PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) stock rose Friday after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results.
Earnings Snapshot
Operating revenue came in at $2.27 billion, below the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion.
Electricity sales increased 4.0% year over year, with the Pennsylvania Regulated segment rising 2.6% and the Kentucky Regulated segment up 5.7%.
Operating income rose to $476 million from $377 million in the prior-year quarter.
Adjusted EPS was 41 cents, in line with analyst expectations.
Earnings from ongoing operations in the Kentucky Regulated segment increased by two cents year over year, supported by higher sales volumes and returns on additional capital investments.
In the Pennsylvania Regulated segment, ongoing earnings rose by one cent year over year, reflecting higher transmission revenue from incremental capital investments, improved distribution rider recovery, and lower operating costs.
PPL reported operating cash flow of $2.63 billion for the year.
Dividend Boost
The company raised its quarterly dividend by 4.6% to 28.50 cents per share from 27.25 cents.
The dividend will be payable on April 1, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March 10, 2026.
PPL now expects annual dividend growth of 4% to 6% under its updated plan.
Outlook
PPL projects 2026 EPS in the range of $1.90 to $1.98, compared with the consensus estimate of $1.95.
The company also extended its 6% to 8% annual EPS and dividend growth targets through 2029.
Capital spending guidance was revised to $23 billion for 2026 through 2029, up from the previous $20 billion plan for 2025 through 2028. This supports an estimated 10.3% average annual rate base growth through 2029.
For 2026, PPL plans infrastructure investments of approximately $5.1 billion, including generation projects in Kentucky and transmission expansion to support growing data center demand.
Management Commentary
President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi said, “By steadily building on our cost-saving efforts each year since 2021, we have achieved annual run-rate O&M savings of $170 million in 2025, putting us almost a year ahead of schedule and very close to our 2026 goal of $175 million in annual run-rate O&M reductions compared to 2021.”
”This O&M efficiency strategy enabled our utilities to go many years without requesting a base rate increase for our customers – ten years at PPL Electric Utilities, nearly five years at Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, and eight years at Rhode Island Energy.”
“Moving forward, we will continue to mitigate bill increases as much as possible while we make critical investments in electric and gas network modernization, build new generation to meet demand growth in Kentucky, and advance our joint venture with Blackstone Infrastructure to meet growing data center demand in Pennsylvania.”
PPL Price Action: PPL shares were up 1.14% at $37.39 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
