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Duke Energy Set to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Duke Energy Corporation (DUK - Free Report) is scheduled to release third-quarter 2024 results on Nov. 7, before market open. This utility company delivered an earnings surprise of 16.83% in the last reported quarter.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 4.88% in the trailing four quarters.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to affect the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors to Consider Ahead of DUK’s Result

DUK’s service territories witnessed above-normal weather pattern for the majority of the third quarter. This is likely to have boosted electricity demand from its consumers for cooling purposes this summer, which, in turn, is expected to have bolstered the company’s top-line performance.

Duke Energy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Duke Energy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Duke Energy Corporation price-eps-surprise | Duke Energy Corporation Quote

Strong customer growth in Carolinas and Florida, driven by increasing residential customers and data center demand, is also likely to have added an impetus to DUK’s revenues.

However, some parts of its service areas witnessed severe rain and windstorms, which caused outages for some of DUK’s customers and also damaged its infrastructure. In particular, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Debby affected DUK’s customers in Florida, causing notable grid damage and outages. While outages are likely to have hurt DUK’s revenues to some extent, the damages are expected to have pushed up its operating expenses for restoration, thereby adversely impacting its third-quarter earnings.

Higher rate base costs and increased interest expenses are also likely to have adversely impacted DUK’s overall bottom-line performance.

DUK’s Q3 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DUK’s third-quarter revenues is $7.99 billion, which is almost in line with the year-ago number.

The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.73 per share, which indicates a year-over-year decline of 10.8%.

What Our Model Predicts for DUK

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Duke Energy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here as seen below.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -0.55%. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Investors can consider the following players from the same industry, which have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their quarterly results.
 
PG&E Corporation (PCG - Free Report) is scheduled to report its third-quarter 2024 results on Nov. 7, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +6.35% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

The consensus estimate for sales is pegged at $6.67 billion, which indicates a 13.3% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at 32 cents per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 33.3%.

American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) is slated to release its third-quarter results on Nov. 6. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.94% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $5.39 billion, which indicates a 1.8% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.78 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 0.6%.

Pinnacle West Capital (PNW - Free Report) is scheduled to announce its third-quarter results on Nov. 6. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.96% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $1.68 billion, which indicates a 2.6% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at $3.35 per share.

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