PPL Expands Capital Investment Plan to $25 Billion Following Earnings Beat
PPL Corporation topped third-quarter earnings estimates and outlined an expanded $25 billion capital plan for 2027 through 2030 to meet rising electricity demand.
PPL Corporation has updated its capital spending program to $25 billion for 2027 through 2030. The revised budget represents an increase of about $2 billion over its previous four-year blueprint. The company expects the spending to expand its rate base by 10% each year from 2026 through 2030, driven by growing power consumption from data centers and the need to modernize infrastructure.
The new capital deployment includes four combined-cycle natural gas facilities totaling over 2.5 gigawatts, alongside 240 megawatts of solar projects and 525 megawatts of battery storage. PPL also noted potential extra investments in Kentucky and via Invitium Energy, which agreed on commercial terms with QTS to build roughly 2 gigawatts of generating capacity in Pennsylvania. Management targets annual earnings per share growth of 7% to 9% through 2030 and dividend increases at the lower end of its 4% to 6% range.
The updated investment strategy follows third-quarter financial results delivered on Friday, November 6th. PPL posted earnings per share of $0.54, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.53. Revenue reached $2.50 billion, surpassing projections of $2.41 billion and rising 11.5% from the same period a year earlier. The utility set its full-year 2026 earnings guidance range at $1.92 to $1.96 per share.
Institutional activity around the stock has also shifted. Bahl & Gaynor LLC initiated a position during the third quarter by purchasing 4,045,921 shares valued at approximately $133,070,000, securing about 0.54% ownership of PPL. Meanwhile, regulatory filings revealed that Executive Vice President Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares on Thursday, October 15th at an average price of $35.11.
According to data compiled by MarketBeat, brokerages hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy on PPL, with an average 12-month target price of $40.12 based on 16 analyst reviews. PPL shares opened at $35.72 on Wednesday, giving the utility a market capitalization of $26.88 billion.