Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Pinnacle West's (PNW) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates

Read MoreHide Full Article

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW - Free Report) posts earnings of 32 cents per share for the first quarter of 2021, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents by 28%. Also, the bottom line improved 18.5% from the prior-year quarter’s earnings of 27 cents per share owing to favorable weather and higher transmission revenues.

Total Revenues

In the quarter under review, total revenues of $696.5 million improved 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Also, the top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $686 million by 1.5%.

Operational Highlights

In the first quarter, total operating expenses were $648.9 million, up 4.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Operating income improved 17.6% year over year to $47.5 million.

Interest expenses were $56.9 million, up 3.2% year over year.

The company recorded 2.1% year-over-year customer growth in first-quarter 2021.

Financial Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents were $17.2 million as of Mar 31, 2021 compared with $60 million on Dec 31, 2020.

Total long-term debt was $6,465 million as of Mar 31, 2021, higher than $6,314.3 million at 2020 end.

Net cash flow provided by operating activities in the first three months of 2021 was $202 million compared with $183.6 million in the comparable period of 2020. For the reported quarter, capital expenditure of the company was $363.8 million compared with $340 million in the prior-year quarter.

Guidance

During the 2021-2023 forecast period, the utility expects retail customer growth in the 1.5-2.5% range. The utility plans to invest $4,500 million during the same time period.

Moreover, it expects rate base to grow annually at nearly 6% in the long term.

Zacks Rank

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

Other Utility Releases

American Electric Power Co., Inc. (AEP - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $1.15, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.23 by 6.5%.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents by 11.7%.

FirstEnergy Corporation (FE - Free Report) delivered first-quarter 2021 operating earnings of 69 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents by 1.5%.

Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America

A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. It’s bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made.

The only question is “Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest?”

Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today it’s free. Discover 7 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale.

Download FREE: How to Profit from Trillions on Spending for Infrastructure >>

Published in