American Electric Power Company Inc. - Unit - 15/08/2025

Strong Q1 results + reaffirmed full-year outlook - Operating earnings: $1.64/share ($891m) in Q1 2026, up from $1.54/share in Q1 2025. - Guidance reaffirmed: 2026 operating earnings $6.15–$6.45/share. - Regulatory ROE improving: regulated earned ROE ~9.3% in the quarter, expected to reach ~9.5% by 2030 as regulatory strategy executes.

Load growth acceleration (major upside driver) - AEP reports contracted load of 63 GW expected by 2030, up from 56 GW last quarter (+7 GW QoQ). - Composition: ~90% data centers (hyperscalers); remainder industrials. - Regional concentration: 53 GW in Texas + Ohio (where large transmission projects dominate), remaining ~10 GW requiring more new generation. - Management links this to affordability: expects up to ~$16B in cost offsets for existing customers over the life of large-load agreements.

Capital plan expansion (what’s driving earnings growth) - 5-year capital plan increased to $78B from $72B (+$6B), targeting ~11% 5-year rate base CAGR. - Incremental spend: $3.5B in newly approved PJM/SPP transmission and $2.5B for I&M gas-fired generation; investments mostly show up later (back-end loaded), supporting earnings accretion later in the plan. - Long-term earnings growth strengthened: reaffirms 7%–9% annual operating earnings growth (2026–2030) and increases long-term operating earnings CAGR to >9% (notable investor-positive change).