the third quarter of 2025 as a result of when a renewables project was placed in service.

A large negative timing variance experienced this quarter relative to last year will reverse in Q4. Starting in 2026, the impact of investment tax credits on renewable projects at DTE Electric is being recognized more evenly throughout the year, which will reduce quarterly volatility and make the underlying earnings trend more visible going forward. Moving on to DTE Gas. Operating earnings were $8 million higher than the third quarter of 2025. The earnings variance was driven by IRM revenue, partially offset by higher rate base costs.

Let's move to DTE Vantage on the third row. Operating earnings were $110 million for the third quarter of 2026. This is a $69 million increase from 2025, driven by higher earnings from RNG tax credits and investment tax credits. The RNG tax credit increase reflects updated federal guidance in the res reporting models that provide greater clarity on how carbon intensity scores are calculated. The ITCs are driven by new on-site energy projects being placed in service.

With year-to-date earnings for this segment already above the full year guidance range and with strong performance expected in the fourth quarter, earnings for 2026 are expected to be above the guidance range for DTE Vantage. This allows us to continue to unwind onetime lean operational measures and absorb higher storm costs in 2026 at our utilities, while remaining on track to deliver against DTE's 2026 EPS guidance. On the next row, you can see Energy Trading earnings were $34 million in the third quarter of 2026. This is $11 million higher than the third quarter of 2025 primarily driven by timing in the gas and power portfolios. These solid third quarter results give us continued confidence in achieving the high end of our energy trading guidance range this year.

Finally, Corporate and other was unfavorable $2 million relative to the third quarter of 2025, primarily due to higher interest expense, partially offset by timing of taxes. Overall, DTE earned $2.30 per share in the third quarter of 2026, which positions us well to achieve the high end of our guidance range in 2026. Let me move to Slide 11 to discuss our balance sheet and equity issuance plan. Our strong balance sheet provides a foundation to support a robust customer-focused investment agenda and it is underpinned by the consistent and healthy cash flows of our utility businesses.

The Vantage transaction that we are announcing today further strengthens our financing position and provides additional flexibility to fund our investment plan, which includes allowing us to delay the settlement of the equity that we had previously sold under forward contracts from 2026 into 2027. Looking ahead, we are targeting approximately $1 billion of average annual equity issuances from 2027 through 2031. The additional equity relative to our previous plan supports a significant utility investment growth, which has increased by nearly $10 billion over the next 5 years, primarily to support data center load growth and the generation of investments needed to serve that demand.

Our financing plan may also include additional junior subordinated debt, which provides another tool to support our balance sheet and credit metrics. We are proactively managing our debt maturities as well, and we continue to maintain solid investment-grade credit ratings and target approximately 15% FFO to debt. The Vantage sale reduces our parent company borrowing needs which significantly reduces our exposure to refinancing risk and interest rate fluctuations.

And importantly, the strength of our cash flows and our financial position supports our commitment to shareholders with a 7% increase to our dividend in 2027. Let me wrap up on Slide 12, and then we'll open the line for questions. DTE is very well positioned for the future with significant opportunities to invest in our utility businesses for the benefit of our customers. The Vantage transaction further sharpens our focus on regulated utilities and provides additional flexibility to fund our $44 billion 5-year capital plan.

Our plan supports data center development, cleaner generation, improved reliability, while delivering significant affordability benefits for our customers. As Joi mentioned, our 2027 pro forma operating EPS baseline of $7.59 to $7.73 reflects the Vantage asset sale and the associated loss of temporary RNG tax credit benefits and is calculated as if the Vantage transaction closes at year-end 2026. Vantage earnings in 2027 will be treated as discontinued operations, which will create a timing impact on earnings as we exclude Vantage earnings before we realize the benefit of the sale proceeds.

