AES Q2 2026: revenue up 19.9%, EPS $0.60, but $597 million cash burn
AES posted a stronger-looking quarter than it really was: revenue rose 19.9% to $3.422 billion, gross margin improved to 20.2%, and earnings per share of $0.60 beat the $0.5181 consensus. But $209 million of the $426 million net income came from a gain on a business sale, and free cash flow was negative $597 million. That mix is why the read here is Neutral.
1 · Expected vs. Actual
Free preview belowDiluted earnings per share came in at $0.60 versus the $0.5181 consensus, about 15.8% ahead of the estimate. The catch is quality: net income of $426 million included a $209 million gain on disposal and sale of business interests, so roughly half the profit came from selling something rather than from running power plants. The same gain line was only $70 million a year ago, which means the swing in one-time items explains much of the year-over-year jump.
Revenue climbed 19.9% to $3.422 billion from $2.855 billion in the same quarter last year, and gross margin rose to 20.2% from 15.9%. The mix was roughly 71.0% electricity generation at $2.427 billion and 29.1% electric distribution at $995 million. The filing does not break out volumes, so we cannot tell how much of the gain came from price, new assets or demand.
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Figures on this page come from the company's original SEC filings. The analysis is generated automatically and checked against validation rules, but may still contain errors or omissions. Not investment advice. · Generated 2026-09-17
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