CenterPoint Energy, Inc. CNP is slated to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 20, before market open.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of 13.89%. However, CenterPoint Energy has a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 0.76%.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to reflect in the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors to Note Ahead of CNP’s Q4 Earnings

CenterPoint Energy’s service territories witnessed above-normal weather patterns for the majority of the fourth quarter. This is likely to have hurt electricity demand from its customers for heating purposes this winter, thereby adversely affecting the company’s top-line performance.

Nevertheless, strong customer growth, primarily driven by increasing data center demand in Texas and industrial customer growth, is likely to have added an impetus to CNP’s revenues.

Adverse weather patterns, including heavy rainfall, flooding and a few tornadoes, along with Hurricane Rafael, affected some parts of CNP’s service territories during the fourth quarter. This is expected to have disrupted the company’s services in those areas, which is likely to have resulted in outages for its customers. CNP’s overall revenues are likely to have been partly impacted due to these outages.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CenterPoint Energy’s fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $2.28 billion, which indicates a 4.6% rise from the prior-year quarter’s figure.

The aforementioned adverse weather patterns are also likely to have damaged CNP’s utility infrastructure. This is likely to have pushed up the company’s operating expenses for repair and restoration of its damaged infrastructure, which, in turn, is expected to have hurt its bottom-line performance to some extent.

Nevertheless, profitable returns from its earlier investments and solid top-line expectations are likely to have boosted CenterPoint Energy’s overall earnings.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 40 cents per share, which implies a 25% improvement from the prior-year quarter’s level.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. price-eps-surprise | CenterPoint Energy, Inc. Quote

What the Zacks Model Unveils for CNP

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for CenterPoint Energy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is the case here as seen below.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is +0.63%. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors can consider the following players from the same sector, which also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their quarterly results.

OGE Energy OGE is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 19, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.41% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $672.5 million, which indicates an 18.7% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at 48 cents per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 100%.

ONE Gas OGS is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 19, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.28% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $660.9 million, which indicates a 9.1% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at $1.33 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 4.7%.

A Recent Utility Release

NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 53 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents by 3.9%. The company reported operating revenues of $5.38 billion, which lagged the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion by 17%.

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NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

OGE Energy Corporation (OGE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report

ONE Gas, Inc. (OGS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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