While our 2027 outlook will change based on the timing impacts of the Vantage sale, we remain confident in using this baseline as a foundation for our projected growth in 2028 and beyond. Importantly, as utility investments supporting data center developments begin to ramp -- we expect operating EPS growth to be well above 9% in the 2028 and 2029 time frame and to be at least 9% from 2029 through 2031. Over the long term, the updated plan provides a higher EPS growth outlook, supported by a strong utility investment profile that drives significant affordability benefits for existing customers.

We also continue to remain confident that additional data center opportunities in our pipeline provide further upside to the long-term plan. And with a strong balance sheet and disciplined financing plan, we are well positioned to execute on these opportunities and deliver premium total shareholder returns. With that, I thank you for joining us today, and we can open the line for questions.

Operator

We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Shar Pourreza with Wells Fargo.

Phần hỏi đáp

Shahriar Pourreza

Congrats on Vantage. I know that's something you guys have debated for some time. So good to see that you've made a decision. Just, Joi, on the rebased earnings path, that takes you somewhere sort of in the 2030 time frame to catch up with the old trajectory. I guess, as we are thinking about the levers that could accelerate that path, would a third data center customer, like by year-end, accelerate the earnings recovery or mainly kind of extend the growth runway beyond it?

Joi Harris

Yes. Let me first clarify. So yes, we actually -- when you look at Page 4 in our package, you'll see that the capital is ramping up pretty quickly after 2026. And so if you look at the charts, you can see that we revised our EPS target. Essentially, it passes that 7% growth by 2029 which should give you an idea of our targeted growth rate in 2028 and '29. So you asked about what another data center help accelerate that progress. Any data center that we signed after the 2 that we have is incremental it would add to the plan.

And we continue to have a strong pipeline. We're making great progress. We are still on plan to sign an additional deal before the year is out. We've got the 2 gigawatts that we're working. And I can give you more color on that. But suffice it to say, in answer to your question, it does accelerate.

Shahriar Pourreza

Got it. And I guess the impetus of the question was the ramp schedule of this other customer that you're negotiating with. You envision that ramp scheduled to be in a way, where it could accelerate sort of that the trajectory in the near term? I guess that's the question, yes.

David Ruud

I think the way the way the capital comes in Shar, it would come in and would both help in the near term, like help with that 2030 and help extend it as well.

Shahriar Pourreza

Okay. Perfect. And then just -- I know you mentioned sort of the funding plans are kind of being obviously finalized. But I guess there's a few moving parts here. I guess how do we think about the equity needs when we think about the Vantage sale plus the cash flow profile of these large load customers. I guess, I know you mentioned the funding plans are being finalized, but -- how do we think about sort of the moving pieces with the cash flows that these customers are going to bring with them as well as sort of the Vantage sale?

David Ruud

Yes. In our equity plan that we laid out, which was now $1 billion per year through the plan, that assumes the cash flows coming in from the large load projects that we have now. So that is -- that actually is because of the Vantage sale, we were able to reduce the equity that we would have otherwise needed to bring in the plan by about $1 billion. And that includes that $500 million that we were going to settle this year from our ATM, we'll move that out to 2027.

Shahriar Pourreza

Got it. So the 2 gigs that you're in conversations with that are in advanced stages could potentially provide additional downside to the equity needs?

David Ruud

Yes, there may -- well, for some of the capital that would come in, we would probably need some equity to provide for that in the short term. But then over time, as we see the cash flows from these start to come in, we do see the equity needs that we'll need to go down.

Shahriar Pourreza

I appreciate it guys. Congrats , see you in a couple of days.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Ross Fowler with Bank of America. .

Unknown Analyst

Again, congrats on the Vantage sale, I know you guys talking about that for a long time. So as I kind of look at where you are today versus the prior sort of 8%. So I'm looking at that Slide 4 and maybe following on to some of share's questions here. looks like you would have been sort of in an $820 range in 2027 and now you're kind of saying you're in the flat range $5 to $7 million -- so that's sort of -- as I think about it, you're taking that $0.50 of kind of upfront dilution and now we have a higher growth rate off of that to the back end.

