BALTIMORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024.
“The 14,000 women and men of Constellation remain the driving force behind our strong operational and financial performance in 2024. Whether it’s AI and the many technologies of the future, or the everyday needs of families and businesses across our nation, Constellation provides the reliable and sustainable energy needed today and is investing billions of dollars to power our country for decades to come. We know that reliable, affordable and sustainable power is the key to America’s freedom and the life-blood of our economic prosperity, and over the past three years we have built a company that can meet that need for power with unmatched capabilities,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO, Constellation. “As we look forward to closing the Calpine acquisition later this year, Constellation will create new capabilities that will increase product offerings across America to help families and businesses thrive and grow. There has never been a more exciting time for our country and for the energy industry. We are privileged to be at the heart of it all.”
“For the second consecutive year since forming our new company, Constellation has outperformed the top end of its guidance range – a testament to the combined value of our commercial and generation businesses, which were firing on all cylinders in 2024,” said Dan Eggers, chief financial officer, Constellation. “Backstopped by our strong balance sheet and industry leading generation and commercial businesses, we’re affirming our 2025 adjusted operating earnings guidance range at $8.90-9.60 per share. Independent of our pending acquisition of Calpine, Constellation will invest over $2.5 billion in 2025 to reliably operate our business for the long-term and fund our growth investments to help meet growing power demand.”
Fourth Quarter 2024
Our GAAP Net Income (Loss) for the fourth quarter of 2024 increased to $2.71 per share from ($0.11) per share in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 increased to $2.44 per share from $1.74 per share in the fourth quarter of 2023. For the reconciliations of GAAP Net Income to Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings, refer to the GAAP/Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings Reconciliation section below.
Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings in the fourth quarter of 2024 primarily reflects:
- Favorable nuclear PTC portfolio results and favorable labor (incentives), contracting and materials partially offset by unfavorable market and portfolio conditions and impacts of nuclear outages
Full Year 2024
Our GAAP Net Income for 2024 increased to $11.89 per share compared to $5.01 per share in 2023. Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings for 2024 increased to $8.67 per share from $6.28 per share in 2023. For the reconciliations of GAAP Net Income to Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings, refer to the GAAP/Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings Reconciliation section below.
Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings for the full year 2024 primarily reflects:
- Favorable nuclear PTC portfolio results and market and portfolio conditions partially offset by unfavorable labor (incentives), contracting and materials, banked ZEC revenues and interest expense
Recent Developments and Highlights
- Affirming 2025 Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings Guidance: On January 10, 2025, we initiated an adjusted operating earnings guidance range of $8.90 – $9.60 per share. We are affirming that guidance today. In addition to Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings guidance we provided our expectations for Adjusted (non-GAAP) O&M and Capital for 2025 and 2026 as well as other disclosures and tools to help model the company. These materials can be found on the Investor Relations sections of the Constellation website as part of the Calpine Acquisition presentation.
- Proposed Acquisition of Calpine Corporation: We have entered a definitive agreement to acquire Calpine in a cash and stock transaction composed of 50 million shares of our common stock and $4.5 billion in cash. The agreement will couple the nation’s leading clean energy producer with the reliable, dispatchable natural gas assets of Calpine, opening opportunities to supply more customers coast-to-coast. The combination also will create the nation’s leading competitive retail electric supplier, providing 2.5 million customers with a broader array of customized energy and sustainability solutions and new product offerings to help them manage energy costs and achieve their sustainability goals. This acquisition will help us better serve our customers across America, from families to businesses and utilities.
