FirstEnergy reports results on Tuesday 27 October, after the market closes. The company is selling more but keeping less of each sale. Revenue over the twelve months to Q2 2026 was $15.8 billion, which rose 12.6% on the year before.
What analysts expect
For the quarter, the analysts’ average EPS estimate is $0.90, in a range from $0.87 to $0.92. The average revenue estimate for the quarter is $4.3 billion. Alongside that, the analysts’ average estimate for full-year EPS is $2.73, which would be up 7.2% on last year (based on 13 analysts). That estimate has fallen 0.1% over the past 90 days. Of the analysts’ recommendations, 10 are positive, 7 neutral and 0 negative.
Company guidance
In its latest earnings release, management set 2026 Core Earnings guidance guidance at $2.62 to $2.82.
Earnings surprise model
The model’s expected EPS surprise is around the analysts’ average estimate, at 0.0%. Its estimated chance of an EPS beat is 50.0%, based on the last 4 quarters. The model shrinks the median recent surprise toward zero and uses a neutral prior for beat frequency; this small sample is a reference estimate, not company guidance.
Track record against estimates
The company reported EPS above the analysts’ average estimate in 2 of the last 4 quarters. Last quarter, EPS of $0.50 compared with an estimate of $0.50, below it by 0.5%.
The trends going in
Growth is speeding up. That growth rate was up 1.3 percentage points on the rate a quarter earlier. The trailing operating margin was 14.6%, down 4.9 percentage points from a year earlier. At the same time, the trailing net margin was 6.9%. Net income over the twelve months was $1.1 billion, which fell 17.0% on the year before.
Cash flow
Investment is rising faster than operating cash flow, squeezing what is left for shareholders. Operating cash flow over the twelve months was $3.1 billion, down 11.9% on the year before. Capital spending was $5.1 billion, or 32.1% of revenue. At the same time, free cash flow, operating cash flow less capital spending, was −$2.0 billion. Free cash flow was −12.3% of revenue (the free-cash-flow margin), down 5.3 percentage points from a year earlier. The average diluted share count rose 0.1% over the year.
Against its own history
Set against the company’s own record: today’s free-cash-flow margin of −12.3% is higher than 11% of the company’s own past quarterly readings, which have ranged from −19.3% to 11.2%. Today’s operating margin of 14.6% is higher than 29% of past readings (−62.5% to 22.7%). Today’s twelve-month revenue growth rate of 12.6% is above every past reading (−25.0% to 12.0%).
Questions this report will answer
Whether the pick-up in revenue growth continues. Whether results land above or below the analysts’ expectations set out above. Meanwhile, Whether margins hold at the trailing levels above. The next filing will show whether the trends above continue, slow or reverse.