So is this sort of just thinking about like how do I think about why you're doing this now? Because you seem to not be able to deploy the $3 billion of proceeds fast enough to get back to your earnings trajectory as you said, to sort of 2029, 2030? And then how do I think about the valuation accretion of this, right? The earnings trajectory still kind of gets back to where you were at the high end by '30, '31 if I'm looking at that chart.

And so Joi, is some of the argument here that you believe that the capital deployment and the growth at the regulated utility to be capitalized at a higher multiple than what the Vantage growth was inside the business.

Joi Harris

Yes. So you spot it on. So first of all, this is a win-win across the board. If you look at what it means for DTE for our customers and for the new owners. So why now you asked -- the data center growth is just providing substantial investment opportunity for our utilities, once in a generation opportunities, quite honestly. And is delivering real affordability benefits for our customers. So selling Vantage just allows us to sharpen our focus on the regulated utility.

And it helps us execute on those investments. And then it reduces clearly, our equity and debt needs to fund them. So if you want to put it very simply, DTE becomes a higher growth premium utility with long-term operating EPS growth more than 9% a year after 2027 and just better earnings visibility. And these a simpler business construct. So we have become a very focused utility, and then we have opportunities for upside that come by additional data center development. That's the why now.

Unknown Analyst

And so Joi, maybe on that point, really, it's about the $3 billion of proceeds, enabling you to capture those upside opportunities, right? I mean I think that's I don't want to put words in your mouth, but that's what I'm hearing. So you're at or above the trajectory in '29, at least at the midpoint, kind of at the high end by '31, but what I should be thinking about really is I have a few billions of proceeds now to sort of execute further growth opportunities that push that even higher sort of following on the Tushar's question?

Joi Harris

Yes. I think, yes, you've described it well. And also, when you look at Vantage, where Vantage, the team was at with their portfolio. This was a good time for Vantage as well. We had a strong portfolio for Vantage, which would attract the right price for a divestiture. So the combination of the 2 made this the right strategic decision for DTE at this point.

Unknown Analyst

And then, Dave, maybe 1 for you, right? You're going to get $3 billion of proceeds coming in the door if I understand, there's no delay in that in '27. So you're going to have that sitting there. you're not going to necessarily deploy that all at once into the regulated utilities. So how do I think about, do you pay off some debt with that now? And then reissue that later? Like how do you -- obviously, I don't think the cash is just going to sit there. So how do I think about the timing of using those proceeds and redeploying the capital at Utility?

David Ruud

Yes, you're exactly right. This this transaction does support these investments that Joi was talking about, and they're really driving customer affordability and lead to our stronger growth. And we'll do it by continuing to have a really strong balance sheet. So the proceeds from this will be used to reduce future equity requirements and parent company debt needs relative to our status quo plan. So when you look at the 2, equity will be reduced by about $1 billion relative to our status quo plan.

And right now, that means deferring $500 million of equity that we sold under forward contracts this year that's now going to be settled in 2027. So in '26, we'll have very minimal equity issuances -- and then we're going to also reduce parent company debt by about $2 billion. There was debt maturing in 2027 that we're going to retire. And that's going to lower interest expense and really reduce our exposure to any refinancing risk in the next year. we'll effectively have no refinancing interest rate exposure for 2017. So yes, Ross, you're right, we're going to put this to use quickly and start to see the benefits of those proceeds quickly.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Lonegan with Barclays.

Michael Lonegan

Pro forma of the Vantage sale, you said, obviously, you're expecting to grow well above 9% in '28 and '29, just wondering if you could help us understand more about the magnitude of growth in each of those years, like maybe north of 10% potentially? And would the growth be linear? Is the data center ramp expected to be fairly consistent?

Joi Harris

Yes. It's not linear, I'll answer it that way. And we don't typically give like guidance for the future years. But suffice it to say, if you think about how these data centers are ramping, particularly Oracle and Google, Oracle is scheduled to come online next year, which means we've got to bring those assets on shortly thereafter, and we're already beginning to construct them now. And then Google will follow. And so that will be another large chunk of capital that will come into the plan to support the Google build-out -- and then if you go further into the plan, we get to the point, where we're bringing on CCGTs to, again, address the retirement of role and also to address the increased load that comes from the Google contract.

