PPL (NYSE:PPL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

PPL (NYSE:PPL) announced its earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. PPL had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. PPL updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.900-1.980 EPS.

PPL Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.56. 5,404,691 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,264,691. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.66. PPL has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $38.26. The company has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on PPL from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of PPL in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.36.

Key Stories Impacting PPL

Here are the key news stories impacting PPL this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PPL raised its dividend and highlighted growing data-center demand as a strategic opportunity — management framed data-center load growth as a long-term revenue driver that supports the dividend and returns profile. PPL Lifts Dividend, Bets Big On Data Center Demand
• Positive Sentiment: PPL issued a business-plan update through 2029 and extended EPS growth targets; reported 2025 ongoing-operating EPS of $1.81 (up 7.1% YoY), which supports a constructive longer-term earnings outlook. PPL Corporation reports 2025 earnings results; provides business plan update through 2029
• Positive Sentiment: Options flow showed heavy bullish activity — unusually large call buying (about 3,368 contracts, roughly +90% vs. average), signaling short-term trader optimism.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year 2026 EPS guidance was set at $1.90–$1.98, a range that overlaps consensus; management is keeping guidance but is also increasing capital spending for the plan. View Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: PPL missed the Q4 consensus by a small margin — EPS $0.41 vs. $0.42 estimate and revenue $2.27B vs. $2.34B expected; that shortfall, though modest, is a near-term drag on sentiment. PPL (PPL) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and markets reacted to an expanded capital plan (about $23B) and Reuters notes PPL’s 2026 profit forecast came in below some estimates even as spending increases — larger capex raises funding and execution risk near-term. Utility PPL forecasts 2026 profit below estimates, lifts spending plan

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 24,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in PPL by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 29,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in shares of PPL by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 3,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PPL

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns and operates electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides related customer services. The company’s core business centers on delivering electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers through regulated utility operations, maintaining grid reliability, responding to outages and managing customer billing and account services.

PPL’s activities include construction and maintenance of distribution and transmission lines, meter and grid management, and programs to support energy efficiency and the interconnection of distributed resources.