WEC Energy Raises and Narrows 2026 Earnings Guidance After Warm Third Quarter

WEC Energy Group raised and narrowed its 2026 earnings forecast on Thursday after third-quarter profit rose to $389.3 million, helped by warmer-than-normal weather and investment tied to the very large customers it serves in Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee-based utility holding company now expects 2026 earnings of $5.60 to $5.64 a share, up from its previous range of $5.51 to $5.61, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Thursday. The new range assumes normal weather for the rest of the year.

Weather and capital plan lift profit

Third-quarter net income rose to $389.3 million, or $1.18 a share, from $271.3 million, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier. Operating revenues increased to $2.29 billion from $2.10 billion, and operating income climbed to $563.7 million from $449.6 million.

"Our strong results were driven by warmer-than-normal weather, execution of our capital plan and operating efficiency," Chairman, President and CEO Scott Lauber said in the release. "We remain on track to deliver solid financial and operational performance in 2026."

The company attributed the higher guidance largely to favorable weather and capital investment supported by the very large customers, or VLCs, in Wisconsin.

Electricity demand

Retail electricity deliveries rose 3.3% from a year earlier, excluding the iron ore mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the VLCs in Wisconsin. Residential use increased 5.1%, consumption by small commercial and industrial customers rose 3.5%, and use by large commercial and industrial customers, excluding the mine and VLCs, rose 1.0%.

On a weather-normal basis, retail electricity deliveries on that same measure increased 0.4%.

Costs and other income

Total operating expenses rose to $1.73 billion from $1.65 billion. Cost of sales increased to $651.2 million from $608.1 million, while depreciation and amortization climbed to $389.0 million from $373.4 million, and other operation and maintenance expense edged up to $614.4 million from $605.1 million.

Below the operating line, equity in earnings of transmission affiliates rose to $65.8 million from $54.8 million, and other income, net more than doubled to $49.5 million from $23.8 million. Interest expense increased to $241.7 million from $223.6 million. Income before taxes rose to $437.3 million from $304.6 million.

Nine-month results

For the first nine months of 2026, WEC earned $1.49 billion, or $4.54 a share, up from $1.24 billion, or $3.85 a share, a year earlier. Consolidated revenues for the period totaled $7.8 billion, up $523.9 million from the same stretch of 2025.

WEC serves 4.8 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota through utilities including We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service and Peoples Gas, and reports more than $53 billion of assets. The company scheduled a conference call for 1 p.m. Central time Thursday to review results and its outlook.

Sources

1. WEC Energy Group Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 29, 2026 (accession 0000783325-26-000104)

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