So at the end of the day, what you get to is a 9-plus percent CAGR over that 2027 to 2031 time frame.

Michael Lonegan

Great. And then in contemplating the transaction, was the expectation that the Vantage segment, I think you said in the past would grow earnings $15 million or $20 million per year until the RNG tax credit expires and then deliver $150 million to $160 million earnings in 2030. Was that still the expectation?

Joi Harris

Yes Yes. Yes.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan.

Diana Niles

This is Diana Niles on the line for Jeremy today. Diana. I hear you saying that this new plan can exceed 7% from the 2026 midpoint -- if I'm not mistaken, you've previously spoken to Google potentially pointing you that the 8% side, our prior 6% to 8% range. If you're able to -- could you speak to the exceeding 7% expectations to what this new plan to compare with the prior 8% expectation.

Joi Harris

Yes. What we said was the Google contract will get us to 8 CAGR. And this plan now is above that. So this takes us to 9 plus.

David Ruud

And that 8 CAGR was from the 2027 midpoint 2. So this is -- when you look out to 2030 and 2031, particularly in 2031, is particularly better than what we had thought we were going to be putting out today.

Joi Harris

You cross over in 2029, above our prior plan.

Diana Niles

And I understand there has been...

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Steve Fleishman with Wolfe Research.

Steven Fleishman

Okay. Thanks. Good morning. Joi, Dave. So I'm going to ask, I guess, a couple of unrelated questions to Vantage. Just I think a few weeks ago, you ended up not filing a gas rate case that you had initially said you might file. Could you maybe just give some more color on kind of what drove that decision?

Joi Harris

Sure, absolutely. We -- if you recall, we got the order, and then we put the notice on the very same day just to preserve the option -- you know that we typically file our gas cases every couple of years. We are reverting back to that every couple of year cycle. We unpacked the order, much of the capital and the gas business is covered by the IRM -- we saw some incremental adds to the IRM.

And then there are some large projects that we are strengthening the planning for. So we are continuing to work on the design and then work on our gas delivery plan that we will include in the forthcoming rate case for gas that will likely occur towards the end of next year.

Steven Fleishman

Okay. And then just maybe just any election takeaways for Michigan and more specifically, how much momentum are we seeing toward multiyear rate plan legislation either late this year or next year?

Joi Harris

Yes. Yes. So first, let me just congratulate Governor-elect Benson and all the elected officials. We have a strong and have maintained a strong relationship with both sides of the aisle over our history, and we are expecting nothing different with this cycle. We are continuing to have discussions with the commission on multiyear rate making in anticipation that there will be some legislation taken up, likely toward the end of '27.

If I could be Frank, because the legislature has to get seeded into committees, and that likely won't occur until maybe the second quarter, early second quarter. So they've got to get organized. Before they take on something as complex as energy legislation. There will likely be other priorities that they want to address. So we're continuing to work on making sure that there is a constructive outcome that we're influencing the thinking of the commission and certainly preparing to educate the legislature that the legislators that are new to this policy framework along the way.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Ivana Ergovic with Jefferies.

Ivana Ergovic

I'll go back to the CAGR question, just 1 more. I mean if I'm thinking about it correctly, you were previously guiding of midpoint of '26 are kind of like being at the high end and rebasing every year from the midpoint is you coming in 7.28 CAGR. So like using that, I would be like a 10.84 in 31. So if I'm thinking about it from what you've put on the slide today, you should be in that ballpark of 10.84 by '31 million to this new plan right?

Joi Harris

Yes. We were at 8, not 7 with the Google contract. And that's what I've communicated previously. So now we'll be more than that -- yes, we will be north of that at 9-plus essentially. Better than not.

Ivana Ergovic

Okay. But yes, 9 implies from '27, right? Like basically compounding and flat from the midpoint of New '27,right? Is that the right way.

Joi Harris

Yes. That's the right.

