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Entergy (ETR) Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Down Y/Y

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Entergy Corporation (ETR - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $2.44 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.42 by 0.8%. However, the reported figure declined 3.2% from $2.52 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding the effects of special items, the company registered GAAP earnings of $2.59 per share compared with $1.82 a year ago.

Total Revenues

In the quarter under review, total revenues came in at $2,903.6 million, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,216 million by 9.7%. Moreover, the top line fell 7.5% from the year-ago quarter’s $3,140.6 million.

Segment Results

Utility: The segment’s quarterly adjusted earnings came in at $2.74 per share compared with $2.88 in the prior-year quarter. The decline primarily was due to lower sales volume and higher depreciation and interest expenses.

Parent & Other: The segment incurred an adjusted loss of 30 cents per share compared with a loss of 36 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Entergy Wholesale Commodities (EWC): The segment registered earnings of 15 cents per share on an as-reported basis against a loss of 70 cents in the year-ago quarter. The uptick in earnings was due to lower asset write-offs and impairments, higher gains on decommissioning trust funds and lower depreciation expenses.

Highlights of the Release

Operating expenses in the quarter summed $2,125.6 million, down 18.9% from $2,620.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Interest expenses were $196.7 million, up 5.4% from $186.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the reported quarter, total retail customers served by the company increased 1% to nearly 2.96 million.

Entergy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Financial Highlights

As of Sep 30, 2020, Entergy had cash and cash equivalents of $1,239.7 million compared with $425.7 million as of Dec 31, 2019.

Long-term debt was $19.61 billion as of Sep 30, 2020, compared with $17.08 billion as of Dec 31, 2019.

As of Sep 30, 2020, the company generated cash from operating activities of $921.9 million, down from $1,064.9 million in the prior-year quarter.

Guidance

For 2020, Entergy narrowed its adjusted EPS to $5.60-$5.70 from $5.45-$5.75. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s earnings is currently pegged at $5.58 per share, which is below the company’s guidance range.

Zacks Rank

Entergy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Utility Releases

American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings per share of $1.47, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46 by 0.7%.

NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $2.66 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.65 by 0.4%.

An Upcoming Release

FirstEnergy Corporation (FE - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2020 results on Nov 2.

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