NiSource Q2 Earnings Top Estimates on NIPSCO Gains, Data Center Demand

Operating revenues of $1.36 billion topped the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion by 1.95% and increased 5.9% year over year. NIPSCO’s stronger operating performance and higher electric sales partly offset weaker Columbia results and elevated operating costs.

NI Segment Details

Columbia operations generated revenues of $610.3 million, up 0.8% from $605.6 million a year ago. The segment’s adjusted operating income declined 6.1% to $115.6 million.

NIPSCO operations recorded revenues of $750.4 million, up 10.4% year over year. Adjusted operating income increased 13.6% to $150.9 million, making the segment the primary source of consolidated operating growth.

NI's Operational Highlights

Adjusted operating expenses totaled $1.09 billion, up 6.6% from the prior-year quarter. Operation and maintenance expenses increased 13% to $411.6 million, while depreciation and amortization rose 26.4% to $362 million. The cost of energy declined 26.1% to $193.6 million.

NIPSCO Electric sales volumes, excluding weather, increased 5% to 4,195.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Industrial sales rose 10.4% to 2,246.2 GWh, while residential sales declined 5.8% to 757.7 GWh.

Columbia sales and transportation volumes, excluding weather, fell 1.7% to 112.4 million dekatherms. NIPSCO Gas volumes on the same basis decreased 3.5% to 77.5 million dekatherms. The company recorded a $16 million revenue adjustment for weather compared with normal conditions.

Adjusted operating income improved 3.2% to $270.9 million, but net interest expense climbed 43.2% to $199.2 million, pressuring adjusted net income available to common shareholders.

NI's Data Center Strategy Advances

NiSource advanced its data center strategy with regulatory approvals for special contracts involving Amazon and Alphabet. The agreements are expected to provide $1.4 billion in savings for existing customers.

The company has around 4 GW of signed GenCo capacity, with 3 GW under strategic negotiations and up to 2 GW of developing opportunities. Its data center pipeline could reach up to 9 GW of capacity by 2035. NiSource is also developing a diversified portfolio of generation, battery storage and contracted resources to support the additional load.

NI's Debt and Liquidity Profile

Total debt was about $17.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, including roughly $16.7 billion of long-term debt. The weighted average maturity was about 11.5 years, with a weighted average interest rate of approximately 4.87%.

Net available liquidity was about $2.1 billion at quarter-end. NiSource also had roughly $2.7 billion of committed facilities, including a $2.5 billion revolving credit facility and about $200 million of accounts receivable securitization facilities.

NiSource Reaffirms 2026 Guidance

NiSource reaffirmed its 2026 consolidated adjusted earnings guidance of $2.02-$2.07 per share. The company also maintained its 2026-2033 consolidated adjusted earnings compound annual growth rate target of 9-10%.

NiSource continues to execute a $28.6 billion capital investment plan for 2026-2030. This includes $21 billion of base plan investments and $7.6 billion of data center-related spending, supporting expected consolidated rate base growth of 9-11% through 2033.

NI’s Zacks Rank

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

Recent Releases

Dominion Energy, Inc. D reported second-quarter 2026 operating earnings of 79 cents per share, up 5.3% year over year. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 73 cents by 8.22%.

Operating revenues increased 17.6% to $4.48 billion and beat the consensus mark of $4.06 billion by 10.32%. Results benefited from stronger Dominion Energy Virginia earnings, supported by regulatory impacts, rider returns and customer usage. Weather-normal regulated electric sales rose 4.1% over the trailing 12 months.

NextEra Energy NEE reported second-quarter 2026 results with adjusted earnings per share of $1.15, up 9.5% from $1.05 a year ago. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09 by 5.5%.

Total operating revenues were $7.53 billion, up 12.4% year over year but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.99 billion by 5.8%. A key highlight was NextEra Energy Resources’ record renewables and storage origination, which added 3.6 GW to backlog.

Xcel Energy Inc. XEL reported second-quarter 2026 ongoing earnings of 93 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents by 17.72%. Earnings increased 24% from 75 cents in the year-ago quarter, aided by greater recovery of electric infrastructure investments.

Revenues of $3.12 billion missed the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion by 13.48% and declined 5.1% year over year. Weather-adjusted retail electric sales rose 1.5%, while electric and natural gas customer counts each increased 0.7%.

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