NextEra Energy Keeps 8% Earnings Growth Target

The Tip Desk · October 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Adjusted earnings rose 9.7% to $1.24 a share as FPL's capital employed grew 9.2% and the Dominion deal advanced after shareholder votes.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE), the largest electric power and energy infrastructure company in North America, reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.24 a share, up 9.7% from a year earlier, after 9.5% growth in the second quarter and 10% growth in the first.

GAAP net income attributable to NextEra Energy was $4.775 billion, or $2.28 a share, compared with $2.438 billion, or $1.18 a share, in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted earnings were $2.592 billion. Chairman, president and chief executive officer John Ketchum said the year-over-year increase reflected continued financial and operational performance at both Florida Power & Light and NextEra Energy Resources.

FPL, America's largest electric utility, reported net income of $1.62 billion, or $0.77 a share, versus $1.463 billion, or $0.71 a share, a year earlier. The company said growth was driven primarily by continued disciplined capital investments. Regulatory capital employed increased by approximately 9.2% versus the prior-year comparable quarter, after 9.3% growth in the second quarter and 8.8% growth in the first.

FPL's capital expenditures were approximately $2.4 billion in the third quarter, down from about $2.8 billion in the second quarter and about $3.2 billion in the first. Full-year capital investments are expected to be approximately $12 billion. The typical residential bill is approximately 37% below the national average and is projected to increase only 2% annually, on average, through the end of the decade.

After Hurricane Isaias, FPL said it restored power to more than 97% of affected customers by Tuesday after the storm exited its service area early Saturday, Oct. 10. It assembled a restoration workforce of approximately 17,000 people from 29 states. Early forensic analysis, the company said, showed that no hardened transmission or distribution pole failed, that underground neighborhood power lines performed approximately 14 times better than overhead lines, and that smart-grid technology avoided approximately 140,000 outages.

NextEra Energy Resources reported GAAP net income attributable to NextEra Energy of $1.491 billion, or $0.71 a share, versus $1.275 billion, or $0.62 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $1.247 billion, or $0.59 a share, versus $1.102 billion, or $0.53 a share.

The development company added 3.7 gigawatts of renewables and storage to its backlog, after adding 3.6 gigawatts in the second quarter and a record 4 gigawatts in the first. Battery storage origination was 2.4 gigawatts. The backlog now totals approximately 36.7 gigawatts after 1.8 gigawatts of new projects placed into service since the July second-quarter call.

Regulated and invested capital, along with secured capital expenditures across electric and gas transmission, have increased roughly 25% to approximately $12.7 billion since December 2025. During the quarter, NextEra Energy Resources formed a joint venture with Chesapeake Utilities Corporation to build a $1.2 billion, 97-mile intrastate natural gas pipeline in South Florida.

The company has signed definitive agreements for three federal hub projects totaling approximately 16.5 gigawatts and has secured $5.7 billion in initial funding year-to-date. It has a development pipeline of 30 potential hubs and continues to expect that number to rise to 40 by year-end. For the federal hubs, NextEra Energy Resources expects to develop, build and operate the projects for fees without investing capital.

NextEra Energy Resources closed a loan with the U.S. Department of Energy of up to $1.9 billion to support the Duane Arnold restart, which remains on track for recommissioning no later than the first quarter of 2029. It also executed a 20-year power purchase agreement for approximately 1 gigawatt of its Point Beach nuclear asset in Wisconsin, subject to Wisconsin Public Service Commission approval. Year-to-date renewables and nuclear recontracting total is nearly 2.4 gigawatts.

On a GAAP basis, Corporate and Other results increased $0.95 a share versus the prior-year quarter. On an adjusted basis, Corporate and Other results decreased $0.01 a share.

Shareholders of NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy approved the pending combination on Sept. 3. In Virginia and South Carolina, procedural schedules have been set with hearings in November and December, respectively, and the companies expect final orders in January 2027. The North Carolina Utilities Commission has established a procedural schedule with expert witness hearings beginning in February 2027. The companies continue to expect the combination to close in the second half of 2027. As announced in May, the combined company is expected to support approximately 11% annual growth in regulatory capital employed through 2032 and 9%+ adjusted earnings per share growth through 2032, with a 9%+ target through 2035, all off a 2025 base.

NextEra Energy continues to expect 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $3.92 to $4.02 and is targeting the high end of that range. It continues to expect a compound annual growth rate in adjusted earnings per share of 8%+ annually through 2032 and is targeting the same from 2032 through 2035, all off a 2025 base of $3.71 adjusted earnings per share. It also continues to expect to grow dividends per share at a roughly 10% rate per year through 2026, off a 2024 base, and 6% per year from year-end 2026 through 2028.