PPL (NYSE:PPL) Posts Earnings Results

PPL (NYSE:PPL) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 13.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. PPL updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.900-1.980 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from PPL’s conference call:

• PPL reaffirmed its 2026 earnings outlook of $1.90–$1.98 per share, with stronger second-half results expected following Pennsylvania and Rhode Island rate increases.
• The company plans approximately $5 billion of 2026 capital investment and continues to target more than 10% average annual rate-base growth through 2029, alongside 6%–8% annual EPS growth.
• Data-center demand continues to accelerate, with about 32 GW of signed agreements in Pennsylvania, including more than 11 GW under financially binding electric service agreements; PPL said two facilities began taking service during the quarter.
• Invitium Energy, PPL’s joint venture with Blackstone, has more than 5 GW of combined-cycle gas generation accepted into the PJM queue and is targeting one or more commercial agreements by year-end, potentially adding significant investment and earnings upside beyond the current plan.
• Kentucky’s probability-weighted expected load growth increased to 3.7 GW by 2032, making an additional generation CPCN filing likely by year-end; potential resources could represent $3.5 billion–$4 billion of incremental investment, though the precise mix and regulatory outcome remain uncertain.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.83. PPL has a 1-year low of $33.17 and a 1-year high of $40.10.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, Director Kristen Robinson sold 37,107 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $929,530.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 222,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,583,569.85. The trade was a 14.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 34,993 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $772,645.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 561,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,397,522.56. The trade was a 5.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its position in PPL by 6.9% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in PPL by 2.2% during the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 24,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in PPL by 3.2% in the third quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 29,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC grew its holdings in PPL by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 3,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PPL this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PPL reported second-quarter ongoing EPS of $0.33, up from $0.32 a year earlier, while revenue rose 4.2% to $2.11 billion. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 EPS guidance of $1.90–$1.98, broadly in line with the $1.95 analyst consensus. PPL Corporation Delivers Solid Second-Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to continued power-demand growth, including expanding data-center demand, as well as new rates, clean-energy investment and other initiatives supporting its long-term growth outlook. What to Expect From These 2 Utility Stocks This Season?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported GAAP EPS was $0.30, while ongoing EPS was $0.33. The company’s net margin was 13.09% and return on equity was 9.41%, indicating steady profitability but limited upside from the quarter alone. PPL Posts Strong Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Higher costs pressured results: ongoing EPS of $0.33 missed estimates ranging from $0.34 to $0.35, and revenue of $2.11 billion fell short of expectations near $2.19–$2.21 billion. PPL Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates on Higher Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary cautions that PPL’s slower dividend growth and premium valuation could limit further upside, particularly after the stock’s underperformance over the past year. PPL Corporation’s Slower Dividend Growth Limits Upside

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Weiss Ratings lowered PPL from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seaport Research Partners set a $42.00 price objective on PPL in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

About PPL

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns and operates electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides related customer services. The company’s core business centers on delivering electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers through regulated utility operations, maintaining grid reliability, responding to outages and managing customer billing and account services.

PPL’s activities include construction and maintenance of distribution and transmission lines, meter and grid management, and programs to support energy efficiency and the interconnection of distributed resources.