Southern Company - Unit - Series A (2019)

Strong Q2 2026 earnings beat + robust H1 performance - Adjusted EPS: $1.13 in Q2 2026, +$0.21 vs. Q2 2025 and +$0.13 above last quarter’s estimate. - Drivers (vs. prior year): higher usage/customer growth, higher AFUDC from construction, higher equity-method earnings, tax impacts at state-regulated utilities, and contributions from Southern Company Gas and smaller businesses (incl. PowerSecure). - Partial offsets: higher interest expense (higher debt balances) and dilution (more shares outstanding). - H1 adjusted EPS: $2.46, well above year-to-date expectations. - Forecast: management expects full-year 2026 adjusted EPS near the top of guidance ($4.50–$4.60) and Q3 adjusted EPS = $1.50/share.

Demand growth is accelerating—data centers and “large load” are the core story - Weather-normal retail electricity sales (H1): +2.3% YoY, the highest growth through June in ~two decades. - Residential adds: ~11,000 in the quarter; >40,000 net electric customer adds over the last year. - Data center usage: +55% YoY in Q2; +49% YoY YTD. - System data center load: now >1.2 GW (up >500 MW YoY), and expected to continue rising as contracted demand comes online.

Large-load contracting momentum: major new wins in Alabama + Georgia; large load pipeline expands - New contracts cited: - Alabama Power: added ~3 GW via three new contracts. - Georgia Power: 3.2 GW, 25-year electric service contract with OpenAI near Savannah. - Timing detail: OpenAI expected to take service in phases starting 2028, includes ~1 GW of flexible demand response. - Aggregate contracting: total contracted large-load agreements across electric subsidiaries >17 GW by mid-2030s, with additional ~8 GW in late-stage development (and ~3 GW expected to finalize near-term). - Surprising/positive emphasis: the executives framed this as more than just load growth—“thousands of permanent jobs” and “billions of dollars of investment” for local economies.