Company Reports

We are reaffirming our $16 fair value estimate and no-moat rating for AES after the company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.50 compared with $0.22 in the year-ago period.

CEO Andres Gluski has narrowed AES’ geographic and business focus by selling businesses in markets where the company did not have a strong platform or competitive advantage. We think his strategy has been in the best interest of shareholders. The company now has operations in fewer countries, a stronger balance sheet, and a rapidly growing renewable energy business.

Data center electricity demand growth is a key source of upside for US utilities that we don't think the market appreciates. We consider the sector 9% undervalued as of April 8 in part because we expect electricity demand growth to top market expectations, requiring substantial energy infrastructure investment and boosting utilities' earnings growth.

We are reaffirming our $16 per share fair value estimate and no-moat rating after AES reported 2023 full-year adjusted earnings per share, or EPS, of $1.76 compared with $1.67 in 2022.

With the U.N. Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP28, starting this week, we are reasserting our view that the market underappreciates utilities' critical role in limiting global warming.

We are reaffirming our $16 per share fair value estimate and no-moat rating for AES after the company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.60 per share compared with $0.63 in the same year-ago period.

CEO Andres Gluski has narrowed AES’ geographic and business focus by selling businesses in markets where the company did not have a strong platform or competitive advantage. We think his strategy has been in the best interest of shareholders. The company now has operations in fewer countries, a stronger balance sheet, and a rapidly growing renewable energy business.

CEO Andres Gluski has narrowed AES’ geographic and business focus by selling businesses in markets where the company did not have a strong platform or competitive advantage. We think his strategy has been in the best interest of shareholders. The company now has operations in fewer countries, a stronger balance sheet, and a rapidly growing renewable energy business.

After taking over as AES' CEO, Andres Gluski has narrowed AES’ geographic and business focus by selling businesses in markets where the company did not have a strong platform or competitive advantage. We think his strategy has been in the best interest of shareholders. The company now has operations in fewer countries, a stronger balance sheet, and a rapidly growing renewable energy business.

We are reaffirming our $23 per share fair value estimate and no-moat rating after AES reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.21 per share, compared with $0.34 in the same year-ago period.

We are reaffirming our $23 per share fair value estimate after AES reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.22 per share compared with $0.21 in the same year-ago period.

After taking over as AES' CEO, Andres Gluski began transitioning a company that had operations across 28 countries and a strategy based on owning as many merchant power plants and utilities across the globe as it could acquire or develop.

We are reaffirming our $23 per share fair value estimate and stable, no-moat ratings after AES reported full-year 2022 adjusted earnings of $1.67 per share compared with $1.52 in 2021, above management's 2022 EPS guidance range of $1.55-$1.65. Management also reaffirmed its 7%-9% annual earnings growth rate through 2025, from a 2020 base. We expect AES can achieve this growth. The company initiated 2023 EPS guidance of $1.65 to $1.75. We expect the company to achieve the high end of the range.

After taking over as AES' CEO, Andres Gluski began transitioning a company that had operations across 28 countries and a strategy based on owning as many merchant power plants and utilities across the globe as it could acquire or develop.

We are reaffirming our $22 per share fair value estimate and stable, no-moat ratings for AES after it reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.63 per share compared with $0.50 in the same year-ago period. Management reaffirmed 2022 earnings guidance of $1.55 to $1.65 per share but said it expects to finish the year at or near the high end of the range. This is in line with our estimate. Management also reaffirmed its 7%-9% annual earnings growth rate target through 2025, which we expect AES to achieve.

Our initial analysis of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden plans to sign on Aug. 16 has led us to reaffirm or make slight increases to our fair value estimates for U.S. utilities. We are reaffirming our moat and moat trend ratings.

After taking over as AES' CEO, Andres Gluski began transitioning a company that had operations across 28 countries and a strategy based on owning as many merchant power plants and utilities across the globe as it could acquire or develop.

We are reaffirming our $21 per share fair value estimate and no-moat and stable moat trend ratings after AES reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.34 per share compared with $0.31 in the same year-ago period. Management reaffirmed 2022 earnings guidance of $1.55-$1.65 per share, in line with our estimate.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and moat ratings for the U.S. utilities we cover after the median utility in our coverage now trades in line with our fair value estimate, after the Morningstar US Utilities Sector Index declined 12% since Wednesday, June 8.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and moat ratings for the U.S. utilities we cover after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index, or CPI, reported 8.6% inflation for May. We continue to consider inflation to be the largest threat to utilities' long-term returns and ability to pay robust, growing dividends.