Duke Energy (DUK) to Post Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

Zacks Equity Research Published on May 07, 2019

Duke Energy Corporation (DUK - Free Report) is set to report first-quarter 2019 results on May 9, before the opening bell.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of 5.62%. However, earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters, the average beat being 0.95%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

Factors Under Consideration

Duke Energy’s service territories witnessed above-normal and above-average temperatures during most of the first quarter of 2019. During the quarter, Florida witnessed its second warmest February on record. This is expected to result in decreased demand for electricity by the utility’s customers on account of reduced heating facility usages.

This might weigh on the company’s top line in the to-be-reported quarter. However, a few other regions under its service territories witnessed revenue-favoring temperature, which might offset these negative impacts on the top line.

In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Duke Energy’s first-quarter revenues is $6.25 billion, indicating a rise of 1.9% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

However, the company anticipates incurring higher costs due to delay in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. This may have an unfavorable impact on the bottom line in the upcoming quarterly results.

In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Duke Energy’s first-quarter earnings pegged at $1.26 implies a decline of 1.56% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Duke Energy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Earnings ESP: Duke Energy has an Earnings ESP of -2.03%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company has a Zacks Rank #3.

Please note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Recent Utility Releases

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE - Free Report) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2, delivered first-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 67 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 66 cents by 1.52%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE - Free Report) , which carries a Zacks Rank #3, reported first-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.20 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.01 by 9.4%.

DTE Energy Company (DTE - Free Report) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2, reported first-quarter 2019 operating earnings per share (EPS) of $2.05, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.95 by 5.1%.

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