- Delivering on Our Capital Allocation Promises in 2024: We continued our share repurchase program, buying back approximately $1 billion of our common stock in 2024. Since our Board of Directors approved our share repurchase program, we have successfully repurchased approximately $2 billion of our common stock with approximately $1 billion of remaining authority to repurchase under the program. Our credit rating was upgraded by Moody’s to Baa1 from Baa2 and assigned a stable outlook based on the company’s improved debt coverage metrics and strong financial performance. The upgrade by Moody’s follows two similar upgrades by ratings firm S&P Global Ratings since 2022. We issued a $900 million, 30-year term green bond to be used to finance green projects such as nuclear uprates that will increase production of clean, carbon-free energy at our clean energy centers. Lastly, we increased the annual per share dividend by 25%, and expect to grow the dividend per share by another 10% in 2025.
- Dividend Declaration: Our Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3878 per share on our common stock. The dividend is payable on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, to shareholders of record as of 5 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, March 7, 2025.
- No. 1 Producer of Emissions-Free Energy: For the 11th consecutive year, we are the nation’s largest producer of emissions-free energy and have the lowest rate of carbon dioxide emissions among the 20 largest private, investor-owned power producers in the United States, according to an independent analysis based on publicly reported 2022 air emissions data. The annual Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the United States report showed that the next cleanest company among the group of 20 had more than four-and-a-half times the rate of carbon dioxide emissions as Constellation.
- Nuclear Operations: Our nuclear fleet, including our owned output from the Salem and South Texas Project (STP) Generating Stations, produced 45,494 gigawatt-hours (GWhs) in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with 45,563 GWhs in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding Salem and STP, our nuclear plants at ownership achieved a capacity factor of 94.8% and 95.1% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 2023, respectively, and 94.6% and 94.4% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. There were 66 planned refueling outage days in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 56 in the fourth quarter of 2023. There were 3 non-refueling outage days in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 7 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
- Natural Gas, Oil, and Renewables Operations: The dispatch match rate for our gas and pumped storage hydro fleet was 93.2% and 97.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 2023, respectively, and 97.4% and 98.5% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Energy capture for the wind, solar and run-of-river hydro fleet was 95.7% and 96.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 2023, respectively, and 96.1% and 96.4% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
GAAP/Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings Reconciliation
Unless otherwise noted, the income tax impact of each reconciling adjustment between GAAP Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Common Shareholders and Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings is based on the marginal statutory federal and state income tax rates, taking into account whether the income or expense item is taxable or deductible, respectively, in whole or in part. For all adjustments except the Nuclear Decommissioning Trust (NDT) fund investment returns, which are included in decommissioning-related activities, the marginal statutory income tax rate was 25.5% and 25.1% for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. Under IRS regulations, NDT fund investment returns are taxed at different rates for investments if they are in qualified or non-qualified funds. The effective tax rates for the unrealized and realized gains and losses related to NDT funds were 56.3% and 52.9% for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively and 54.8% and 52.4% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, does not include the following items (after tax) that were included in our reported GAAP Net Income (Loss):
|
Three Months Ended December 31,
|
|
2024
|
|
|
2023
|
|
(In millions, except per share data)
|
|
|
Earnings Per Share(a)
|
|
|
|
Earnings Per Share(a)
|
GAAP Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Common Shareholders
