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Pinnacle West Capital to Post Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Key Takeaways

  • PNW is set to report Q4 earnings Feb. 25, with EPS projected at 5 cents, up 183% year over year.
  • PNW may benefit from higher retail sales, new manufacturing loads and data center demand.
  • PNW is expected to face higher property taxes and 2.8% lower total electric sales expectations.

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW - Free Report) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 25, before market open. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 11.51% in the last reported quarter.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

PNW’s Q4 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 5 cents per share, which implies a year-over-year increase of 183.33%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pinned at $1.12 billion, indicating an increase of 2.51% from the year-ago reported number.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total electric sales is pegged at 7,744.7 gigawatt-hour, down 2.8% from the year-ago quarter’s registered figure.

Factors That Might Have Impacted PNW’s Q4 Earnings

PNW’s fourth-quarter earnings are expected to have benefited from strong economic development in its service territory, which leads to fresh demand and an expanding retail and commercial customer base. Earnings are expected have been supported by higher retail electricity sales and increased demand from the new large manufacturing facilities and various data centers.

The company’s infrastructure development and grid modernization efforts are expected to have improved service reliability and boosted quarterly earnings. 

The bottom line is expected to have benefited from reduced core operations and maintenance expenses. The company’s disciplined cost management and innovative customer programs, aimed at helping customers save energy and money, are likely to have enhanced quarterly performance.

Increased property taxes due to higher plant in service are likely to have offset some of the positives in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts for PNW

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Pinnacle West Capital this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -4.76%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Pinnacle West Capital carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Stock to Consider

Investors may also consider the following player from the same industry, as it has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this reporting cycle.

The AES Corporation (AES - Free Report) is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.54% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

AES’ long-term earnings (three to five years) growth rate is 11.17%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter EPS is pinned at 62 cents, which implies a year-over-year increase of 14.81%.

Recent Utility Releases 

Ameren (AEE - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings of 78 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents by 1.3%.

AEE’s long-term earnings growth rate is 9.27%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 1.18% in the last four quarters. 

American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.19 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15 by 3.5%.

AEP’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.72%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 6.36% in the last four quarters.

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