Evergy Powers Up Growth with Data Center Deals, Boosts Investor Outlook

KANSAS CITY, MO – August 06, 2026 – Evergy, Inc. today underscored a period of robust growth and strategic investment, posting strong second-quarter financial results that beat analyst expectations and reaffirming an ambitious long-term outlook. The utility, which serves 1.7 million customers across Kansas and Missouri, is capitalizing on a surge in electricity demand from a new wave of large-scale data centers, prompting a significant increase in its capital expenditure plans to fuel both regional economic development and shareholder returns.

A Surge in Demand Fuels Financial Performance

Evergy reported second-quarter 2026 GAAP earnings of $215.0 million, or $0.91 per share, a considerable jump from the $171.3 million, or $0.74 per share, recorded in the same period last year. On an adjusted, non-GAAP basis—a measure the company believes better reflects its recurring operational performance—earnings reached $0.88 per share, up from $0.82 in Q2 2025. This outperformance was driven by a confluence of favorable factors, including the successful recovery of regulated investments, which contributed $0.10 per share, and steady growth in weather-normalized demand.

Reinforcing confidence in its trajectory, the company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $4.14 to $4.34 per share. It also held firm on its long-term annual growth target of 6% to 8% or more through 2030, projecting that growth will accelerate beyond 8% annually starting in 2028. For investors, this message of stability was further solidified by the board's declaration of a quarterly dividend of $0.6950 per share. The consistent performance and confident guidance position the utility as a stable anchor in a dynamic energy market, signaling a clear strategy for sustained value creation.

The primary difference between the company's GAAP and non-GAAP figures was a $7.9 million pre-tax gain from investments in early-stage clean energy companies, which Evergy is in the process of divesting to focus on its core regulated utility operations.

Powering the Heartland's New Digital Economy

The engine behind Evergy's bullish forecast is an unprecedented wave of interest from large industrial customers, particularly energy-intensive data centers flocking to Kansas and Missouri. This trend is transforming the regional economic landscape and reshaping the utility's long-term strategic planning. CEO David Campbell confirmed the momentum, stating, “Large customer interest in Kansas and Missouri remains very strong. We are confident in our ability to advance our pipeline and we expect to execute at least one more electric service agreement in 2026.”

To date, the Kansas City-based firm has executed electric service agreements (ESAs) for five major data center projects, including with giants like Google, Meta, and Digital Realty. These agreements alone represent a future steady-state peak load of approximately 2.5 gigawatts (GW)—a massive increase in demand. When combined with other large, non-data center customers like Panasonic, the total secured new load climbs to 3 GW. The financial impact is already being felt, with the ramp-up of a large data center and Panasonic's operations contributing an estimated $0.04 to this quarter's earnings per share compared to last year.

This is likely just the beginning. The pipeline of potential projects under discussion totals well over 10 additional gigawatts, signaling a sustained boom. This influx of high-tech industry is a significant boon for the regional economy, promising job creation and increased vitality. Evergy's ability to provide reliable and increasingly sustainable power is a critical enabler of this growth, positioning the utility as a key partner in the heartland's economic evolution.

The $21.6 Billion Balancing Act

To meet this historic demand, Evergy is undertaking a massive strategic shift in its capital allocation. The company announced it is increasing its five-year capital plan by $1 billion, bringing the total to $21.6 billion. This aggressive investment is projected to drive the company's rate base—the value of assets on which it can earn a regulated return—at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 12%.

This capital will fund a new generation of power resources and critical grid modernization. Based on its recently filed Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs), the utility anticipates adding over 5 GW of new capacity by 2032. This includes approximately 3.9 GW of flexible natural gas generation, nearly 800 megawatts of solar power, and 450 megawatts of battery storage. These investments are designed not only to serve the new industrial load but also to enhance overall system reliability and advance the company's sustainability goals.

However, this growth comes with inherent challenges. The company's favorable results were partially offset by rising costs, a key aspect of the operational balancing act it must now manage. Operations and maintenance expenses climbed 2.3% to $260.9 million, largely due to higher costs for storm restoration and vegetation management. Meanwhile, depreciation and amortization expenses rose 5.5% to $304.3 million, a direct result of new capital assets being placed into service. Managing these rising costs while executing one of the most ambitious capital plans in its history will be central to Evergy's strategy for achieving its long-term financial targets.

Navigating the Regulatory and Ratepayer Landscape

Executing a strategy of this magnitude requires careful navigation of the regulatory environments in both Kansas and Missouri. Evergy's ability to recover its substantial investments in a timely manner is paramount, and the company is actively engaged with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) and the Missouri Public Service Commission (MOPSC) on multiple fronts. The company plans to file for predetermination and Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCNs) for its planned natural gas, solar, and battery facilities.

A central concern in this expansion is ensuring that the costs of serving new, power-hungry data centers do not unfairly burden existing residential and small business customers. In a nod to this, Evergy has become a signatory to the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge. Company leadership emphasized that its Large Load Power Service (LLPS) tariffs are specifically designed to ensure these new customers pay their fair share, covering the infrastructure investments required to serve them.

This approach aims to turn the demand boom into a net benefit for all customers by spreading the system's fixed costs over a much larger base of energy sales. If successful, this strategy could help keep rate increases for most residential customers at or below the rate of inflation over the next several years, demonstrating a commitment to balancing large-scale industrial growth with customer affordability. The company's credit outlook has already strengthened on the back of these secured agreements, with its FFO-to-debt ratio projected to be a healthy 14-15% through 2028 before strengthening further.