NRG Adjusted Earnings Jump to $4.68 per Share as Operating Profit Rises
Key Facts
Earnings per share exceeded analysts’ estimate of $3.16, while revenue also topped their forecast of $9.33 billion. Net income under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles was $561 million, or $2.59 per diluted share. Adjusted net income reached $983 million, up $446 million year over year. The results reflect growth in adjusted metrics, alongside a clear increase in operating profit compared with the same quarter last year.
Adjusted EBITDA was $2.013 billion, compared with $1.205 billion in the third quarter of 2025. GAAP net income increased $409 million from a year earlier, the company said. NRG attributed the increase mainly to contributions from the portfolio acquired from LS Power, higher realized capacity prices in the East, and improved margins in Texas. Weather also contributed positively to results. These gains were offset by higher depreciation, amortization and interest expense, as well as non-cash hedge losses. The company said contributions from LS Power assets were a key factor behind the year-over-year improvement in income.
Adjusted metrics also showed year-over-year growth: adjusted earnings per share rose $1.90 from the third quarter of 2025, while adjusted net income increased $446 million. Cash provided by operating activities was $1.097 billion for the quarter, and free cash flow before growth investments reached $1.242 billion. These cash flows provide a complementary measure to accounting earnings as the company continues to invest in its business. In the run-up to these results, NRG reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.49 in the second quarter, compared with $1.73 in the same period of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA was then $1.217 billion, compared with $909 million a year earlier, while the company said higher interest and depreciation tied to the acquisition weighed on adjusted net income.
The company reaffirmed its 2026 financial guidance, setting adjusted earnings per share at $7.90 to $9.90 and adjusted EBITDA at $5.325 billion to $5.825 billion. It also began providing 2027 guidance, with adjusted earnings per share of $8.05 to $10.05 and adjusted EBITDA of $5.5 billion to $6 billion. NRG said the guidance does not reflect the expected impact of the gas-fired generation asset sale announced the same day. The company entered into a definitive agreement to sell six assets with total capacity of 4.9 gigawatts to LS Power for $4 billion in cash. It expects to complete the transaction in the second quarter of 2027, subject to customary approvals and conditions. The proceeds and timing of the sale will be among the factors investors monitor when assessing future guidance.
In its data center business, NRG said the previously announced 1.2-gigawatt BYOP project remains on track. It added that its strategy pairs new dispatchable generation with load growth to support grid reliability and affordability. The project is part of the company’s effort to meet data center demand for electricity, but the earnings release did not say it had begun operations. The release also did not specify how much revenue or profit the project generated in the third quarter. The company’s update therefore concerns the project’s progress, while the reported results focus on earnings, cash flows and guidance.