FirstEnergy Q3 Core EPS Rises to $0.98 as 2026 Guidance Holds

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE ) reported third-quarter 2026 GAAP earnings of $557 million, or $0.96 per basic and diluted share, on revenue of $4.6 billion on October 27, 2026, compared with GAAP earnings of $441 million, or $0.76 per basic and diluted share, on revenue of $4.1 billion in the third quarter of 2025.

The Akron, Ohio-based utility reported Core Earnings, a non-GAAP measure, of $0.98 per share for the quarter, compared with $0.83 per share in the third quarter of 2025, according to its third-quarter earnings release. The company said the results reflect continued implementation of its investment strategy, financial discipline and improved operations across its service territory.

For the first nine months of 2026, FirstEnergy reported GAAP earnings of $1.3 billion, or $2.16 per basic and diluted share, on revenue of $12.4 billion, compared with GAAP earnings of $1.1 billion, or $1.85 per basic and diluted share, on revenue of $11.3 billion in the first nine months of 2025. Year-to-date Core Earnings through September 30, 2026, were $2.20 per share, a 9% increase from $2.02 per share in the same period of 2025, the company said.

“We’re delivering on our commitments while positioning FirstEnergy for the next phase of growth,” said Brian X. Tierney, FirstEnergy’s board chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Our strong execution gives us confidence in our long-term outlook.”

2026 Guidance and Capital Spending

FirstEnergy reaffirmed its 2026 Core Earnings guidance range of $2.62 to $2.82 per share and said it expects results at or slightly above the midpoint. The company said its long-term outlook continues to reflect a Core Earnings compound annual growth rate near the top end of the 6% to 8% range through 2030.

The company’s growth plan is underpinned by its five-year, $36 billion Energize365 capital investment program, which FirstEnergy said is intended to modernize the grid, renew distribution infrastructure and strengthen transmission reliability. The company deployed $4.9 billion to advance Energize365 in the first nine months of 2026. FirstEnergy said opportunities to support new generation and additional transmission investment have the potential to meaningfully increase its investment and earnings growth profile.

West Virginia Generation and Transmission Plans

FirstEnergy said it has secured turbines through a reservation agreement with Siemens for the proposed Maidsville Energy Center, a combined cycle gas generating facility in West Virginia, with turbine delivery expected in 2030. The company is pursuing approval of the facility from the West Virginia Public Service Commission, with a final order projected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

“Maidsville is an important investment on its own, but we see it as the first of a broader set of opportunities in West Virginia,” Tierney said. He said the company is working with prospective customers, advancing new generation projects and securing the equipment needed to move forward.

On transmission, FirstEnergy reported 7.9 gigawatts of contracted demand from large-load customers across its service territory, a figure the company said has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year, and said it is in active negotiations for approximately 4 gigawatts of additional load. The company said these demands, together with infrastructure needed to support the regional grid, are expected to drive at least a 25% increase in its current $19 billion 2026–2030 transmission investment plan when the plan rolls forward to 2027–2031. FirstEnergy’s transmission network sits in the heart of PJM, which serves more than 65 million people.

Third-quarter 2026 GAAP results included special items totaling $0.02 per share, consisting of investigation and other related costs of $0.03 per share and reorganization costs of $0.01 per share, partially offset by net pension/OPEB credits of $0.02 per share, according to the reconciliation included in the release. Special items totaled $0.07 per share in the third quarter of 2025. For the first nine months of 2026, special items totaled $0.04 per share, compared with $0.17 per share in the same period of 2025. The reconciliation lists nine-month 2026 earnings attributable to FirstEnergy Corp. of $1,250 million, compared with $1,069 million in the same period of 2025.

The release states that Core EPS excludes the impact of special items from earnings attributable to FirstEnergy Corp. and is calculated based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding in the respective period. Management said it uses the measure to evaluate performance and to facilitate historical and ongoing comparisons, and that Core EPS is intended to complement, rather than serve as an alternative to, GAAP EPS. The release also states that a quantitative reconciliation of its forward-looking non-GAAP measures, including the 2026 Core EPS guidance and Core EPS compound annual growth rate projections, to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is not provided because comparable GAAP measures are not available without unreasonable efforts.

FirstEnergy will host a live webcast teleconference for financial analysts at 9 a.m. EDT on October 28, 2026, with management presenting an overview of the results followed by a question-and-answer session. The webcast and presentation slides will be archived on the company’s Investor Information website, where its Strategic and Financial Highlights presentation is also posted.

FirstEnergy’s electric distribution companies serve more than 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. Its transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines connecting the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.