|
$
|
852
|
|
|
$
|
2.71
|
|
|
$
|
(36
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.11
|
)
|
Unrealized (Gain) Loss on Fair Value Adjustments (net of taxes $82 and $254, respectively)
|
|
(241
|
)
|
|
|
(0.77
|
)
|
|
|
758
|
|
|
|
2.36
|
|
Plant Retirements and Divestitures (net of taxes $14 and $3, respectively)
|
|
(40
|
)
|
|
|
(0.13
|
)
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
0.03
|
|
Decommissioning-Related Activities (net of taxes $99 and $206, respectively)
|
|
177
|
|
|
|
0.56
|
|
|
|
(181
|
)
|
|
|
(0.56
|
)
|
Pension & OPEB Non-Service (Credits) Costs (net of taxes $1 and $3, respectively)
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
0.01
|
|
|
|
(10
|
)
|
|
|
(0.03
|
)
|
Separation Costs (net of taxes $— and $2, respectively)
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
(5
|
)
|
|
|
(0.02
|
)
|
ERP System Implementation Costs (net of taxes $— and $1, respectively)
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
0.01
|
|
Change in Environmental Liabilities (net of taxes $2 and $4, respectively)
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
0.02
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
0.03
|
|
Income Tax-Related Adjustments
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
0.01
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
Acquisition-Related Costs (net of taxes $2 and $2, respectively)
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
0.02
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
0.03
|
|
Noncontrolling Interests
|
|
(2
|
)
|
|
|
(0.01
|
)
|
|
|
(1
|
)
|
|
|
—
|
|
Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings
|
$
|
765
|
|
|
$
|
2.44
|
|
|
$
|
555
|
|
|
$
|
1.74
|
|
|
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
|
|
2024
|
|
|
2023
|
|
(In millions, except per share data)
|
|
|
Earnings Per Share(a)
|
|
|
|
Earnings Per Share(a)
|
GAAP Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Common Shareholders
|
$
|
3,749
|
|
|
$
|
11.89
|
|
|
$
|
1,623
|
|
|
$
|
5.01
|
|
Unrealized (Gain) Loss on Fair Value Adjustments (net of taxes $346 and $169, respectively)
|
|
(1,026
|
)
|
|
|
(3.25
|
)
|
|
|
506
|
|
|
|
1.56
|
|
Plant Retirements and Divestitures (net of taxes $9 and $2, respectively)
|
|
28
|
|
|
|
0.09
|
|
|
|
(7
|
)
|
|
|
(0.02
|
)
|
Decommissioning-Related Activities (net of taxes $244 and $339, respectively)
|
|
(50
|
)
|
|
|
(0.16
|
)
|
|
|
(183
|
)
|
|
|
(0.56
|
)
|
Pension & OPEB Non-Service (Credits) Costs (net of taxes $2 and $14, respectively)
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
0.02
|
|
|
|
(41
|
)
|
|
|
(0.13
|
)
|
Separation Costs (net of taxes $3 and $21, respectively)
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
0.03
|
|
|
|
62
|
|
|
|
0.19
|
|
ERP System Implementation Costs (net of taxes $3 and $6, respectively)
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
0.02
|
|
|
|
19
|
|
|
|
0.06
|
|
Change in Environmental Liabilities (net of taxes $22 and $11, respectively)
|
|
65
|
|
|
|
0.21
|
|
|
|
33
|
|
|
|
0.10
|
|
Income Tax-Related Adjustments
|
|
(52
|
)
|
|
|
(0.17
|
)
|
|
|
(9
|
)
|
|
|
(0.03
|
)
|
Acquisition-Related Costs (net of taxes $2 and $3, respectively)
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
0.02
|
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
0.03
|
|
Asset Impairments (net of taxes $— and $9, respectively)
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
62
|
|
|
|
0.19
|
|
Noncontrolling Interests
|
|
(7
|
)
|
|
|
(0.02
|
)
|
|
|
(40
|
)
|
|
|
(0.12
|
)
|
Adjusted (non-GAAP) Operating Earnings
|
$
|
2,735
|
|
|
$
|
8.67
|
|
|
$
|
2,034
|
|
|
$
|
6.28
|
|
__________
|
(a)
|
|
Amounts may not sum due to rounding. Earnings per share amount is based on average diluted common shares outstanding of 314 million and 321 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively and 315 million and 324 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
|
About Constellation
Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG), a Fortune 200 company headquartered in Baltimore, is the nation’s largest producer of reliable, emissions-free energy and a leading energy supplier to businesses, homes and public sector customers nationwide, including three-fourths of Fortune 100 companies. With annual output that is nearly 90% carbon-free, our hydro, wind and solar facilities paired with the nation’s largest nuclear fleet have the generating capacity to power the equivalent of 16 million homes, providing about 10% of the nation’s clean energy. We are committed to investing in innovative technologies to drive the transition to a reliable, sustainable and secure energy future. Follow Constellation on LinkedIn and X.