| Metric | Value ($ M) | Q1 FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 762.00 | 4.8% |
| Total Income | 762.00 | 4.8% |
| Expenditure | 560.10 | 5.9% |
| PBT | 150.70 | 2.5% |
| Net Profit | 131.00 | 2.5% |
| OPM | 26.50% | 0.88pp |
| NPM | 17.19% | 0.41pp |
| EPS | 1.74 | 7.0% |
Black Hills Corp. Reports Q1 2026 Results; Reaffirms 2026 Earnings Guidance
07 May 2026 · 7 May, 2:17 am
Summary
Black Hills Corp. announced its first-quarter 2026 financial results, with GAAP EPS at $1.73 compared to $1.87 in Q1 2025. Adjusted EPS was $1.79, excluding merger-related costs, compared to $1.87 in the prior year. The company reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $4.25 to $4.45 per share. Progress continues on the merger with NorthWestern Energy, with shareholder approval received and settlements reached with intervenors in multiple states. The company is also advancing its data center pipeline, including a potential 1.8 GW project.
Key Highlights
- 1
Black Hills Corp. reaffirms its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance in the range of $4.25 to $4.45 per share, excluding merger-related costs.
- 2
Wyoming Electric served a new all-time peak load of 393 MW, reflecting a 4% increase over the 2025 peak.
- 3
An agreement was executed with a prospective customer to reserve generation equipment for a 1.8 GW data center project in Wyoming.
- 4
Shareholders approved all merger proposals, and constructive settlement agreements were reached with key intervenors in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
- 5
Wildfire legislation was enacted in South Dakota, protecting utilities from liability for damages when following wildfire mitigation plans.
- 6
First-quarter GAAP EPS was $1.73 compared to $1.87 in the same period in 2025.
- 7
First-quarter adjusted EPS was $1.79, excluding $0.05 of after-tax merger-related costs, compared to $1.87 in the same period in 2025.
Management Comments
Linn Evans
I'm proud of the strong operational performance by our team and progress on our strategic initiatives in 2026 to date, providing us confidence in reaffirming our full-year earnings guidance. We maintained our solid financial position and executed on our capital plan for our customers, including ongoing construction of our 99-MW Lange II generation project in Rapid City that is expected to begin serving customers in the fourth quarter. During the first quarter, we also requested our first rate review in more than a decade for our South Dakota Electric utility, seeking recovery of our investments and costs to serve our customers safely and reliably. Our data center pipeline of more than 3 GW includes 600 MW by 2030 in our five-year financial plan primarily driven by Microsoft’s expansion of existing operations and Meta’s new AI data center. In addition, we continue to make progress toward definitive agreements to serve other large-load projects, including a 1.8 GW data center, which would be additive to our current plan. We are also excited about Microsoft's recognition of the value of Wyoming and our decades-long relationship, and their recently announced intention to invest in 3,200 acres of additional land for future data center expansion in Cheyenne, which would provide upside potential to our growth pipeline. Our customer-focused strategy has positioned us to consistently and innovatively deliver safe, reliable, and affordable energy while supporting the needs of our customers and communities for growth. We are confident in our ability to deliver earnings in the upper half of our 4% to 6% long-term EPS growth target, and we look forward to an even stronger energy future for all our stakeholders as a larger, premier Midwest utility following our merger with NorthWestern Energy.
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