S&P 500 Utilities Sector Earnings Preview: Q2 2026

With the Q2 earnings season kicking off this week, what are analysts expecting for earnings for the Utilities sector for Q2?

The Utilities sector is expected to report the fourth-highest (year-over-year) earnings growth rate of all eleven sectors at 13.4%. However, this growth rate is below expectations for earnings growth of 15.1% on March 31.

At the industry level, all 5 industries in the sector are projected to report year-over-year earnings growth: Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers (59%), Gas Utilities (24%), Electric Utilities (12%), Multi-Utilities (9%), and Water Utilities (7%).

Looking ahead, analysts are predicting double-digit earnings growth for the sector for 2 of the next 4 quarters. From Q3 2026 through Q2 2027, analysts are projecting earnings growth rates of 8.0%, 15.8%, 5.2%, and 11.8%, respectively.

FactSet Senior Energy Analyst Trevor Fugita discussed key trends to watch related to power and the Utilities sector during this earnings season.

Heat waves have already hit the U.S. grid this summer, and the impacts are starting to ripple through power markets. In PJM, peak load surpassed last year's record by approximately 2 GW, hitting 162.6 GW on July 2nd. Meeting this demand strained available reserves and combined with congestion impacts, drove real-time market prices in the RTO to an average of nearly $350/MWh from July 1st through July 3rd. This is particularly striking compared to the year-to-date average price of approximately $64/MWh prior to this point. The Dominion Load Zone saw even more extreme pricing, averaging $467/MWh during the heat wave versus $97/MWh year-to-date, as data centers continue to come online in the region, driving up demand and limiting reserves. In both the short and long term, this demand and pricing will continue to incentivize dispatchable generation and the development of new natural gas plants. A similar demand growth story is unfolding in ERCOT, where total June demand rose 4% year-over-year. However, the ISO has offset much of this growth by adding 11.7 GW of solar, 4.5 GW of wind, and 6.1 GW of battery capacity in that same time frame, keeping hub average real-time prices in June at just over $29/MWh, down thirty cents year-over-year. Regardless, rising loads across the U.S. continue to incentivize new generation of all fuel types to be added to the grid.

For more commentary and analysis on the power and the Utilities industry, view articles from Trevor Fugita. 

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