PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) reported second-quarter earnings and revenue below Wall Street forecasts on Friday, although the regulated utility reaffirmed its full-year guidance and highlighted significant long-term growth opportunities linked to data centre development.
Shares were modestly higher in pre-market trading, rising around 0.3% following the results.
Earnings and Revenue Come in Below Forecasts
PPL posted adjusted earnings of $0.33 per share for the second quarter, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $0.37 per share.
Revenue increased 4% year over year to $2.11 billion from $2.03 billion, but also missed the consensus forecast of $2.19 billion.
Despite the weaker quarterly performance, management reaffirmed its adjusted earnings guidance for 2026 of between $1.90 and $1.98 per share. The midpoint of $1.94 remains broadly in line with market expectations.
The company also maintained its long-term target of delivering annual earnings growth of between 6% and 8% through at least 2029, with performance expected to trend toward the upper end of that range.
Regulated Utility Operations Remain Stable
President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi said, “Our solid second-quarter results demonstrate continued execution across our regulated utility portfolio and keep us on track to deliver our 2026 commitments.”
PPL’s Kentucky Regulated business generated adjusted earnings of $0.18 per share, unchanged from the same period last year. Higher retail electricity rates introduced at the beginning of 2026 were offset by increased operating costs, depreciation and interest expenses.
The Pennsylvania Regulated segment also earned $0.18 per share, down by $0.01 from the previous year, as higher depreciation and financing costs outweighed stronger transmission revenue.
Data Centres Offer Long-Term Growth Potential
PPL continued to emphasise the opportunity presented by rising demand from data centre operators across its service territories.
The company estimates economic development projects in Pennsylvania and Kentucky could generate between $10 billion and $12 billion of investment opportunities through 2032, driven largely by increasing electricity demand.
In Pennsylvania, PPL Electric Utilities’ advanced-stage data centre pipeline expanded to 31.8 gigawatts, including more than 11 gigawatts already covered by signed electricity service agreements.
Kentucky’s development pipeline reached 13.7 gigawatts, with approximately 11.6 gigawatts directly related to proposed data centre projects.
PPL Corp stock price
