Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold30 ratings
Bullish1343.3%
Neutral1756.7%
Bearish00.0%
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. · CNP · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026
CenterPoint reaffirms 2026 outlook as large-load investment expands
The quarter supports a constructive growth case built on large-load demand, transmission investment, and rate recovery, but it is not yet a low-execution-risk story. Reaffirmed guidance and identified cash-flow tailwinds are supportive; ERCOT approvals, capex delivery, regulatory outcomes, and financing conditions are the key tests.
Reported Before market openNYSEUtilities
$24.93B market cap
100quality score
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$0.40
Consensus $0.37
EPS surprise
+7.2%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$2.15B
Consensus $2.12B
Revenue surprise
+1.3%
Reported versus consensus
Market reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
+0.2%
Event window
SPY move
+0.2%
Same window
Abnormal move
-0.0%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
1.2×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
-11.7%
Up to 20 sessions
CNPSPY benchmark
Ask FN2 about CNP FY2026 Q2
Transcript, numbers and history already loaded
Why did CNP rise 0.2% after beating EPS estimates in FY2026 Q2?What changed in CNP's guidance and outlook in FY2026 Q2?Give me the bull and bear case for CNP after FY2026 Q2 earnings.
Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.
Transcript intelligence
What changed
Management highlighted 14 GW of batch-zero-eligible projects, added $1.2 billion to the 10-year capital plan without a new equity raise, and emphasized demand-charge and temporary-generation-unit cash-flow opportunities. The full-year EPS outlook remained unchanged.
Guidance delta
Full-year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance was reaffirmed at $1.89-$1.91.
Key takeaways
- Q2 non-GAAP EPS was $0.40, and full-year 2026 guidance was maintained.
- Management highlighted 14 GW of batch-zero-eligible projects and a potential system peak increase of more than 65%.
- CenterPoint announced $1.2 billion of incremental capital for system upgrades and downtown Houston revitalization without a new equity raise.
- Demand charges, temporary-generation-unit marketing, and Indiana projects are identified as cash-flow and growth opportunities.
- Execution, regulatory approvals, transmission timing, financing costs, and potential equity needs remain the principal constraints.
Management priorities
- Advance ERCOT batch-zero projects and related transmission upgrades.
- Deploy the incremental capital plan, including downtown Houston revitalization.
- Progress Indiana large-load opportunities and associated generation and transmission work.
- Advance rate-case, regulatory, financing, and Ohio Gas LDC-sale initiatives.
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Analyst 52W Price Targets
$37.16Current
$29Low
$40.48Average
$50High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 24, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Sep 18, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | In Line | In Line | Maintain | Aug 17, 2026 |
| Truist Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Aug 4, 2026 |
| Keybanc | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 23, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 22, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 16, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Apr 15, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Apr 15, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jan 20, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Sector Outperform | Sector Outperform | Maintain | Oct 24, 2025 |
| Mizuho | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Guggenheim | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 21, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Sep 6, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Feb 23, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 13, 2022 |
| CFRA | Hold | Hold | Maintain | May 7, 2020 |
| SunTrust Robinson Humphrey | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Nov 15, 2019 |
| Guggenheim Securities | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Nov 15, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Nov 15, 2019 |
| Argus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 5, 2018 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Aug 8, 2016 |
| Tudor Pickering | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 5, 2016 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Mar 24, 2016 |
| Macquarie | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jan 28, 2016 |
| Ladenburg Thalmann | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 7, 2015 |
| Wolfe Research | Peer Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Nov 26, 2013 |
| Bank oferica | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 4, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $37.16. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBC Capital | Stephen D\'Ambrisi | $40 | $38.65 | +7.6% | Sep 15, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $43 | $40.83 | +15.7% | Aug 17, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $46 | $41.92 | +23.8% | Aug 4, 2026 |
