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AES to Report Q4 Earnings: Here's What You Need to Know

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The AES Corporation (AES - Free Report) is slated to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results on Feb 26, after the closing bell.

It delivered an earnings surprise of 9.09% in the last reported quarter. However, the company delivered an average negative earnings surprise of 2.18% for the trailing four quarters.

Factors to Note

In the fourth quarter, AES’ service territories witnessed mixed weather patterns. While some parts of its service areas experienced warmer-than-normal temperatures, accompanied with drought, other parts observed mostly normal temperatures, along with precipitation. Such a weather pattern is likely to have had a moderate impact on the company’s overall top-line performance in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $3.10 billion, indicating an improvement of 1.3% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

The AES Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

The AES Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

The AES Corporation price-eps-surprise | The AES Corporation Quote

Improved margins from AES’ Fluence business, as well as the company’s cost savings initiatives, are likely to have bolstered the company’s earnings performance in the soon-to-be-reported quarter amid the adverse impacts of higher interest expenses.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 69 cents per share, indicating a surge of 40.8% from the prior-year quarter’s level.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for AES this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: AES’ Earnings ESP is +0.36%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: AES currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks to Consider

Here is one Utility player that has the right combination of elements to come up with an earnings beat this reporting cycle.

Sempra Energy (SRE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.29% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 9.03%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SRE’s fourth-quarter sales is pegged at $4.03 billion, indicating growth of 16.7% from that recorded in the prior-year quarter. The consensus mark for earnings is pinned at $1.13 per share.

Recent Utility Releases

DTE Energy Company (DTE - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2023 operating EPS of $1.97, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line, however, improved 50.4% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of $1.31.

DTE Energy initiated its 2024 operating EPS projection. The company expects operating EPS in the range of $6.54-$6.83.

Xcel Energy (XEL - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2023 operating earnings of 83 cents per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents by 2.3%. However, the bottom line improved 620.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of 69 cents.

The fourth-quarter revenues of $3,442 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,972 million by 13.34%. The figure also declined 15.07% from the year-ago quarter’s level of $4,053 million.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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