Constellation Energy Corporation CEG reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted operating earnings of $2.55 per share, up 33.5% year over year. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.36 by 8.05%, aided by the Calpine contribution and favorable market and portfolio conditions.
Adjusted operating earnings increased to $920 million from $599 million a year earlier. The improvement reflected the addition of Calpine, higher capacity revenues and strong commercial performance through portfolio optimization and improved realized customer margins.
GAAP earnings were $1.42 per share, down from $2.67 in the prior-year quarter, reflecting several non-GAAP adjustments.
Total Revenues
Revenues increased 23% to $7.50 billion and surpassed the consensus estimate of $7.47 billion by 0.48%. Nuclear output totaled 44,160 gigawatt-hours (GWh), down from 45,170 GWh in the year-ago quarter.
Constellation Energy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Constellation Energy Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Constellation Energy Corporation Quote
Constellation’s Expense Trends
Total operating expenses rose 34.5% year over year to $6.93 billion. Purchased power and fuel expenses increased 28.4% to $4.02 billion, while operating and maintenance costs climbed 39.3% to $2.25 billion.
Depreciation and amortization expenses advanced 74.4% to $443 million. Consequently, operating income declined 39% to $580 million from $951 million in the second quarter of 2025. Net interest expenses increased to $283 million from $118 million.
CEG’s Nuclear Fleet Performance
Excluding Salem and the South Texas Project, CEG’s nuclear plants recorded a capacity factor of 93% compared with 94.8% a year earlier. The company experienced 86 planned refueling outage days, up from 41 days in the prior-year period.
Non-refueling outage days declined to 20 from 22. The average nuclear refueling outage lasted 23 days, 40% below the 2025 industry average of 38 days. The quarter also included the successful turbine uprate at Byron Clean Energy Center’s Unit 1.
Constellation Expands Long-Term Contracts
Constellation Energy signed about 920 megawatts (“MW”) of long-term nuclear power purchase agreements with investment-grade customers. The contracts have an average duration of 18.5 years, begin between 2029 and 2031 and are expected to be fully ramped by 2032.
The agreements include 890 MW of existing generation. A customer commitment will also support a 30-MW uprate at the Dresden Clean Energy Center. The company expects about 30% of its baseload clean-generation megawatt-hours to be covered by long-term agreements by 2032.
CEG Advances Crane and Asset Divestiture
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the transfer of existing Capacity Interconnection Rights to the Crane Clean Energy Center, while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the facility’s fuel license amendment. These steps support Constellation’s plan to restart Crane in 2027.
CEG also agreed to sell the 606-MW Brazos Valley Energy Center to LS Power for $860 million before closing adjustments. The transaction, expected to close by year-end subject to approvals, would satisfy the final asset-sale requirement tied to the Calpine acquisition.
Constellation Raises 2026 Guidance
Constellation raised its 2026 adjusted operating earnings guidance to $11.50-$12.50 per share from the prior range of $11-$12. The revised outlook assumes average diluted shares outstanding of 357 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share is currently pegged at $11.72.
As of June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $697 million compared with $3.64 billion at the end of 2025. Long-term debt increased to $19.11 billion from $7.25 billion. Operating cash flow for the first six months totaled $1.55 billion, while capital expenditures were $2.52 billion. The company deployed about $2.2 billion year to date toward share repurchases.
CEG’s Zacks Rank
Constellation has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Other Releases From the Sector
Murphy Oil Corporation MUR reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.55 per share, up 474.1% year over year. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 by 2.7%.
Revenues of $928.3 million increased 33.5% and beat the consensus estimate of $871 million by 6.5%. Higher commodity prices and solid operating execution supported the results.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.40 per share, surging 823.1% year over year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 by 25%.
Total revenues for the second quarter were $57.1 billion, which increased from the year-ago reported figure of $47.9 billion by 27.8%. The metric lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $60.18 billion by 5.13%.
Devon Energy Corporation DVN reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.30 by 20.77%.
Revenues climbed 57.1% to $8.33 billion and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.18 billion by 16%.
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