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Exelon's (EXC) Q3 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Beat

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Exelon Corporation’s (EXC - Free Report) third-quarter 2021 earnings of $1.09 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.

The bottom line, however, increased 4.8% from the year-ago earnings of $1.04 per share. The year-over-year improvement in earnings was primarily due to rate adjustments resulting from continued investments at the utilities to improve the reliability and services for customers.

On a GAAP basis, quarterly earnings were $1.23 per share compared with 51 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Total Revenues

Exelon's total revenues of $8,910 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8,579 million by 3.9%. The top line also improved 0.6% from the year-ago figure of $8,853 million.

Exelon Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Exelon Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Exelon Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Exelon Corporation Quote

Highlights of the Release

Exelon's total operating expenses decreased nearly 12% year over year to $7,117 million.

Interest expenses were $397 million, down 1.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Exelon-operated nuclear plants at ownership achieved a 96% capacity factor for the quarter, on par with the year-ago level.

Planned Separation

On Feb 25, 2021, Exelon announced that its board of directors approved a plan to separate the utilities business, comprising six regulated electric and gas utilities along with Exelon Generation, its competitive power generation, and customer-facing energy businesses. This will create two publicly-traded companies with the necessary resources to best serve customers, and help the company sustain long-term investments as well as operating excellence.

On Aug 24, 2021, the FERC approved the planned separation of Exelon Generation and on Sep 23, 2021, the company received a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) confirming the tax-free treatment of the planned separation. Subject to necessary approvals, it expects the separation to complete in first-quarter 2022.

Hedges

Exelon's hedging program involves the safeguarding of commodity risks for expected generation. As of Sep 30, 2021, the proportion of expected generation hedged is 96-99% for 2021.

Financial Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents were $2,957 million as of Sep 30, 2021 compared with $663 million on Dec 31, 2020.

Long-term debt was $35,269 million as of Sep 30, 2021 compared with $35,093 million on Dec 31, 2020.

Cash provided from operating activities for the first nine months of 2021 was $4,141 million compared with $4,222 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Guidance

Exelon narrowed its 2021 earnings guidance to the range of $2.70-$2.90 from $2.60-$3.00 per share. The midpoint of the revised guided range is $2.80, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.81 per share for the period.

The company plans to invest $6.6 billion in 2021 to strengthen operations.

Zacks Rank

Exelon currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Releases

FirstEnergy Corporation (FE - Free Report) came up with third-quarter 2021 operating earnings of 82 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents by 1.2%.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 75 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents by 4.2%.

DTE Energy Company (DTE - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2021 operating EPS of $1.72, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.83 by 6%.

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