CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Lags Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Core Viewpoint - CenterPoint Energy (CNP) reported quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.36 per share, and down from $0.40 per share a year ago, indicating an earnings surprise of -13.89% [1][2] Financial Performance - The company posted revenues of $1.86 billion for the quarter ended September 2024, which also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.19%, remaining unchanged from the previous year's revenues [2] - Over the last four quarters, CenterPoint has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times and topped consensus revenue estimates just once [2] Stock Performance - CenterPoint shares have increased by approximately 2.6% since the beginning of the year, contrasting with the S&P 500's gain of 21.8% [3] - The current Zacks Rank for CenterPoint is 4 (Sell), indicating expectations of underperformance in the near future [6] Earnings Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $0.37 on revenues of $2.32 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $1.62 on revenues of $8.73 billion [7] - The trend for estimate revisions ahead of the earnings release was unfavorable, which may impact future stock performance [6] Industry Context - The Utility - Electric Power industry, to which CenterPoint belongs, is currently in the top 35% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable industry outlook [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can be tracked by investors [5]