Southern Company Q1 Earnings Beat as Power Demand Grows

Earnings Performance - Southern Company reported first-quarter 2025 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.23, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.20 and the adjusted profit of $1.03 from the previous year [1] - The utility's revenues reached $7.8 billion, a 17% increase compared to first-quarter 2024 sales, and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7 billion [2] Sales and Demand - Southern Company's wholesale power sales increased by 6.8%, with overall electricity sales rising by 4.2% year-over-year [3] - Total retail sales grew by 3.4%, with residential, commercial, and industrial sales increasing by 6.4%, 3.3%, and 0.5%, respectively [3] Expense Overview - Operations and maintenance (O&M) costs rose by 10% year-over-year to $1.6 billion, while total operating expenses increased by 16.6% to $5.8 billion, exceeding estimates [4] Future Guidance - Southern Company guided EPS for the year between $4.20 and $4.30, with a projection of 85 cents for the June quarter [2] - The management maintained a long-term EPS growth rate projection of 5-7% based on the 2024 adjusted EPS projection [2]