Vistra Posts Third-Quarter Earnings Beat, Sets $1.5 Billion Buyback
Vistra beat third-quarter profit forecasts, raised its dividend, and authorized a $1.5 billion share repurchase plan as shares rose 1.6% to $133.34.
Shares of Vistra Corp. rose 1.6% to $133.34 on Wednesday, trading between a low of $131.18 and a high of $136.73. The move followed a 2.2% drop on Tuesday, when the stock closed at $130.9910. The company recently announced financial results alongside capital return plans for shareholders.
For the third quarter ended September 2026, Vistra reported earnings of $3.23 per share, up 84.6% from $1.75 per share a year earlier. This beat consensus expectations reported by MarketBeat at $2.98 and by Zacks at $2.94. Revenue rose 27.7% year over year to $6.35 billion, up from $4.97 billion. However, revenue comparisons to expectations diverged across reports: MarketBeat cited a beat against a $6.03 billion consensus estimate, while separate Yahoo Finance reports indicated misses against consensus estimates of $6.85 billion and $7.11 billion.
Operations were supported by higher realized power prices and retail margins. Net income rose 74.8% to $1.14 billion, while ongoing operations adjusted EBITDA gained 50.4% to $2.38 billion, led by $1.23 billion from Texas and $979 million from the East. Total retail electricity sales volumes fell 4.1% to 38,424 gigawatt-hours. Vistra also recorded a $269 million impairment tied to its 350 MW Moss Landing battery facility. In October, the firm finalized its Cogentrix acquisition, which added approximately 5,500 megawatts of natural gas capacity.
Management outlined a target of roughly 70% growth in free cash flow without relying on an artificial intelligence build-out, pointing to stronger cash flow per share through 2030. The company also raised its 2026 EBITDA guidance. Meanwhile, some reports cited potential headwinds regarding electricity demand and data-center growth in Texas.
Alongside quarterly results, the board approved a share repurchase authorization of $1.50 billion, representing up to 3.3% of outstanding shares. Vistra also lifted its quarterly dividend from $0.23 to $0.2310 per share, payable on December 31st to shareholders of record as of December 22nd. According to MarketBeat, the consensus analyst rating on Vistra is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $202.48, while Zacks assigns the stock a Rank #3 (Hold).