Southern Company tops Q3 profit estimates as revenue rises 13%

Southern Company reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.94 per share, topping the $1.76 consensus estimate.

Shares were little changed at 3:59 p.m. ET, from a $93.12 close.

Here's how the company did:

• Adjusted EPS: $1.94 vs. $1.60 a year earlier, against $1.76 expected
• Revenue: $8.84 billion vs. $7.82 billion a year earlier, against $8.61 billion expected
• Reported EPS: $1.77 vs. $1.55 a year earlier

On a reported basis, the company earned $2.0 billion, compared with $1.7 billion a year earlier.

Operating revenues rose 13.0%, led by higher electric and natural gas sales.

Total retail kilowatt-hour sales rose 7.7%, with a 3.5% gain after adjusting for weather. Commercial sales rose 10.1%.

Drivers of the quarter

Adjusted earnings were helped by warmer weather, increased usage, customer growth and growing revenue from large commercial and industrial customers, plus higher earnings from Southern Power.

Higher non-fuel operating expenses and taxes other than income taxes, along with dilution from additional shares, partly offset those gains.

Items excluded from adjusted results

The adjusted figures exclude accelerated depreciation tied to the repowering of certain wind facilities at Southern Power, with pre-tax charges of $118 million in the quarter.

They also exclude $43 million in pre-tax costs from the extinguishment of debt at Southern Company and an estimated $9 million loss at Southern Company Gas tied to Nicor Gas capital investments disallowed by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Nine-month results

For the nine months ended September 30, adjusted earnings were $4.40 per share, against $3.76 a year earlier. Reported earnings were $4.02, compared with $3.56.

Operating revenues were $24.2 billion, up 7.3%.