PPL Q3 2026 Earnings: Data Center Boom Drives Upgraded Growth Target
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on November 6, 2026.
Data center demand just rewrote this utility's growth math: management lifted its long-term annual EPS growth target to 7% to 9% through 2030. Funding it takes about $3.0 billion of additional equity from shareholders.
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PPL Services Corporation reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $0.54 per share, edging past the $0.53 consensus estimate by roughly 2%. Revenue came in at $2.50 billion, beating expectations by about 3% and growing 11.5% year over year. On a GAAP basis, earnings were $0.49 per share after $44 million in after-tax special charges tied primarily to acquisition integration costs and Rhode Island-related items.
The quarter's strength was driven by rate increases across all three regulated segments. Kentucky saw higher retail rates effective January 1, 2026 and a 3.7% rise in retail deliveries. Pennsylvania benefited from new distribution base rates effective July 1, 2026 and higher transmission revenue, while Rhode Island gained from new gas and electric distribution base rates effective September 1, 2026.
The bigger story is what management said about where PPL is headed. The company raised its long-term annual EPS growth target to 7% to 9% through at least 2030, up from a prior range of 6% to 8%, and expects growth in the top half of that new range. The upgrade is backed by a $25 billion capital plan for 2027 through 2030, designed to drive 10% average annual rate base growth, with an additional $3.0 billion of equity financing required to fund it beyond more than $1.5 billion already executed.
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Data center demand is at the center of this growth story. PPL's subsidiary Invitium Energy agreed to key terms with QTS for approximately 2 gigawatts of generation capacity to serve a data center project in Salem Township, Pennsylvania, under a 20-year initial term with renewal options. The Kentucky economic development pipeline stands at roughly 14.7 gigawatts, with 12.8 gigawatts attributed to data centers, and 2.3 gigawatts already under signed reimbursement agreements.
PPL narrowed its 2026 ongoing EPS guidance to $1.92 to $1.96 from a prior range of $1.90 to $1.98, and introduced 2027 guidance of $2.06 to $2.14. The company also flagged potential generation investment upside of $12 billion to $16 billion through 2032 that is not yet included in the base capital plan, with Kentucky opportunities alone potentially lifting the 2026 to 2030 EPS compound annual growth rate above 9%.