NRG Energy Q3 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, '25 EPS View Raised

Core Insights - NRG Energy, Inc. reported Q3 2025 earnings of $2.75 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.26 by 21.7% and increasing 48.7% year-over-year [1][9] - Total revenues reached $7.64 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.16 billion by 6.7% and rising 5.7% from $7.22 billion in the prior-year quarter [2][9] Financial Performance - Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 was $1.21 billion, up 14.2% from $1.06 billion a year ago [3] - Total operating costs and expenses decreased to $7.22 billion, down 12.4% from $8.24 billion in the year-ago quarter [3] - Cash provided by operating activities in the first nine months of 2025 totaled $1.79 billion, compared to $1.35 billion in the same period last year [5] Shareholder Returns - NRG completed $1.1 billion in share repurchases and distributed $258 million in common stock dividends through October 31, 2025 [4] - The company plans to return approximately $1.3 billion through share repurchases and common stock dividends of around $345 million in 2025 [4] Debt and Cash Position - As of September 30, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $732 million, down from $966 million as of December 31, 2024 [5] - Long-term debt and finance leases amounted to $11.16 billion, compared to $9.81 billion as of December 31, 2024 [5] Guidance and Future Outlook - NRG raised its 2025 adjusted net income guidance to a range of $1.47-$1.59 billion, up from the previous range of $1.33-$1.53 billion [7][9] - Adjusted EPS is now expected to be in the range of $7.55-$8.15, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate at the higher end of this range [7] - Free Cash Flow before Growth (FCFbG) is estimated to be in the range of $2.100-$2.250 billion, an increase from the previous range of $1.975-$2.225 billion [8]