New York, Feb 19, 2026, 12:23 (ET) — Regular session in progress.
- Southern Co jumped roughly 3% after the company raised its five-year capital spending plan.
- The utility’s outlook for 2026 adjusted profit lands just under what Wall Street had penciled in.
- The company cites an expanding pipeline of “large-load” power demand—think data centers among others.
Southern Co shares advanced roughly 3% Thursday. The U.S. utility bumped up its five-year capital spending plan to address higher electricity demand, though its 2026 profit projection landed just shy of what analysts had expected.
The stock’s shift is getting attention as investors look to pick out which companies might benefit from the coming surge in grid investment. Data centers and other heavy electricity users are forcing utilities to expand both generation and transmission. That means a runway for regulated earnings growth, but also higher upfront financing pressures.
Southern, headquartered in Atlanta, operates in a region now drawing a wave of new industrial projects and data centers. For the stock, it all comes down to the pace at which contracted load actually materializes as delivered megawatts — and whether state regulators sign off on cost recovery without major hiccups.
Southern has bumped up its capital spending outlook to roughly $81 billion for 2026 to 2030, topping the earlier $76 billion projection for the same stretch. The utility has now secured contracts for 10 gigawatts of large-load demand in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, counting Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Compass Datacenters among its customers. “Southern continues to capitalize on its growth opportunities in a prudent manner,” wrote Evercore ISI analyst Nicholas Amicucci. Reuters
The company is guiding for 2026 adjusted earnings in the $4.50 to $4.60 a share range. That midpoint lands just under the $4.56 analysts polled by LSEG had been looking for. In the latest quarter, which wrapped up Dec. 31, adjusted profit came in at 55 cents per share—missing the 57-cent mark. Operating expenses surged 14.7%, while revenue climbed roughly 10%.
Southern, in its earnings presentation, listed a “large-load” pipeline topping 75 gigawatts. It’s already inked deals for 10 gigawatts in that category and has another 10 gigawatts of new generation underway. Slides from the company laid out a capital plan targeting about $81 billion for 2026–2030—$67.7 billion of that aimed at state-regulated electric utilities, plus $9.5 billion set aside for state-regulated gas utilities. Q4 Capital
Fourth-quarter 2025 earnings came in at $416 million, or 38 cents a share, the company said. Adjusted for specific items, the figure was $612 million, or 55 cents per share. “Southern Company is meeting the growing demand responsibly,” CEO Chris Womack said. He noted results and guidance would be discussed during a 1 p.m. Eastern analyst call. SEC
Southern shares climbed roughly 3% to $93.79 midday, moving in a range from $90.80 to $96.05. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund also ticked higher, adding about 0.6%.
Big regulated utilities tend to rely on the promise of consistent earnings and dividends. Still, interest rates can’t be ignored—when capital spending ramps up, pricier debt eats into returns. Southern’s push for a bigger buildout only increases its dependence on swift regulatory approvals across its state markets.
Execution risk hangs over the outlook. Load forecasts often drop when data center projects get delayed, and rising operating expenses — already showing up this quarter — could erode the upside from demand growth if regulators balk at speeding up rate relief.
Up next for investors: the 1 p.m. ET call. They’re looking for clarity on when those data-center connections will actually go live, details on how quickly the company can build new generation, and—maybe the biggest question—how it expects to cover an $81 billion spending spree without letting credit metrics slip.
