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Constellation Energy Rose 10% on a Beat and Higher Outlook
Constellation Energy earned an adjusted $5.06 a share in the third quarter of 2026, against about $3.72 expected. It raised its 2026 outlook and the stock rose 10.46%.
The largest US owner of nuclear plants turned in a quarter far ahead of forecasts. Constellation Energy reported on Monday, November 9, adjusted operating earnings of $5.06 a share for the third quarter, up from $3.04 a year earlier, against a consensus near $3.72. On a GAAP basis it earned $5.19 a share, or $1.835 billion, compared with $930 million. The shares rose $26.14, or 10.46%, to close at $276.09.
Guidance did as much work as the quarter. Constellation now expects adjusted operating earnings of $12.50 to $12.80 a share for 2026, a narrower range with a higher midpoint than the $11.50 to $12.50 it gave before. The company credited stronger commercial results in volatile power markets, the contribution of Calpine, the gas-plant operator it bought in January, and higher capacity prices in PJM, the grid that serves much of the eastern US. Higher operating and maintenance costs took part of that back, and Calpine integration costs were $73 million after tax in the quarter.
The announcements around the numbers explain why investors see AI demand behind them. Constellation signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Google that supports more than $4.3 billion of investment across 11 nuclear units in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, adding about 890 megawatts to the PJM grid from 2028, plus a separate 15-year agreement covering 2,700 megawatts. It also received a conditional Department of Energy commitment for a loan of up to $5 billion for nuclear uprates, and agreed to buy the 609-megawatt Rhode Island State Energy Center gas plant from Shell for $715 million.
The reactors themselves ran close to flat out. Nuclear output was 46,677 gigawatt-hours against 46,477 a year earlier, and the capacity factor, excluding the jointly owned Salem and South Texas Project plants, was 97.2%. "Our approach proves we can power the growing digital economy while strengthening our electric grid," chief executive Joe Dominguez said.
The move spread across the sector: NRG Energy rose 10.32% after its own beat before the open. The DOE loan is conditional and still needs a signed agreement, and the gas plant needs regulatory approval, so the parts of the story with dates attached are the uprates, the first of which is due in 2028, and the first guidance for 2027.