Vistra (VST) Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenue Lag

Vistra Corporation’s VST second-quarter 2022 earnings of $1.48 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 cents by a whopping 770.6%.

Total Revenues

Vistra's second-quarter total revenues of $1,588 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,578 million by 38.7%. The top line decreased 38.1% from the year-ago figure of $2,565 million.

Vistra Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Vistra Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Vistra Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Vistra Corp. Quote

Highlights of the Release

Vistra's second-quarter fuel, purchased power costs and delivery fees were $2,162 million, up 63.8% year over year. Similarly, operating costs increased 1.4%, and selling, general and administrative expenses grew 11.1%.

Due to the overall increase in operating expenses, Vistra reported an operating loss of $1,683 million in the second quarter against an operating income of $62 million in second-quarter 2021.

Interest expenses and related charges totaled $109 million, down 19.3% from the year-ago quarter.

As of Aug 2, 2022, Vistra completed $1.6 billion worth of share repurchases under its existing $2-billion share repurchase program. Vistra has purchased 70.5 million shares since Nov 2, 2021, representing 14.6% of the shares outstanding at that time. Taking into account the incremental $1.25-billion authorization, $1.65 billion remains available for execution under the program, which Vistra expects to execute by the end of 2023.

Financial Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents were $1,871 million as of Jun 30, 2022, compared with $1,325 million as of Dec 31, 2021. As of Jun 30, 2022, Vistra had total available liquidity of nearly $3,439 million, including cash and cash equivalents of $1,871 million, $368 million of availability under its corporate revolving credit facility, and $1,200 million of availability under its commodity-linked revolving credit facility, assuming the borrowing base equals the aggregate commitments of $2.25 billion.

Long-term debt was $11,949 million as of Jun 30, 2022, compared with $10,477 million as of Dec 31, 2021.

Cash used in operating activities for the first six months of 2022 was $723 million compared with $1,057 million in the first six months of 2021.

Guidance

Vistra is reaffirming its 2022 ongoing operations adjusted EBITDA in the range of $2,810-$3,310 million.

Zacks Rank

Vistra has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Releases

NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported second-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of 81 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents by 8%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NextEra Energy’s 2022 earnings has moved up 1.8% in the past 60 days. NEE’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is pegged at 9.3%.

WEC Energy Group WEC delivered second-quarter 2022 earnings per share  of 91 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 86 cents by 5.8%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WEC Energy’s 2022 earnings has gone up 0.2% in the past 60 days. WEC’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 6.1%.

American Electric Power Company, Inc. AEP reported second-quarter 2022 operating earnings per share of $1.20, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.18 by 1.7%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American Electric Power’s 2022 earnings has gone up 0.6% in the past 60 days. AEP’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 6.2%.

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