DTE Energy Earnings Rise as Utility Operations Weaken
The utility invested more than $2.6 billion during the first half of 2026.
The utility company DTE Energy (DTE) reported a 3% decline in second-quarter operating earnings as weaker electric and gas results outweighed gains from non-utility businesses. Operating earnings fell to $274 million from $283 million, while operating earnings per share slipped to $1.32 from $1.36.
The quarter marked a divergence between reported and operating performance. Reported earnings increased 23% to $282 million, or $1.35 a share, from $229 million, or $1.10 a share. Reported earnings exceeded operating earnings by $8 million after trailing them by $160 million in the first quarter.
Sequentially, reported earnings rose from $247 million and diluted earnings increased from $1.19 a share. Operating earnings declined from $407 million, while operating earnings per share fell from $1.95.
DTE Electric's operating earnings dropped 15% to $270 million from $318 million, and DTE Gas recorded a $4 million operating loss after earning $6 million a year earlier. Non-utility operations partly offset those declines, with DTE Vantage operating earnings rising to $45 million from $31 million and Energy Trading increasing to $41 million from $24 million. The Corporate and Other operating loss narrowed to $78 million from $96 million.
The first-half picture remained weaker. Operating earnings declined 5% to $681 million, or $3.27 a share, as Energy Trading earnings fell to $16 million from $58 million and the Corporate and Other loss widened to $122 million. Electric and Vantage earnings increased, while a $112 million EES Coke Battery legal reserve contributed to Vantage's reported $14 million loss.
DTE reiterated its 2026 operating earnings guidance of $7.59 to $7.73 a share. Smart-grid technology prevented more than 49,000 outages during the first half, bringing the total since the program began in 2023 to more than 90,000.
DTE announced a $1.6 billion investment with LG Energy Solution Vertech for eight Michigan battery-storage projects totaling 1.5 gigawatts of capacity. The company also conditionally committed to refrain from seeking another electric-rate increase until at least 2028 if its first supported data-center project begins operating by the end of 2027 and receives regulatory approvals.