PG&E Lifts Profit as Lower Costs Widen Margins
Core earnings increased 36% to $920 million as operating expenses declined.
PG&E Corp. (PCG), the parent of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., raised second-quarter profit as lower operating expenses widened margins despite flat revenue.
The quarter extended PG&E’s year-over-year earnings growth, though profit moderated from the start of 2026. GAAP earnings were $0.33 a share, down from $0.39 in the first quarter, while core earnings declined to $0.40 a share from $0.43.
Operating revenue was nearly unchanged at $5.902 billion, compared with $5.898 billion a year earlier. GAAP income available to common shareholders rose 41% to $733 million, and diluted earnings increased from $0.24 a share a year earlier. Core earnings rose 36%, with core earnings per share up 29% to $0.40.
Operating income increased 15% to $1.263 billion, lifting the operating margin to about 21.4% from 18.6%. Operating-and-maintenance expense fell 11% to $2.536 billion, offsetting a 34% increase in purchased-electricity costs. Electric revenue declined $26 million, while natural-gas revenue increased $30 million.
Demand for new grid access accelerated. PG&E connected more than 3,930 electric customers during the quarter, up from more than 3,100 in the first quarter, while new electric-vehicle charging-port connections increased to more than 2,460 from more than 1,500. Its overall data-center project pipeline exceeded 12 gigawatts.
PG&E also increased construction of strengthened poles and covered power lines to 100 miles from 44 miles in the first quarter, while undergrounding rose to 37 miles from 31 miles. Monitoring capabilities deployed since January 2025 avoided 28 potential ignitions and 19.6 million outage minutes through June.
PG&E maintains its 2026 core-earnings guidance of $1.64 to $1.66 a share and remains on track to reduce non-fuel operating-and-maintenance expense 2% to 4% this year.
The utility completed a $2.2 billion bond issuance in June, bringing its 2026 utility debt financings to $4.4 billion as it funded continued grid investment.