Shares rose 3.4% following Southern Company’s first quarter results, as adjusted EPS and retail electricity sales growth both came in ahead of internal estimates, with particularly strong demand from large commercial customers and data centers.

• Adjusted EPS of $1.32 beat management’s estimate by 12¢ and was 9¢ higher year-over-year; Q2 EPS estimate set at $1.00.
• Total weather-normalized retail electricity sales rose 2.3%, the highest Q1 retail sales growth in recent history; commercial class sales were up 4.5% and data center usage surged 42%.
• Company signed incremental 1.9 GW of high credit quality hyperscaler contracts in two months, bringing fully contracted large load agreements to over 11 GW.
• Construction progressing on multiple battery storage and natural gas projects, supporting a 10 GW portfolio of new generation resources scheduled through 2027.
• $26.5 billion in DOE loan agreements are expected to generate $7 billion in long-term customer savings and reduce capital market dependence.