Alliant Energy Raises EPS to $1.52 and Increases Investment to $15.9 Billion
Key Facts
Alliant Energy said on October 29 that U.S. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.52 in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $1.09 in the same period of 2025. Consolidated net income rose to $398 million from $281 million a year earlier. Total revenue was $1.285 billion, versus $1.210 billion in the third quarter of last year. Earnings per share topped analysts’ estimate of $1.26, while revenue was in line with the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion, according to Investing.com. Chief Executive Lisa Barton said the company delivered “another quarter of strong operating performance” and narrowed its full-year earnings outlook to the upper half of its original range.
Most revenue came from the electric utility, which reported $1.202 billion for the quarter, up from $1.124 billion a year earlier. The gas utility reported revenue of $56 million, compared with $51 million in the same period. For the first nine months, U.S. GAAP earnings per share reached $3.04, up 17% from $2.59. Ongoing earnings per share, which the company uses for guidance, rose to $2.99 from $2.62, an increase of 14%. In the third quarter, the effect of temperatures on retail electric and gas sales added about $0.05 per share to earnings, compared with $0.03 in the same quarter of 2025.
The company attributed growth in ongoing earnings to the timing of income tax expense and higher revenue requirements as the asset bases at its IPL and WPL utilities expanded. Higher earnings from corporate investments and allowance for funds used during construction, along with increased retail electric sales, also contributed. Alliant estimated that higher revenue requirements tied to the asset base contributed $0.05 per share at IPL and $0.12 at WPL during the quarter. These factors were partly offset by higher operating and maintenance, financing and depreciation expenses. The company said income tax timing differences would reverse by year-end.
Alliant narrowed its 2026 ongoing earnings-per-share guidance to $3.41–$3.46, from a previous range of $3.36–$3.46. It issued 2027 guidance of $3.63–$3.73 per share, equivalent to growth of 8% at the midpoint compared with the midpoint of its original 2026 guidance. Achieving the 2027 outlook, the company said, depends on collecting expected revenue from data center demand and completing capital spending in time for targeted assets to enter service. Assumptions also include normal temperatures and a stable economic environment. The company set its 2027 annual common dividend target at $2.25 per share, compared with the current target of $2.14, with quarterly dividends subject to board approval.
The company has put data center demand at the center of its investment plans, saying it has 3.4 gigawatts of contracted demand and expects peak demand to increase by about 60% by 2031. It raised its capital expenditure forecast for 2027 to 2030 to $15.9 billion. Alliant serves about 1,015,000 electric customers and 435,000 natural gas customers in Iowa and Wisconsin, and is a component of the S&P 500 index. In Iowa, the company extended the IPL utility’s retail electric rate stabilization plan by one year, through the end of 2030. The planned expansion reflects the scale of investment the company links to demand growth and the infrastructure needed to serve its customers.
Alliant Energy shares closed at $70.68 on October 29, compared with a close of $69.37 in the previous session. A third-quarter earnings review conference was scheduled for October 30, 2026, at 9 a.m. Central time, with Barton and Robert Durian participating. The company also expects to announce its first-quarter 2027 dividend in January, with the board to determine its amount. This comes as Alliant combines a higher dividend target with an elevated capital spending plan backed by contracted data center demand. The timing of assets entering service and the realization of expected revenue from that demand remain among the assumptions underpinning the company’s outlook for next year.