London, May 19, 2026, 12:03 BST
- National Grid shares rose 1.83% to 1,253.50p/1,254.50p in London late morning.
- The stock is making a push to recover after a choppy stretch last week as results hit and utility names saw broader selling.
- Investors look at a £70 billion network plan but face higher debt, political uncertainty and questions about valuation.
National Grid plc shares traded higher on Tuesday morning, building on their rebound after last week’s earnings miss. Investors were eyeing the group’s longer-term plans in UK power networks. According to Fidelity data, the stock was quoted at 1,253.50p to sell and 1,254.50p to buy at 11:43 BST, up 1.83%. Prices were delayed by at least 15 minutes.
Utilities pushed the FTSE 100 higher Monday after a tough stretch for the sector. National Grid climbed 3.66% and Centrica added 4% as the index finished 1.26% up at 10,323.75.
National Grid has laid out plans for at least £70 billion in capital spending from 2026/27 to 2030/31. The company told investors it sees underlying EPS, which strips out some one-off and accounting items, rising 13% to 15% in 2026/27. The question for the market: can National Grid pull off one of Europe’s biggest grid expansions without hitting its returns?
National Grid posted a 10% jump in operating profit to £5.43 billion for the year, and underlying operating profit came in 6% higher at £5.68 billion. Capital investment moved up 18%, reaching £11.58 billion. The company raised its dividend 3.8% to 48.49p a share.
But adjusted operating profit came in below the company’s own compiled consensus, according to Reuters, as repairs tied to U.S. storm damage pushed costs higher. Storm costs were up 7.4% to £636 million. CEO Zoë Yujnovich told Reuters U.S. tariffs had little effect since around 90% of U.S. procurement is from local suppliers.
Yujnovich described the spending plan as the “largest investment programme in our history” and said it aims to modernise networks in Britain and the U.S. Northeast. But she’s still new to the role, so investors are weighing how much delivery risk the plan really carries. Nationalgrid
No surprises in the numbers, Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Aarin Chiekrie wrote. Higher allowed transmission revenues supported results. Chiekrie said the scale of the plan means “plenty of execution risk,” calling that both the bull and bear case in one. Hargreaves Lansdown
UBS is taking a more cautious line. Analyst Mark Freshney kept a sell call on National Grid, with a 1,160p target, saying the shares trade at about a 56% premium to the regulated asset base, according to Proactive Investors. He also questioned how much data-centre demand actually supports the current price.
FTSE 100 moved up 74 points to 10,398 by late morning as softer UK jobs numbers cooled worries over a quick Bank of England rate hike. That’s positive for National Grid, since utilities run on big debt and swapping expectations can shift gilt yields, which hit their valuations and borrowing costs.
UK utility stocks dropped 7.5% on May 15, UBS said, putting them behind their continental European peers. National Grid and SSE have high yearly debt issuance, the broker said. UBS prefers Pennon in the group and puts National Grid at the bottom of its picks.
Rebound might not last. Earnings and valuation could take a hit if borrowing costs stay high, political pushback over utility control grows, or asset growth slows. Delays to grid projects would also weigh. That’s the bear case—a company that needs a lot of cash, forced into quick spending while investors push for deeper discounts.
National Grid is back on buyers’ screens for now. Trading isn’t stuck on last week’s miss from storm costs anymore. The focus is whether a £70 billion grid plan can feed into cash earnings and avoid another round of funding concerns.
