The AES Corporation’s AES fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents by 58.8%. However, the bottom line declined 26% from 73 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

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The company generated GAAP earnings of 79 cents per share against the GAAP loss of 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2023.

AES reported 2024 adjusted earnings of $2.14 per share, which were higher than the year-ago figure of $1.76.

The year-over-year improvement was driven by higher contributions from renewables projects placed in service in the current year, a lower adjusted tax rate and higher contributions from the Utilities SBU.

AES’ Total Revenues

The company’s total revenues amounted to $2.96 billion, down 0.2% year over year due to lower non-regulated revenues. The figure also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.26 billion by 9.1%.

The company reported revenues of $12.28 billion in 2024, which were lower than $12.67 billion in 2023.

The AES Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

The AES Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The AES Corporation Quote

Highlights of AES’ Release

The total cost of sales in the fourth quarter was $2.54 billion, up 2.7% year over year.

The operating income totaled $420 million, down 15% from $494 million in the year-ago period.

Interest expenses amounted to $360 million, up 2% from $353 million in the prior-year quarter.

During 2024, the company signed 6.8 gigawatts (GW) of new agreements, including 4.4 GW of renewables under long-term PPAs, 2.1 GW of new data center load growth at AES Ohio and 310 megawatts of retail supply to support data centers throughout Ohio. This brought AES’ total backlog to 11.9 GW signed long-term PPAs, including 4.9 GW under construction.

AES’ Financial Condition

AES had cash and cash equivalents of $1.52 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, compared with $1.43 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023.

Non-recourse debt totaled $20.63 billion as of the same date, up from $18.48 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023.

The net cash flow from operating activities amounted to $2.75 billion during 2024 compared with $3.03 billion at the end of 2023.

Total capital expenditure was $1.73 billion during the fourth quarter, down from $2.43 billion recorded a year ago.

AES’ 2025 Guidance

AES introduced its 2025 earnings guidance.

It expects to generate adjusted earnings in the range of $2.10-$2.26 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2.02 per share, which lies below the company’s guided range.

The company reaffirmed its average annual earnings growth target to be in the band of 7-9% through 2027.

AES expects to add a total of 3.2 GW of new renewables to its operating portfolio by the end of 2025.

AES’ Zacks Rank

AES currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Utility Releases

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%.

WEC Energy Group WEC reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.43 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 by 0.7%. The company reported operating revenues of $2.28 billion, which missed the consensus estimate of $2.6 billion by 12.1%.

National Fuel Gas Company NFG reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted operating earnings of $1.66 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.57 by 5.7%. The company reported sales of $549.5 million, which missed the consensus estimate of $594 million by 7.5%.

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