NRG Energy beats quarterly profit estimates on strong power demand (updated)
24/02/2026 16:40
(Updates with data center activity detail, context, and stock
performance)
Feb 24 (Reuters) -
NRG Energy NRG.N beat Wall Street estimates for
fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, as rising U.S. electricity
consumption has spurred the independent power producer to double
its generating footprint.
U.S. power demand reached record highs in 2025 and is
projected to hit fresh highs as major tech companies boost
consumption at their rapidly expanding data centers. Some of
these use as much electricity as an entire city.
NRG and other independent power producers are trying to
capture that surging data center demand by selling off power
from existing generation and building new power plants to serve
data centers exclusively.
NRG CEO Larry Coben said the company, which recently closed
on its $12 billion purchase of LS Power, has doubled its
generation footprint and added three Texas generation projects
totaling 1.5 gigawatts.
The Houston, Texas-based company said it aims to sign at
least 1 gigawatt of data center deals this year, and the company
said it expects to add significant new capacity for data
centers.
NRG further added in its earnings call that it now expects
to spend about $18.3 billion in capital expenditures through
2030.
NRG produces power for over 8 million customers across the
U.S. and Canada through its portfolio of power generation,
natural gas, and smart energy solutions.
Texas is one of the biggest and fastest-growing data center
markets in the country.
NRG posted an adjusted profit of $1.04 per share in the
quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of 96 cents per
share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Shares of the company, which had risen by more than 1% in
premarket trading, were down about 1% in midday trade.
(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru and Laila Kearney in
New York; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and David Gregorio)
((mailto:Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))