| Wolfe Research | Steve Fleishman | $49 | $44.2 | +31.9% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| KeyBanc | Sophie Karp | $46 | $43.68 | +23.8% | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $40 | $43.43 | +7.6% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $48 | $43.12 | +29.2% | Jul 15, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $50 | $42.82 | +34.6% | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Richard Sunderland | $47 | $41.53 | +26.5% | May 18, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $45 | $43.52 | +21.1% | May 4, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $48 | $42.7 | +29.2% | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Julien Dumoulin-Smith | $49 | $42.82 | +31.9% | Apr 16, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $44 | $42.9 | +18.4% | Apr 15, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $44 | $43 | +18.4% | Feb 23, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $37 | $39.59 | -0.4% | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Shahriar Pourreza | $47 | $39.71 | +26.5% | Jan 20, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $38 | $39.06 | +2.3% | Jan 15, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $42 | $37.88 | +13.0% | Jan 13, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $43 | $38.05 | +15.7% | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $36 | $38.19 | -3.1% | Dec 16, 2025 |
| KeyBanc | Sophie Karp | $41 | $37.31 | +10.3% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Shahriar Pourreza | $44 | $39.74 | +18.4% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $42 | $40.01 | +13.0% | Oct 21, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $39 | $39.88 | +5.0% | Oct 21, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $41 | $40.22 | +10.3% | Oct 21, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $46 | $39.11 | +23.8% | Oct 10, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $40 | $39.46 | +7.6% | Oct 7, 2025 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $42 | $39.46 | +13.0% | Oct 6, 2025 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $41 | $38.17 | +10.3% | Oct 2, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $40 | $39.13 | +7.6% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $38 | $38 | +2.3% | Aug 21, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Anthony Crowdell | $39 | $38.36 | +5.0% | Jul 25, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Andrew Weisel | $40 | $38.02 | +7.6% | Apr 25, 2025 |
| UBS | William Appicelli | $37 | $31.99 | -0.4% | Dec 3, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $34 | $32.76 | -8.5% | Nov 27, 2024 |
| Scotiabank | Andrew Weisel | $30 | $29.74 | -19.3% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Barclays | Nicholas Campanella | $29 | $29.57 | -22.0% | Oct 14, 2024 |
| Scotiabank | Andrew Weisel | $28 | $29.7 | -24.7% | Oct 1, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $32 | $28.64 | -13.9% | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Ryan Levine | $34 | $28.21 | -8.5% | Sep 16, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Ross Fowler | $29 | $27.95 | -22.0% | Sep 12, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $28 | $27.09 | -24.7% | Aug 26, 2024 |
| KeyBanc | Sophie Karp | $31 | $28.96 | -16.6% | Jul 22, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $33 | $30.5 | -11.2% | Jun 26, 2024 |
| KeyBanc | Sophie Karp | $33 | $30.08 | -11.2% | May 20, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $32 | $28.94 | -13.9% | Apr 25, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $31 | $30.53 | -16.6% | Dec 15, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $29 | $29.15 | -22.0% | Nov 11, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $34 | $31.75 | -8.5% | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $34 | $32.74 | -8.5% | Apr 20, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $36 | $32.08 | -3.1% | Apr 19, 2022 |
| Citigroup | Ryan Levine | $29 | $26.49 | -22.0% | Feb 23, 2022 |
| UBS | Ross Fowler | $30 | $26.72 | -19.3% | Feb 15, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Insoo Kim | $30 | $27.25 | -19.3% | Jan 12, 2022 |
| Scotiabank | Andrew Weisel | $29 | $27.91 | -22.0% | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Guggenheim | Shahriar Pourreza | $29 | $26.16 | -22.0% | Nov 4, 2021 |
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Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationCenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding enterprise across the United States, primarily through its Electric and Natural Gas divisions. The Electric segment manages power generation assets, alongside the transmission and distribution networks that supply electricity to consumers, and actively participates in the wholesale power market. Its Natural Gas segment delivers natural gas distribution services, provides home appliance maintenance and repair in Minnesota, and extends home repair protection plans to natural gas customers in Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana through a third-party…
Historical context
All CNP earningsLatest beats and misses
Who reports nextBeat on EPS
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- FPSFY2026 Q4 · September 15, 2026+4.3% EPS+9.5% move
- TCOMFY2026 Q2 · September 15, 2026+22.3% EPS+3.0% move
- KRFY2026 Q2 · September 11, 2026+2.8% EPS+2.7% move
- ADBEFY2026 Q3 · September 10, 2026+0.8% EPS+1.4% move
- ORCLFY2027 Q1 · September 10, 2026+10.3% EPS-1.7% move
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-28T23:04:11.899257+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-09-02T01:23:14.593608+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-23T23:00:52.760182+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-23T23:00:52.757397+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-23. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.