CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Announces Earnings Results

Posted by Ethan Ryder on Feb 19th, 2026

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP – Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. CenterPoint Energy updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.900- EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from CenterPoint Energy’s conference call:

CenterPoint now forecasts peak load will grow 50% (about 10 GW) by 2029 — with 2.5 GW under construction, 5 GW firmly committed and ~3 GW of ordinary growth — which management says will drive jobs, expand the tax base and help keep customer delivery charges essentially flat.
The company added $500 million to its 10?year capital plan to fund a third 765 kV import line, lifting the plan to more than $65 billion and noting over $10 billion of additional CapEx upside tied to further transmission and region growth.
Financial performance: 2025 non?GAAP EPS of $1.76 (9% y/y) and the company reaffirmed 2026 non?GAAP EPS guidance of $1.89–$1.91 (?8% growth at the midpoint) while maintaining a long?term 7–9% annual EPS growth target through 2035.
Balance?sheet tailwinds — recent Treasury guidance on the Corporate AMT, a ~$1.2B securitization priced and expected ~$800M net proceeds from the Ohio sale — should push cash taxes near zero through 2035, improve FFO?to?debt by ~60–70 bps and enable roughly $1B of incremental customer?driven CapEx without issuing equity.
Near?term headwinds included a $0.05 EPS drag in Q4 from higher interest expense tied to ~ $3.3B of incremental debt and a $0.02 adverse impact from accelerated O&M/resiliency work, which pressured quarterly results.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CNP traded up $0.44 during trading on Thursday, reaching $42.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,970,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,394,455. The company has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.59. CenterPoint Energy has a fifty-two week low of $33.24 and a fifty-two week high of $43.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.93.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.82.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on CenterPoint Energy

More CenterPoint Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting CenterPoint Energy this week:

Positive Sentiment: Revenue and earnings momentum — Q4 revenue materially exceeded estimates and non?GAAP EPS improved year?over?year, driven by growth and regulatory recovery; management called the quarter “strong.” CenterPoint Energy reports strong Q4 and FY 2025 results; updates its progress on load forecast; reiterates 2026 full year guidance
Positive Sentiment: Higher investment plan — company announced it is lifting its investment plan (capex/ investments) which supports longer?term growth and regulated rate base expansion. CenterPoint Energy Posts Strong Q4 Results, Lifts Investment Plan
Neutral Sentiment: Full materials and investor resources available — the company filed its press release, slide deck and conference call materials, useful for investors digging into drivers and regulatory assumptions. View Press Release / Slide Deck
Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and long?term story — commentary on valuation and expanding grid?transparency tools highlights secular optionality but is not an immediate catalyst. A Look At CenterPoint Energy’s Valuation As Earnings Near And Grid Transparency Tools Expand
Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss — Q4 non?GAAP EPS of $0.45 missed the Zacks/Street consensus of $0.46 by $0.01, which can temper near?term sentiment despite revenue strength. CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates
Negative Sentiment: FY?2026 guidance slightly below consensus — management set FY?2026 EPS guidance at ~1.90 vs. the ~1.91 consensus, a modest miss that could limit upside if analysts lower estimates. (Guidance note reported alongside results.)

Institutional Trading of CenterPoint Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 10,456 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 68,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 8,974 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 37,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 11,146 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 10,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Global Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,854,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.