Ivana Ergovic

Okay. Okay. And I actually wanted to ask -- another question, I mean, I know it's also related to kind of to the rate case interest spending and the new I understand that the new government in this state. So how should we think about hiring potential for settlement or just reading for the proposed decision in December? And also how to think about I know you put out the trend that there is a payout beyond '28 with Google. Could you give any kind of guidance like when we have more clarity on that.

Joi Harris

Sure. Sure. Not likely to get a settlement in this current rate case. Just too many intervenors. We've got over 30 interveners. So we expect to get an order in February, -- and the staff was generally supportive of our large low transition mechanism, which allows for us to stay out to essentially 2028. With just the Oracle contract, it did not comprehend the Google contract. The Google contract could offer additional opportunities to extend that stay out to, say, another year, if not more.

So we are waiting for the order to understand the commission's position on the stay out. But suffice it to say, the early indications are quite positive in that regard.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Paul Fremont with Ladenburg.

Paul Fremont

And congratulations. So a couple of just maybe some details on the Vantage transaction. What are you expecting as the after-tax proceeds on the sale?

David Ruud

The tax drag on this is a couple of hundred million and with the fees as well, just a little over a couple of hundred million on that. So expect to get somewhere between the $2.7 billion, $2.8 billion on that.

Paul Fremont

Great. And then the next question, what would be sort of the EBITDA of the piece that you sold? Because obviously, some of this would be the EES Coke EBITDA?

David Ruud

Right. Yes. So the multiple on the sale is a little complicated because of the tax credits, like the RNG and investment tax credits that are in there. But when we adjust for those, we do see good valuation with both the EBITDA multiple and the PE multiple and they're above the utility. So the EV EBITDA, if you look at '26 or '27, it's like 12 to 13x and the PE is about 19 to 23 after adjusting for tax credits.

Paul Fremont

Right. But are you able to sort of just break out the EBITDA? .

David Ruud

We haven't broken that out or given that now.

Paul Fremont

Okay. And you're obviously getting close to $3 billion in terms of cash proceeds -- but you're saying that the equity need only goes down by $1 billion. So is that because of the pickup in the capital spend at the utility?

David Ruud

Partially, we're using a lot of those proceeds to also pay down debt that was maturing in 2027 as well. So $1 billion goes towards equity versus our prior plan -- or versus our status quo plan. And then $2 billion goes to pay down debt. And then again, we'll be going back into investing a lot more capital. So we'll be issuing equity and debt to support that going forward.

Paul Fremont

And the sort of the paydown of the debt, what type of improvement do you get in FFO to debt out of that?

David Ruud

As we go through this, we're still targeting 15% FFO to debt as our internal matter. And we'll consistently well consistently hit that throughout the plan.

Paul Fremont

Got it. And then Sort of last question, sort of a clarification on growth. You had talked about well above 9% growth through '29 and then 9% from like '29 through '31. That 9% through -- for '29 through '31 is off of sort of the higher level that you're at in '29? Or is that 9% off of the '27 midpoint?

David Ruud

No now that's off of the '29. So we grow higher through '29 and then from that point, 9% on through 2031.

Paul Fremont

Got it, which is why you end up with 9% plus off of the 27 midpoint, right?

David Ruud

Yes.

Paul Fremont

Okay. Sorry for that confusing question, and thank you for that.

David Ruud

Paul, thank you for the clarification. That was helpful.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Sophie Karp with KeyBanc.

Sophie Karp

Congratulations on the transaction. If I can go back to Shar's question and ask it maybe a little differently. I guess what I'm wondering is, are data center customers under the current agreements you have with Google and Oracle or under the proposed tariff right? Would they come with a different cash flow profile compared to other load industrial load that you have now, maybe with more front-loaded cash flows or other cash recovery that's upfront that can help offset capital needs for capital needs? Or is the cash flow profile exactly the same basically is kind of to load.

