NextEra Energy Earnings Rise 9.7% in Third Quarter

NextEra Energy reported third quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, with adjusted earnings per share up 9.7 percent from a year earlier. NextEra Energy earnings reached $1.24 per share, above a consensus estimate of $1.19, according to coverage of the earnings call. The company kept its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $3.92 to $4.02 per share and said it was targeting the high end of that range. Chief executive John Ketchum said the results reflected continued strong financial and operational performance at both Florida Power and Light and NextEra Energy Resources.

Florida Power and Light is the regulated utility owned by NextEra. Its earnings per share rose by $0.06 year on year. The main driver was growth of about 9.2 percent in regulatory capital employed, which is the base of assets on which regulators allow the utility to earn a return. NextEra Energy earnings at Florida Power and Light rose, with net income to $1.62 billion, from $1.46 billion a year earlier. Its capital spending in the quarter was about $2.4 billion, and the company expects full year capital investment of about $12 billion for the utility. For the 12 months ending in September 2026, its reported return on equity for regulatory purposes was about 11.8 percent.

How NextEra Energy earnings grew at Florida Power

Florida Power and Light retail sales rose 2.8 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, helped by customer growth and weather. On a weather normalized basis, retail sales rose 1.4 percent, driven by an increase in customer numbers. The utility also reversed about $172 million from its rate stabilization mechanism in the quarter. That left an after tax balance of roughly $1.5 billion in that mechanism. The utility business is the steady part of NextEra Energy, alongside its renewable energy work. It serves customers across much of Florida with generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. Investment in that infrastructure raises regulatory capital employed, which in turn can support earnings if regulators approve the spending. The 9.2 percent rise in that base in the quarter explains why Florida Power and Light added $0.06 to group earnings per share.

What NextEra Energy earnings showed at Energy Resources

NextEra Energy Resources is the development arm of the group. It builds and owns renewable energy and storage projects, including wind and solar facilities, and that renewable energy work is central to its growth. NextEra Energy earnings at Energy Resources rose about 13 percent in the quarter and also added $0.06 to group earnings per share. Wind resource in the quarter was near 101 percent of its long term average, compared with 90 percent in the same quarter a year earlier, which helped output. The Corporate and Other segment was a $0.01 drag on earnings per share, partly offsetting the gains from the two main businesses.

NextEra Energy earnings were supported as new additions in the quarter totaled 3.7 gigawatts, including 2.4 gigawatts of battery storage. The backlog across renewables and storage stood near 36.7 gigawatts after those additions. NextEra also reported that regulated and transmission capital was up about 25 percent to about $12.7 billion since December 2025.

Dominion Energy merger and NextEra Energy earnings outlook

NextEra Energy earnings coverage also updated investors on its pending combination with Dominion Energy. Shareholders of both NextEra and Dominion approved the deal on September 3, 2026. That approval satisfied one closing condition, but state and federal reviews are still under way. In Virginia and South Carolina, procedural schedules have been set with hearings in November and December 2026, and final orders are expected in January 2027. In North Carolina, expert witness hearings are scheduled to begin in February 2027. The companies continue to expect the combination to close in the second half of 2027.

If completed, the merger covered in NextEra Energy earnings coverage would create the largest utility company in the United States, according to PV Tech coverage of the deal. NextEra has set out commitments in Virginia, including $100 million for Dominion customer bill assistance through 2038, a doubling of the residential bill credits scheme to four years, and a Virginia supplier program of up to $5 billion over five years. For 2026, NextEra Energy earnings guidance kept its long term view of adjusted earnings growth of 8 percent or more a year through 2032, from a 2025 base of $3.71 per share, with dividend growth targeted at about 10 percent a year through 2026 and about 6 percent a year from 2026 through 2028.