FirstEnergy to Release Q2 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?

FirstEnergy Corporation FE is scheduled to release second-quarter 2025 results on July 30, after market close. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 11.7% in the last reported quarter. Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.Factors That Might Have Impacted FE’s Q2 PerformanceIn June 2025, FirstEnergy’s subsidiary, Mon Power and Potomac Edison, completed its third utility-scale solar site in West Virginia to help meet the state's electricity needs. More than 17,000 solar panels produce up to 5.75 megawatts (MW) of renewable power at the Marlowe site in Berkeley County. This is likely to have a positive impact on the second-quarter results.In May 2025, the company deployed the Advanced Light Detection and Ranging (“LiDAR”) technology across its service area to effectively manage hard-to-reach trees and vegetation along 7,100 miles of high-voltage power lines. The work will continue through the fall. This initiative is expected to have enhanced FE’s service reliability and boosted its performance in the to-be-reported quarter. In April 2025, FirstEnergy’s subsidiary, FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company, completed the work to enhance its energy delivery system in Venango and Crawford counties to help prevent or minimize the length of service disruptions. The project included replacing more than 40 wood poles, crossarms, fuses, switches and other equipment on a power line key to the delivery of electricity to nearly 1,000 customers in Cochranton, Utica, Polk and nearby communities.The company is expected to have continued to benefit from its ‘Energize365’ program, which is a multi-year grid evolution platform focused on enhancing customer experience while maintaining its strong affordability position with rates at or below its in-state peers.However, severe storms in April 2025 produced significant, widespread damage due to heavy rain and excessive winds in many parts of the service area. Customers had lost power as a result of this. This might have resulted in higher operating expenses to restore the power, thereby offsetting some positives in the to-be-reported quarter.FE’s Q2 ExpectationsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 53 cents per share, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 5.4%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pinned at $3.43 billion, implying a 4.7% improvement year over year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total electric distribution deliveries is pinned at 36,000.5 megawatt-hours, up 1.5% from the figure registered in the year-ago quarter.What Our Quantitative Model PredictsOur proven model does not predict an earnings beat for FirstEnergy 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 not the case here as you will see below. FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise FirstEnergy Corporation price-eps-surprise | FirstEnergy Corporation QuoteEarnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -10.80%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Zacks Rank: Currently, FirstEnergy carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Stocks to ConsiderInvestors may consider the following players from the same industry as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this reporting cycle.Eversource Energy ES is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports second-quarter results on July 31. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.26% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.ES’ long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 5.66%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pinned at 95 cents per share.IDACORP IDA is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports second-quarter results on July 31. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.34% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.IDA’s long-term earnings growth rate is 8.13%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pinned at $1.71 per share. Xcel Energy XEL is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports second-quarter results on July 31. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.76% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.XEL’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.79%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pinned at 62 cents per share, which implies a year-over-year increase of 14.8%.  5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL): Free Stock Analysis Report FirstEnergy Corporation (FE): Free Stock Analysis Report IDACORP, Inc. (IDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Eversource Energy (ES): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks