Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold33 ratings
Bullish1030.3%
Neutral2060.6%
Bearish39.1%
The Southern Company · SO · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Southern Company Beats Q1 Estimates as Large-Load Demand Drives Growth
Southern Company's Q1 2026 results reinforce its trajectory as a growth-oriented regulated utility powered by surging data-center and large-load electricity demand. Adjusted EPS of $1.32 beat consensus by 9.1%, and the company has now contracted over 11 GW of large-load capacity with a 75 GW pipeline underpinning future generation needs. A historic $26.5 billion DOE loan program lowers financing costs and supports an expanding capital plan, while the 25th consecutive annual dividend increase signals management's confidence in sustained earnings growth. The maintained 2026 EPS guidance of $4.50-$4.60, previously raised at year-end 2025, reflects steady execution against a multi-year investment thesis.
Reported Before market openNYSEUtilities
$108.76B market cap
100quality score
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationThe Southern Company operates as an energy utility, primarily involved in the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity. Its operations are segmented into Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, Wholesale Gas Services, and Gas Marketing Services. The company also undertakes the development, construction, acquisition, ownership, and management of various power generation assets, including renewable energy ventures, and supplies electricity to the wholesale market. Complementing its power business, it distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, while also offering gas marketing services, wholesale gas services, and managing gas pipeline investments.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$1.32
Consensus $1
EPS surprise
+9.1%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$8.40B
Consensus $8.07B
Revenue surprise
+4.0%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$96.78Current
$71Low
$90.09Average
$112High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 29, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 27, 2026 |
| Keybanc | Underweight | Sector Weight | Downgrade | Jul 23, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Truist Securities | Hold | Hold | Maintain | May 29, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Underweight | Underweight | Maintain | Apr 21, 2026 |
| Seaport Global | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Apr 20, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Mar 6, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | In Line | Upgrade | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Underweight | Upgrade | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Mizuho | Outperform | Neutral | Upgrade | Feb 20, 2026 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Dec 15, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Ladenburg Thalmann | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Oct 17, 2025 |
| Guggenheim | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 2, 2025 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Aug 29, 2024 |
| Wolfe Research | Peer Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Aug 2, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Aug 2, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 15, 2024 |
| Credit Suisse | Underperform | Underperform | Maintain | Jan 18, 2023 |
| CFRA | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Feb 20, 2020 |
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jan 27, 2020 |
| SunTrust Robinson Humphrey | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Dec 18, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Sep 12, 2019 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 22, 2018 |
| Argus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 5, 2018 |
| Scotia Howard Weil | Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | May 13, 2016 |
| CRT Capital | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Mar 3, 2014 |
| Hilliard Lyons | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jan 31, 2014 |
| BGC Financial | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jun 20, 2013 |
| ISI Group | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Nov 6, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $96.78. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $104 | $97.25 | +7.5% | Jul 27, 2026 |
| KeyBanc | Sophie Karp | $79 | $95.8 | -18.4% | Jul 23, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $102 | $94.8 | +5.4% | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $89 | $94.84 | -8.0% | Jun 24, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $99 | $94 | +2.3% | Jun 22, 2026 |
| Barclays | Nicholas Campanella | $98 | $92.53 | +1.3% | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Richard Sunderland | $100 | $91.93 | +3.3% | May 29, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $87 | $94.12 | -10.1% | May 21, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $105 | $97.11 | +8.5% | May 1, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $104 | $97.05 | +7.5% | May 1, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $99 | $97.59 | +2.3% | Apr 9, 2026 |
