Back to top

Image: Bigstock

WEC Energy Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss

Read MoreHide Full Article

WEC Energy Group (WEC - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2024 earnings of 82 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 70 cents by 17.1%. However, the bottom line declined 18% from the year-ago quarter’s $1.00.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Revenues

Operating revenues of $1.86 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.93 billion by around 3.5%. The top line also declined 4.8% from $1.96 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter.

 

WEC Energy Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

WEC Energy Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

WEC Energy Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | WEC Energy Group, Inc. Quote

Highlights of the Release

Electricity consumption by small commercial and industrial customers increased 1% in the third quarter. The same for large commercial and industrial customers, excluding the iron ore mine, decreased 0.2% on a year-over-year basis.

On a weather-normal basis, retail deliveries of electricity, excluding the iron ore mine, increased 0.4%.

Total electric sales volume for the quarter was 11,985.7 thousand megawatt-hours, down 5.2% year over year.

Total operating expenses were $1.48 billion, down 0.6% from the year-ago level of $1.49 billion. This was due to lower cost of sales.

Operating income totaled $383.7 million, down 18.8% from $472 million recorded in the year-ago quarter.

The company incurred an interest expense of $204.2 million, up 12.1% from the prior-year level of $182.5 million.

Financial Position

As of Sept. 30, 2024, WEC had cash and cash equivalents of $322.5 million compared with $42.9 million as of Dec. 31, 2023.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company had a long-term debt of $16.9 billion compared with $15.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023.

Net cash provided by operating activities during the first nine months of 2024 was $2.6 billion compared with $2.5 billion in the year-ago period.

Guidance

WEC reaffirmed its 2024 earnings projection in the range of $4.80-$4.90 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $4.87 per share, higher than the midpoint of the company’s guided range.

WEC Energy expects to invest $28 billion in the 2025-2029 period.

Zacks Rank

The company currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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

Upcoming Releases

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 6, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $3.33 per share.

PNW’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 8.22%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pinned at $4.88 per share, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 10.7%.

Evergy (EVRG - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 7, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.95 per share, which suggests a year-over-year increase of 3.7%.

EVRG’s long-term earnings growth rate is 5.85%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pinned at $3.84 per share, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 8.5%.

NRG Energy (NRG - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 8, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.71 per share, which suggests a year-over-year increase of 5.6%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pinned at $6.09 per share, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 41%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 7% in the past four quarters.

 

Published in