Key Takeaways:
American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) rose more than 4% in pre-market trading after reporting first-quarter operating earnings of $1.64 per share, beating consensus estimates by 9 cents.
The new capital plan additions of $6 billion raise the expected operating earnings compound annual growth rate to greater than 9% through 2030, the company said in its earnings release.
The utility giant beat analyst expectations on the bottom line, though revenue was not disclosed in the initial report. Wall Street had been looking for adjusted earnings of $1.55 per share on revenue of roughly $5.69 billion, according to Zacks Investment Research.
AEP reaffirmed its full-year 2026 operating earnings guidance range of $6.15 to $6.45 per share. The company also boosted its five-year capital investment plan to $78 billion, an increase of $6 billion, citing accelerating demand from new data center and industrial loads. AEP said it has identified new load additions that could expand to 63 gigawatts by 2030.
The results from AEP and peer Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), which also saw a boom in demand for power equipment for data centers, show that the AI-driven infrastructure build-out is a significant tailwind for the utility and industrial sectors. While technology stocks have dominated market performance, strong earnings from other sectors indicate a broadening of economic strength.
The guidance affirmation and capital plan increase suggest management is confident in sustained demand growth, particularly from new data center and industrial loads. Investors will look to the upcoming investor day for more details on the allocation of the increased capital budget.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
