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PPL Gears Up to Report Q2 Earnings: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
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Key Takeaways
PPL is expected to post Q2 revenues of $2.18B and EPS of 35 cents, up 7.5% and 9.38% year over year.
Data-center demand, Kentucky investment and new retail rates are expected to support PPL's Q2 growth.
PPL's premium valuation and below-industry ROE may keep investors cautious amid its $23B investment plan.
PPL Corporation (PPL - Free Report) is expected to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 7, before market open. This utility is expected to post a year-over -year increase in total revenues and earnings per share when it releases quarterly results.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 35 cents per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 9.38%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus mark for revenues is pinned at $2.18 billion, indicating growth of 7.5% from the year-ago reported figure.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What Our Quantitative Model Predicts
Our proven model doesn’t predict an earnings beat for PPL 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 -1.73%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Currently, PPL carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
A few utilities from the same industry that reported positive earnings surprises this season are Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) , Dominion Energy (D - Free Report) and NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) , among others.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share for Duke Energy, Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy indicates year-over-year growth of 6.5%, 4.39% and 8.36%, respectively.
Factors Expected to Have Influenced PPL’s Q2 Performance
PPL Corporation’s second-quarter earnings are expected to have benefited from ongoing economic development across its service territories, which likely drove higher electricity demand. Strong demand from data centers in Pennsylvania, along with rising private-sector investment in Kentucky, is expected to have supported revenue and earnings growth.
Additionally, new retail electric rates that took effect on Jan. 1 are likely to provide a further boost to second-quarter results.
PPL Corporation's second-quarter performance is expected to have benefited from ongoing cost-reduction initiatives and customer-focused energy efficiency programs. Contributions from organic investments and the adoption of advanced technologies to optimize asset performance are also likely to support the company's quarterly results.
PPL’s advanced transmission system provides it a competitive advantage and allows to connect and provide power to hyperscalers.
PPL Stock’s Price Performance
In the past six months, the stock has declined 0.5% against the industry’s growth of 0.1%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PPL Stock Trading at a Premium
PPL is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 17.13X compared with the industry average of 15.63X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PPL Stock Returns Lower Than Its Industry
Return on equity (“ROE”) is a financial ratio that measures how well a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profits.
PPL’s trailing 12-month ROE is 9.41%, lower than the industry average of 11.21%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Investment Consideration for PPL
PPL Corporation plans to deploy nearly $23 billion between 2026 and 2029 to expand and upgrade its generation, transmission and distribution systems. These investments are already improving operating performance, as evidenced by a reduction in customer outages, and should continue to enhance the reliability and resilience of the company’s utility networks.
PPL also benefits from a favorable regulatory environment, with more than 60% of its planned capital expenditures eligible for contemporaneous recovery. This framework helps mitigate regulatory lag and limits the earnings impact associated with the timing of infrastructure cost recovery.
Moreover, the company has introduced standardized engineering, design and operating processes across its utilities to strengthen grid automation and improve resilience during severe weather. These efforts are expected to support further reliability gains while helping PPL meet rising customer demand in an efficient manner.
Summing Up
PPL Corporation is well positioned to benefit from rising electricity demand across its service territories, supported by ongoing cost-reduction initiatives, customer-focused energy efficiency programs and continued infrastructure upgrades that enhance operational performance. The company's strong liquidity, sustained investments in grid modernization and growing power demand from data centers and other expanding commercial and industrial customers are expected to remain key long-term growth drivers.
However, given PPL Corporation’s premium valuation and comparatively lower return on equity, investors may prefer to remain cautious for the time being.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
PPL Gears Up to Report Q2 Earnings: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
Key Takeaways
PPL Corporation (PPL - Free Report) is expected to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 7, before market open. This utility is expected to post a year-over -year increase in total revenues and earnings per share when it releases quarterly results.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 35 cents per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 9.38%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus mark for revenues is pinned at $2.18 billion, indicating growth of 7.5% from the year-ago reported figure.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What Our Quantitative Model Predicts
Our proven model doesn’t predict an earnings beat for PPL 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 -1.73%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Currently, PPL carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Utilities With Positive Surprise This Season
A few utilities from the same industry that reported positive earnings surprises this season are Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) , Dominion Energy (D - Free Report) and NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) , among others.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share for Duke Energy, Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy indicates year-over-year growth of 6.5%, 4.39% and 8.36%, respectively.
Factors Expected to Have Influenced PPL’s Q2 Performance
PPL Corporation’s second-quarter earnings are expected to have benefited from ongoing economic development across its service territories, which likely drove higher electricity demand. Strong demand from data centers in Pennsylvania, along with rising private-sector investment in Kentucky, is expected to have supported revenue and earnings growth.
Additionally, new retail electric rates that took effect on Jan. 1 are likely to provide a further boost to second-quarter results.
PPL Corporation's second-quarter performance is expected to have benefited from ongoing cost-reduction initiatives and customer-focused energy efficiency programs. Contributions from organic investments and the adoption of advanced technologies to optimize asset performance are also likely to support the company's quarterly results.
PPL’s advanced transmission system provides it a competitive advantage and allows to connect and provide power to hyperscalers.
PPL Stock’s Price Performance
In the past six months, the stock has declined 0.5% against the industry’s growth of 0.1%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PPL Stock Trading at a Premium
PPL is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 17.13X compared with the industry average of 15.63X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PPL Stock Returns Lower Than Its Industry
Return on equity (“ROE”) is a financial ratio that measures how well a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profits.
PPL’s trailing 12-month ROE is 9.41%, lower than the industry average of 11.21%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Investment Consideration for PPL
PPL Corporation plans to deploy nearly $23 billion between 2026 and 2029 to expand and upgrade its generation, transmission and distribution systems. These investments are already improving operating performance, as evidenced by a reduction in customer outages, and should continue to enhance the reliability and resilience of the company’s utility networks.
PPL also benefits from a favorable regulatory environment, with more than 60% of its planned capital expenditures eligible for contemporaneous recovery. This framework helps mitigate regulatory lag and limits the earnings impact associated with the timing of infrastructure cost recovery.
Moreover, the company has introduced standardized engineering, design and operating processes across its utilities to strengthen grid automation and improve resilience during severe weather. These efforts are expected to support further reliability gains while helping PPL meet rising customer demand in an efficient manner.
Summing Up
PPL Corporation is well positioned to benefit from rising electricity demand across its service territories, supported by ongoing cost-reduction initiatives, customer-focused energy efficiency programs and continued infrastructure upgrades that enhance operational performance. The company's strong liquidity, sustained investments in grid modernization and growing power demand from data centers and other expanding commercial and industrial customers are expected to remain key long-term growth drivers.
However, given PPL Corporation’s premium valuation and comparatively lower return on equity, investors may prefer to remain cautious for the time being.