Exelon (EXC) Beats Q3 Earnings Estimates, Narrows Guidance

Exelon Corporation’s EXC third-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 92 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 88 cents by 4.5%. The operating earnings also exceeded the guidance range of 80-90 cents. Also, the reported earnings were 4.5% higher than the year-ago figure of 88 cents.
 
The year-over-year increase in earnings was due to rate increases at PECO, BGE and PHI, lower operating expenses, and decrease in nuclear outage days.

On a GAAP basis, its quarterly earnings were 79 cents per share compared with 76 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Total Revenues

Exelon's total revenues of $8,929 million lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9,365 million by 4.6%. The top line also declined 5% from the year-ago figure of $9,043 million. The year-over-year decline in revenues was due lower contribution from Generation, BGE and ComEd businesses.

 

Exelon Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Exelon Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Exelon Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Exelon Corporation Quote

Highlights of the Release

Exelon's total operating expenses decreased 8.4% year over year to $7,559 million. The decline in total expenses was due to lower power and fuel costs, as well as operating and maintenance expenses.

Interest expenses were $409 million, up 4.1% from $33 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the first nine months of 2019, the company efficiently serviced more electric and natural gas customers than the comparable year-ago period.

Hedges

Exelon's hedging program involves safeguarding of commodity risks for expected generation, typically on a ratable basis, over a three-year period. The proportion of expected generation hedged as of Sep 30 was 96-99% for 2019, 84-87% for 2020 and 54-57% for 2021.

Financial Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents were $1,683 million as of Sep 30, 2019 compared with $1,349 million on Dec 31, 2018.

Long-term debt was $32,056 million as of Sep 30, 2019 compared with $34,075 million on Dec 31, 2018.

Cash from operating activities in the first nine months of 2019 was $5,399 million compared with $6,675 million in the comparable year-ago period.

Guidance

Exelon narrowed its 2019 earnings guidance to the range of $3.05-$3.20 per share from $3.00- $3.30.

Other Releases

NextEra Energy NEE reported third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.39 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.27 by 5.3%. Moreover, the reported earnings rose 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Entergy Corporation ETR reported third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $2.52 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.31 by 9.1%. Moreover, the reported figure rose 7.2% from $2.35 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. PEG reported third-quarter 2019 adjusted operating earnings of 98 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95 cents by 3.2%

Zacks Rank

Exelon currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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