Southern Company Q2 Earnings Beat as Utility Sales Grow

Power supplier The Southern Company SO reported second-quarter 2025 earnings per share (excluding certain one-time items) of 91 cents, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 87 cents. The encouraging numbers reflect higher utility revenues.

However, the bottom line came well below the year-ago adjusted profit of $1.09 due to higher-than-expected expenses and the effects of milder weather.

The utility reported revenues of $7 billion. The top line came in 7.9% higher than second-quarter 2024 sales and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.6 billion.

The firm guided earnings per share between $4.20 and $4.30 for this year and $1.50 for the September quarter. Further, Southern Company management stuck to its long-term EPS growth rate projection of 5-7%.

Southern Company (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Southern Company (The) price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Southern Company (The) Quote

Overall Sales Breakup

Southern Company’s wholesale power sales fell 1.8%, though there was a slight gain in retail electricity demand.

Overall, there was a marginal decline in electricity sales and usage. In fact, total electricity sales during the second quarter edged down 0.1% from the same period last year.

Southern Company’s total retail sales moved up 0.5%, with industrial and commercial sales increasing 2.8% and 1.3%, respectively, while residential sales fell 2.7%.  

Expenses Summary

The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) power supplier’s operations and maintenance (O&M) cost rose 21.4% year over year to $1.7 billion. The utility’s total operating expense for the period — at $5.2 billion — increased 15.1% from the prior-year level and surpassed our estimate of $4.9 billion.

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

Some Key Utility Earnings

While we have discussed The Southern Company’s second-quarter results in detail, let’s see how some other utilities have fared this earnings season.

PPL Corporation PPL reported operating EPS of 32 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37 cents by 13.5%. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported earnings of 38 cents per share. Total revenues of $2.03 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.98 billion by 2.15%. The top line also increased 7.7% from the year-ago figure of $1.88 billion.

PPL’s total operating expenses were $1.62 billion, up 8.7% from the year-ago quarter’s $1.49 billion. This was due to an increase in fuel and energy purchases. Operating income totaled $406 million, up 4.1% from the year-ago figure of $390 million.

Interest expenses amounted to $199 million, up 9.3% from $182 million in the corresponding period of 2024. PPL reaffirmed its 2025 earnings projection in the range of $1.75-$1.87 per share.

American Water Works Company AWK posted operating EPS of $1.48, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49 by 0.7%. The bottom line improved 4.2% from the year-ago quarter's EPS of $1.42. The year-over-year improvement in earnings was due to increased revenues from the implementation of new rates in the Regulated Businesses and contributions from acquired assets.

Total operating expenses for the second quarter were $787 million, 12.4% higher than the year-ago quarter’s $700 million, due to an increase in operating and maintenance expenses. American Water Works continues to expand operations through acquisitions and organic means. As of June 30, 2025, American Water Works added 7,600 customers through seven closed acquisitions. Another 20 pending acquisitions, when completed, will add 40,650 customers.

IDACORP, Inc. IDA reported second-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.76 per share, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company’s earnings improved 2.9% from $1.71 in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year improvement was due to higher-than-expected customer usage, continued customer growth and rate changes.

Customer growth rate in IDACORP’s service areas increased 2.5% year over year for the 12 months ended on June 30, 2025. This boosted operating income by $5.5 million compared with the year-ago level. IDACORP’s total operating expenses were $350.3 million, up 0.7% from the year-ago quarter. The increase in operating expenses was due to higher fuel, operations and maintenance as well as depreciation and amortization expenses.

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

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