Joi Harris

Yes, it's better, quite honestly. So we did some of that with Google. Google paid for some of the long lead items that we had to secure to support them. And we're examining those frameworks going forward. But that would not be the case if this was just a normal industrial low customer.

Sophie Karp

Okay. So having more of those contracts on the system would help reduce your equity needs kind of moving forward, correct?

David Ruud

Depending on the timing of the time line. We'll invest the capital earlier with data center customers and we would -- for normal industrial customers, I would say. So we'll need to fund that capital. And as Joi said, we work to find ways to offset that through the contracts we put together. But I would say they're pretty bespoke in how they come together.

Sophie Karp

Another question is on the MYRPs, right, like multirate, -- it looks like you're able to now go back to gas case every 2 years and they do stay out on electric because of data center ramp. Do you even need a MYRP because it feels like you're doing well and can reduce the frequency as it stands right now, frequency of rate cases and in the usually, you give something up, right? The company to give something up like maybe are, maybe it comes from else. But like do you even need that framework formalize can you just reduce the cadence of rate organically and maintain the kind of tablecloth otherwise?

Joi Harris

Well, that's what we're doing, Sophie, is reducing it organically. And what we want to -- so from that perspective, no, we don't need it. But we want to make sure that if the legislature -- I mean what is giving rise to the majority of the anxiety is the frequency of filing. And so to address frequency and filing going forward as a state, not just as DTE or some other entity, but as a framework for the state, the legislature would have to make changes to the law to accommodate multiyear rate making.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Travis Miller with Morningstar.

Travis Miller

Good morning. Thank you I just had a couple of quick ones and then 1 more conceptual one. One quick one. Any regulatory approvals needed for Vantage that would potentially delay? there's a couple that .

David Ruud

There's a couple that -- just a couple that we'll need to get through in the first quarter of next year or sometimes but nothing that's expected to delay it.

Travis Miller

Okay. MPUC doesn't need to rule on it, right? .

Joi Harris

No, no, no, no.

Travis Miller

Okay. Another quick 1 here. The potential for the stay-out extension, would that be part of the negotiations going up to the February decision or in the order? Or is that something you decide on later next year or even in 2028?

Joi Harris

No. The stay out, we filed it as a part of the case. So if it's approved, then that would be the mechanism that we would use to stay out. And essentially, what that means is that we would take the excess margin from the Oracle load provided -- they come on at the end of 2027 as planned. And let me just say construction is progressing as planned.

So we have every expectation that they will come on in '27. We would take that excess margin, hang it on the balance sheet and then seek an accounting order afterwards. So we get an approval of the case to leverage the mechanism in February, 1 way or another.

Travis Miller

Sure. Yes, I was actually thinking more about that Google contract now that you have it approved. Sorry.

Joi Harris

The Google contract, yes, the Google contract, there is no mechanism necessarily. If the LLTM is approved, then the Google contract would just allow for us to that file. There's nothing else that the commission would have to approve in order for us to stay out.

Travis Miller

Okay. Perfect. No, that's -- yes, that's what I was asking, too. Okay.

Joi Harris

Yes, yes. Okay.

Travis Miller

And then 1 larger conceptual question. When you look at the IRP, how much of that plan is essentially -- you want not details, but how much of that plan will be paid for by Google and Oracle or the extra customer that you've talked about or customers that you talked about. Again, just high level.

Joi Harris

Just high level well that the Google contract is roughly $5 billion of the renewables. And then the Oracle contract is like roughly $2 billion, a little over $2 billion for the Oracle. So roughly $7 billion.

Travis Miller

Okay. Perfect. And that's renewables and the battery storage you have with Oracle, right?

Joi Harris

Yes. battery storage for Oracle, just battery stores. Renewables is for Google.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the call back over to Joi Harris for closing remarks.

Joi Harris

Okay. Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us today. I'll just close by saying we continue to execute in 2026, and we are well positioned to achieve our goals for the year. I'm really excited about our long-term plan and the opportunities ahead, and I look forward to seeing many of you at EEI in just a few days.

Have a great morning. Stay safe and stay healthy. Take care.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.