NextEra beats quarterly profit estimates on massive power demand

Wind turbine generating power for electricity near Caseville, Mich., on Sept. 11, 2015. (Paul Sancya / AP)

NextEra Energy beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter adjusted profit on Wednesday, boosted by robust growth in its renewables division amid soaring power demand from AI data centres and hyperscalers.

Power consumption in the U.S. is expected to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

This surge is fueled by growing electricity needs from AI and cryptocurrency data centres, as well as increasing electrification of homes and businesses. The S&P index tracking utilities also rose 3.5 per cent in the quarter ended June 30.

Florida Power & Light, the company’s regulated utility, reported net income of US$1.28 billion, up four per cent from a year earlier.

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NextEra Energy Resources (NEER), the renewables arm, added about 3.2 gigawatts of new renewables and storage to its backlog during the quarter, including more than 1 gigawatt serving hyperscalers. The unit’s backlog now totals about 30 gigawatts.

NextEra, which operates solar, wind, natural gas, and nuclear energy centres, said in June that renewable energy is critical to meeting rapidly growing U.S. power demand, citing challenges in expanding natural gas capacity.

NEER reported a net income of US$983 million in the second-quarter, compared with US$552 million a year ago.

The company, which is the largest electric utility holding company by market capitalization, reported operating revenue of US$6.70 billion, missing analysts’ average estimate of US$7.38 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

NextEra also said it expects to grow its dividends per share at a roughly ten per cent rate per year through at least 2026.

The Florida-based company earned US$1.05 per share on an adjusted basis, compared with analysts’ average estimate of US$1.01 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

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Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to eliminate any preferential treatment for building wind and solar generation projects on federal lands.

NextEra Chief Executive John Ketchum said most of the company’s renewable energy backlog has permits for developing projects on federal lands.

“Let’s just see how it’s actually applied in practice,” Ketchum said on a conference call with analysts in reference to the executive order.

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Reporting by Katha Kalia and Pooja Menon in Bengaluru and Tim McLaughlin in Boston; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Franklin Paul