| Cowen & Co. | Shelby Tucker | $112 | $97.11 | +15.7% | Mar 6, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Nicholas Amicucci | $111 | $96.29 | +14.7% | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Julien Dumoulin-Smith | $102 | $95.22 | +5.4% | Feb 23, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $103 | $94.44 | +6.4% | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $103 | $94.58 | +6.4% | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $104 | $95.05 | +7.5% | Feb 20, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $96 | $95.05 | -0.8% | Feb 20, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Stephen D'Ambrisi | $105 | $87.35 | +8.5% | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $85 | $88.16 | -12.2% | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Shahriar Pourreza | $84 | $88.9 | -13.2% | Jan 20, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $88 | $88.42 | -9.1% | Jan 15, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $94 | $85.71 | -2.9% | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $81 | $86.1 | -16.3% | Dec 16, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Stephen D'Ambrisi | $99 | $84.71 | +2.3% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| KeyBanc | Analyst unavailable | $76 | $84.73 | -21.5% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Anthony Crowdell | $88 | $84.06 | -9.1% | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $97 | $88.58 | +0.2% | Nov 20, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $91 | $88.99 | -6.0% | Nov 20, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Analyst unavailable | $103 | $92.73 | +6.4% | Nov 5, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $97 | $95.4 | +0.2% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Stephen D'Ambrisi | $107 | $95.4 | +10.6% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $99 | $97.94 | +2.3% | Oct 22, 2025 |
| KeyBanc | Analyst unavailable | $87 | $100.06 | -10.1% | Oct 15, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $70 | $98.08 | -27.7% | Oct 14, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $104 | $96.13 | +7.5% | Oct 10, 2025 |
| Evercore ISI | Nicholas Amicucci | $103 | $95.49 | +6.4% | Oct 6, 2025 |
| Scotiabank | Analyst unavailable | $99 | $93.89 | +2.3% | Oct 3, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | David Arcaro | $92 | $93.8 | -4.9% | Sep 25, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $91 | $89.97 | -6.0% | Mar 20, 2025 |
| Barclays | Nicholas Campanella | $83 | $89.84 | -14.2% | Oct 15, 2024 |
| Mizuho Securities | Anthony Crowdel | $90 | $89.44 | -7.0% | Sep 16, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Marie Ferguson | $90 | $78.71 | -7.0% | May 15, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $80 | $75.46 | -17.3% | May 3, 2024 |
| Barclays | Nicholas Campanella | $66 | $68.73 | -31.8% | Apr 15, 2024 |
| Mizuho Securities | Paul Fremont | $76 | $71.1 | -21.5% | Apr 2, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Ryan Levine | $82 | $67.18 | -15.3% | Feb 6, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | James Thalacker | $77 | $70.58 | -20.4% | Jan 11, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $74 | $69.14 | -23.5% | Dec 16, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $63 | $70.37 | -34.9% | Dec 15, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $59 | $65.09 | -39.0% | Nov 11, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $67 | $74.69 | -30.8% | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $77 | $74.97 | -20.4% | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $76 | $76.5 | -21.5% | Apr 21, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $68 | $76.61 | -29.7% | Apr 20, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $80 | $76.03 | -17.3% | Apr 19, 2022 |
| Bank of America Securities | Julien Dumoulin-Smith | $71 | $67.89 | -26.6% | Feb 8, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | Paul Fremont | $67 | $67.83 | -30.8% | Jan 10, 2022 |
| UBS | Ross Fowler | $71 | $67.55 | -26.6% | Jan 5, 2022 |
| Barclays | Eric Beaumont | $75 | $60.48 | -22.5% | Nov 30, 2021 |
| Guggenheim | Shahriar Pourreza | $72 | $64.83 | -25.6% | Sep 7, 2021 |
| Argus Research | Angus Kelleher-Ferguson | $73 | $62.04 | -24.6% | May 19, 2021 |
Track every rating change on SO the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
+3.4%
Event window
SPY move
+1.0%
Same window
Abnormal move
+2.4%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
2.0×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
-4.8%
Up to 20 sessions
SOSPY benchmark
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What changed
Compared to the prior quarter, SO maintained its 2026 EPS guidance of $4.50-$4.60 (raised at year-end 2025). Key new developments this quarter include the $26.5 billion DOE loan agreement projected to save customers $7 billion over 30 years, Georgia Power placing approximately 200 MW of battery energy storage into commercial operation, and expansion of the large-load pipeline to 75 GW. Southern Power announced 400 MW of gas turbine uprates by 2029-31 with potential for an additional 300 MW, adding roughly $700 million to the capital plan. The dividend was raised 8 cents to $3.04 annually, marking the 25th consecutive year of increases.
Guidance delta
2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.50-$4.60 was maintained, following the raise issued at the Q4 2025 report. Management did not introduce new full-year guidance ranges but reiterated confidence in long-term earnings growth driven by large-load demand and the DOE loan program. Capex outlook remains increasing.
Key takeaways
- Adjusted EPS of $1.32 beat the $1.21 consensus estimate by 9.1%; revenue of $8.40B topped the $8.07B estimate by 4.0%.
- Contracted large-load capacity exceeded 11 GW, with a 75 GW pipeline supporting future generation needs.
- Secured a $26.5 billion DOE loan program projected to save customers $7 billion over 30 years.
- Dividend increased 8 cents to $3.04 annually, marking the 25th consecutive annual raise.
- Georgia Power placed approximately 200 MW of battery energy storage into commercial operation.
- Southern Power plans 400 MW of gas turbine upgrades by 2029-31, with potential for an additional 300 MW adding roughly $700 million to the capital plan.
Management priorities
- Finalize 10 GW of new generation resources including battery storage and gas turbines.
- Advance all-source RFP in Georgia for 2-6 GW of new generation by 2032-33.
- Continue signing large-load contracts targeting an additional 12 GW through mid-2030s.
- Leverage the DOE loan program to fund capital projects and sustain dividend growth.
- Complete 400 MW gas turbine uprates in Southern Power and evaluate 300 MW of additional upgrades.
Related earnings events
UtilitiesSources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-29T01:11:37.773615+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-29T01:11:37.770885+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 . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.