In-Line Earnings: Electric utility firm Southern Company (NYSE:SO) reported earnings per share (excluding certain one-time items) of 70 cents, same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Estimate Revision Trend & Surprise History: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter has been unchanged in the last seven days.
Southern Company has an excellent earnings surprise history. Before Q1, the utility delivered positive surprises in each of the prior four quarters, as shown in the chart below:
Revenue Came in Lower than Expected: Revenues of $5.4 billion came below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.8 billion.
Key Stats: Southern Company’s total retail sales fell 10.5% as residential and commercial sales both declined. Moreover, industrial sales fell 5% year over year. This brought about a downward movement in overall electricity sales and usage. Total electricity sales during the first quarter were down 11.2% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, total wholesale sales slumped 13.3% year over year.
The power supplier’s operations and maintenance cost decreased 9.6% to $1.3 billion, while the utility’s total operating expense for the period – at $1.7 billion – was down 65.6% from the prior-year level.
Zacks Rank: Currently, Southern Company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
(You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.)
Check back later for our full write up on this Southern Company’s earnings report later!
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Southern Company (The) (SO): Free Stock Analysis Report
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