Duke Energy Set to Report Q2 Earnings: Here's What to Expect

Duke Energy Corporation DUK is scheduled to release its second-quarter 2025 results on Aug. 5, before market open. 

The company delivered an earnings surprise of 10.69% in the last reported quarter. Moreover, DUK holds a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.07%.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors at Play Ahead of DUK’s Q2 Results

The majority of DUK’s service territories witnessed a warmer-than-normal temperature pattern during the second quarter. This is likely to have boosted electricity demand from its customers for cooling purposes this spring, which must have bolstered the company’s top-line performance.

Rising residential customers and growing data centers, aided by economic development in the states where DUK operates, are likely to have boosted its revenues.

DUK’s second-quarter revenues might have witnessed a modest uplift, as the company signed new letter agreements for nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of data center projects in April.

However, some parts of its service areas witnessed heavy rainfall, along with severe thunderstorms, landslides, flash flooding and a series of tornadoes, which are likely to have caused outages for some of DUK’s customers and also damaged its infrastructure. This is likely to have pushed up the company’s operating expenses in the second quarter for restoration, which might have hurt its bottom-line performance to some extent.

Also, higher depreciation and interest expenses are expected to have put downward pressure on DUK’s quarterly earnings. 

Nevertheless, higher sales volume, implementation of new rates in the electric and gas segments and favorable returns from previous investments in grid enhancement, backed by the company’s cost reduction initiative, may have boosted DUK’s overall second-quarter earnings.

Q2 Expectations for DUK

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DUK’s sales is pegged at $7.4 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 3.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at $1.25 per share, which suggests a year-over-year rise of 5.9%.

What the Zacks Model Unveils for DUK

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for DUK this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here, as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: DUK has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Duke Energy carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Here we have mentioned a few players from the same sector that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in the upcoming releases:

Fortis FTS is expected to report its second-quarter 2025 results on Aug. 1, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.48% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $2.01 billion, which implies a 3.2% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings stands at 51 cents per share.

ONE Gas, Inc. OGS is slated to report its second-quarter 2025 results on Aug. 5, after market close. It has an Earnings ESP of +3.22% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter sales is pegged at $404.1 million, which calls for a 14.1% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings stands at 53 cents per share.

Southwest Gas SWX is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2025 results on Aug. 6, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +8% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $1.21 billion, which calls for a 2.2% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings stands at 42 cents per share.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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