Report date: Thursday, July 30, 2026, after market close
Conference call: Friday, July 31, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET
Core setup: This quarter is less about a clean EPS comparison and more about whether Eversource can demonstrate that its regulatory and balance-sheet derisking plan is progressing as intended. The headline GAAP result will be distorted by the completed Aquarion sale; investors should focus on recurring EPS, debt reduction, regulatory milestones, and the outlook for 2027–28 growth.
Eversource enters 2Q with several important positives already visible:
The likely market debate after earnings: Does the Aquarion closing plus storm-cost recovery improve credit and equity-financing risk quickly enough to outweigh the earnings drag and legal/regulatory uncertainty created by the FERC ROE decision?
Eversource’s current 2026 non-GAAP recurring-EPS guidance is $4.57–$4.72, with a midpoint of approximately $4.65. Management continues to target 5–7% EPS growth through 2030 off that revised midpoint and has indicated an expectation for growth toward the upper half of the range by 2028. (investors.eversource.com)
The 1Q result provided a strong start operationally:
| 1Q26 recurring-business driver | EPS contribution vs. 1Q25 |
|---|---|
| Electric transmission | +$0.06 |
| Electric distribution | +$0.03 |
| Natural-gas distribution | +$0.18 |
| Water distribution | +$0.01 |
| Parent / other | -$0.05 |
| Recurring EPS growth | +$0.23 |
For 2Q, the key question is whether distribution and transmission rate-base growth continues to offset higher interest expense, depreciation, property taxes, and operating costs. The comparison is also seasonally different: 2Q25 EPS was $0.96, with relatively limited gas-segment earnings compared with winter-heavy 1Q results.
What investors should want to hear - An unambiguous reaffirmation of the $4.57–$4.72 recurring-EPS range. - Evidence that the 1Q gas-rate benefit is tracking as planned, while electric distribution and transmission investment continue producing earned returns. - Updated commentary on financing costs, parent-company interest expense, and the run-rate impact of using Aquarion proceeds to reduce debt.
Eversource completed the Aquarion Water sale on June 30, 2026, for a total transaction value of $2.4 billion in cash. The company expects approximately $1.7 billion of adjusted net equity proceeds to be used to displace debt. However, it also expects an approximately $115 million after-tax non-cash loss, or $0.31 per share, in 2Q. (investors.eversource.com)
This produces an unusually important reporting distinction:
The sale also removes the water segment’s future earnings contribution. That loss was already embedded in the revised 2026 guide, but investors will look for clarity on the net earnings dilution in 2027 and the pace at which lower interest expense, lower financing needs, and utility investment replace it.
Key questions for the call 1. How much debt was repaid immediately after closing, and what is the expected interest-expense benefit in 2H26 and 2027? 2. Is the full $1.7 billion of net proceeds available for debt reduction after closing adjustments and transaction costs? 3. Does the sale change the company’s stated $800 million–$1.1 billion five-year equity-financing need? 4. What is the expected recurring EPS impact from the lost water earnings versus interest savings?
The March 2026 FERC decision lowered the base ROE for New England transmission owners to 9.57%, from 10.57%. Eversource said the decision reduced 2026 after-tax earnings by roughly $70 million in aggregate and took a $43.9 million / $0.12 per share 1Q charge for the first 15-month refund period. (investors.eversource.com)
Eversource is pursuing multiple paths:
This issue has two layers:
Why it matters: ES’s premium relative to a purely defensive utility rests partly on its multi-year capital-investment opportunity. A persistently lower transmission ROE could pressure that investment case; a constructive prospective outcome or settlement would materially de-risk it.
Most important call items - Status and expected timing of the Section 205 proceeding. - Whether management still expects a prospective rate to be implemented in late 2026. - Any update on settlement discussions, the refund exposure, or the likelihood of additional reserves. - Whether the FERC result causes any reprioritization of the $26.5 billion 2026–30 capital plan.
Management has identified storm-cost securitization as a key cash-flow and credit catalyst. At the 1Q call, Eversource said that Connecticut and New Hampshire together could provide approximately $2 billion of deferred storm-cost and carrying-charge recovery through securitizations during the next 12–18 months.
For 2Q, investors should closely watch:
A timely, constructive outcome would reinforce the company’s message that the balance sheet is becoming less reliant on common-equity issuance. A delay or adverse prudency outcome would be a meaningful negative because it pushes out cash recovery and leaves carrying costs in place longer.
Eversource’s core growth case remains conventional regulated utility execution: deploy capital, earn authorized returns, and manage regulatory affordability constraints.
Management reaffirmed a $26.5 billion five-year utility-infrastructure investment plan through 2030, including approximately $5.1 billion of 2026 capital expenditures. Its 1Q spending was nearly $800 million. Management also flagged that Connecticut AMI was not included in the capital plan, leaving potential upside if approved.
The 2Q update should address:
The company’s regional demand outlook is constructive, but policy and affordability remain constraints. In Massachusetts, management has cited state initiatives focused on reliability, affordability, new supply, and grid modernization; execution must balance investment growth with political resistance to customer-bill increases.
At the 1Q call, management said Revolution Wind was approximately 95% complete and still expected to enter commercial operation in the second half of 2026. Eversource has sold its offshore-wind ownership interests, but it retains exposure to final purchase-price adjustments and contingent liabilities related to the projects.
Investors should look for confirmation of:
This is no longer the primary ES thesis, but a clean completion would further validate the company’s broader derisking narrative.
ES closed July 29 at $74.31, up approximately 10.4% year to date, versus roughly 5.0% for the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU). At the midpoint of Eversource’s revised 2026 recurring-EPS guide, the shares trade near 16.0x earnings; using the current quarterly dividend of $0.7875, the indicated annualized yield is about 4.2%.
That performance suggests the market has already credited ES for meaningful progress on portfolio simplification and balance-sheet stabilization. Therefore, the report likely requires more than an in-line quarter: investors will want tangible evidence that the proceeds from Aquarion, pending storm securitizations, and regulatory actions are reducing financing and credit risk.
The headline result is likely to understate the quarter’s underlying progress because of the expected $0.31/share non-cash Aquarion-sale charge. The investment focus should instead be on recurring EPS versus the $4.57–$4.72 annual guide, debt reduction from the sale proceeds, the timetable for approximately $2 billion of storm-cost securitizations, and any clarity on the FERC ROE process.
For ES, this report is fundamentally a derisking checkpoint. A clean quarter with firm guidance and concrete regulatory/balance-sheet milestones would strengthen the case that the company can return to upper-half-of-range long-term growth by 2028. Conversely, delays in storm recovery or worsening FERC uncertainty would keep the stock’s valuation constrained despite improving underlying utility operations.