Pinnacle West Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation PNW reported second-quarter 2026 earnings of $1.43 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49 by 4.03%. The bottom line declined 9.5% from $1.58 in the year-ago quarter.

Total Revenues of PNW

Revenues for the reported quarter totaled $1.46 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.40 billion by 3.93%. The top line increased 7.1% from $1.36 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter.

PNW's Cost Growth Pressures Operating Income

Total operating expenses were $1.15 billion, up 9.4% from $1.05 billion in the prior-year quarter. Fuel and purchased power costs climbed 17.1% to $558.5 million, while depreciation and amortization increased 6.3% to $243.2 million.

Operating income totaled $305.7 million, down 0.6% from $307.6 million a year ago. Higher fuel and purchased power costs largely offset the benefit of increased revenues and lower operations and maintenance expenses.

Total interest expenses were $122.2 million, up 19.8% from $102 million in the prior-year period.

Pinnacle West's Financial Position

As of June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents totaled $9.1 million compared with $6.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.

As of June 30, 2026, long-term debt, less current maturities, amounted to $9.78 billion compared with $9.21 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.

Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $629.3 million in the first six months of 2026 compared with $663.3 million a year earlier. Capital expenditures were $1.36 billion versus $1.33 billion in the comparable 2025 period.

PNW Reaffirms Guidance, Continues Capital Investments 

The company continues to expect its 2026 consolidated earnings in the range of $4.55-$4.75 per share and projects 5-7% long-term EPS growth from the 2024 earnings base. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $4.74, higher than the midpoint of the company’s guided range.

The company projects its 2026 revenues in the range of $5.56-$5.66 billion.

Management expects retail customer growth of 1.5-2.5% and weather-normalized retail electricity sales growth of 4-6%. New large manufacturing facilities and several large data centers are expected to contribute 3-5% to sales growth.

Arizona Public Service Company (APS) plans to invest $2.60 billion in 2026, followed by $2.65 billion in 2027 and $2.70 billion in 2028. The 2026 spending plan includes $825 million for generation, $550 million for transmission, $765 million for distribution and $460 million for other projects. The capital program is designed to support reliability and continued growth across the utility's service territory.

PNW’s Zacks Rank

Pinnacle West currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Utility Releases

Evergy EVRG is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 6, before the market opens. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $1.47 billion, which suggests a year-over-year increase of 2.63%.

EVRG’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 9.07%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pinned at $4.25 per share, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 10.97%.

Consolidated Edison ED is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 6, after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 74 cents per share, which implies a year-over-year increase of 10.45%.

ED’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.32%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pinned at $6.09 per share, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 6.84%.

Vistra VST is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 7, before the market opens. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.83 per share, which implies year-over-year growth of 81.19%.

VST's dividend yield is 0.92%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pinned at $9.37 per share, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 78.14%.

 

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