Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) Earnings

Management highlights

• Safety & Operational Performance - 2026 safety performance is trending favorably to target, reflecting ongoing training, accountability and operational discipline initiatives - Employee teams successfully restored power to over 300,000 customers following back-to-back severe June 2026 storms across the service territory; reliability metrics for the first half of 2026 are tracking against target, driven by sustained grid investments - The company's full generation fleet (nuclear, fossil, renewable) delivered strong operational performance in the first half of 2026 • Large Customer & Economic Development Progress - Evergy has executed Energy Service Agreements (ESAs) for 5 data center projects under its LLPS tariff, totaling 2.5 gigawatts of steady-state peak load. Including 500 megawatts from non-LLPS large customers (such as Panasonic), total secured large load reaches 3 gigawatts - The 3 gigawatts of secured Tier 1 demand includes 1.3 gigawatts already in operation (ramping to steady state) and 1.7 gigawatts from signed ESAs with 16-17 year minimum monthly payment requirements, supporting an expected 7-8% annual retail load CAGR through 2030 - Expansion opportunities at/adjacent to existing sites have grown to 2.0-2.5 gigawatts (up from 1-1.5 gigawatts last quarter); the company is in advanced discussions for ~2.0 gigawatts of additional Tier 2 new customer load primarily beyond 2030, with more than 10 additional gigawatts in the broader prospective pipeline - Management expects to execute at least one additional ESA in 2026, with momentum continuing into 2027; all potential projects beyond the already secured 3 gigawatts are unincluded in the current five-year financial plan and represent future upside • Capital & Resource Planning - The base five-year capital plan from February 2026 totals $21.6 billion; the company now expects ~$1 billion of incremental capital to add generation for already secured customer agreements, bringing total projected rate-based CAGR through 2030 to 12% (up from 11.5% previously) - The preferred 2026 integrated resource plan (IRP) through 2030 includes over 5 gigawatts of new resource additions: ~3.9 gigawatts of natural gas, nearly 800 megawatts of solar, and 450 megawatts of battery storage, following an all-of-the-above strategy to support reliability, affordability and economic development - Additional load beyond the 3 gigawatts of secured contracts will require further incremental generation investment and capex • Regulatory & Affordability Updates - In Kansas, the company has filed notice for an upcoming predetermination application for three new generation assets (natural gas, solar, battery storage) aligned with the 2026 IRP, with the full application planned for later in 2026 - In Missouri, the pending Missouri Metro rate case follows a procedural schedule with hearings starting October 2026; a pending CCN request for the 440-megawatt Mullen Creek No. 2 gas facility has hearings scheduled for October 2026, and the company plans to file a new CCN request for additional natural gas, solar and battery storage resources later this year - Evergy signed the White House's Ratepayer Protection Pledge; its LLPS tariff framework requires new large customers to pay their full fair share of infrastructure and generation costs, spreading system costs across a broader load base to protect affordability for existing customers - The company projects most residential customer rate increases over the next several years will be at or below inflation, with average residential rates currently below national and Midwest averages. Missouri West, the company's smallest utility with currently the lowest system rates, will see residential rate increases above inflation over the next five years to fund needed baseload generation investments, though rates will remain regionally competitive and stabilize long-term • Financing - As of June 30, 2026, Evergy has priced ~$425 million of equity through its ATM program (forward sales to be settled in 2026), representing more than half of the expected $700-$900 million of 2026 equity issuance; remaining equity needs will be covered via the ATM program with no planned block issuance - Management projects FFO to debt will remain in the 14-15% range from 2026-2028, supporting the company's investment-grade credit rating

Guidance

- The company reaffirms its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance range of $4.14 to $4.34 per share, with a midpoint of $4.24 per share, and confirms it is on track to hit the midpoint - Management reaffirms its long-term adjusted EPS growth target of 6% to 8%+ through 2030 (off the 2026 $4.24 midpoint), and reconfirms that annual adjusted EPS growth will exceed 8% from 2028 through 2030 - Q3 2026 adjusted EPS is guided to 50% to 53% of the 2026 full-year midpoint ($4.24) - The 250 basis point delta between annual rate-based CAGR and EPS growth is expected to remain a stable long-term relationship - The capital plan will be updated during the Q4 2026 earnings call in February 2027

Segment performance

Evergy reports consolidated Q2 2026 adjusted earnings of $209 million ($0.88 per diluted share), compared to $191 million ($0.82 per diluted share) in Q2 2025. The year-over-year EPS increase was driven by: +$0.10 per share from load growth, including a $0.04 per share benefit from the March 2026 launch of a large data center and Panasonic's ongoing operational ramp; +$0.10 per share from recovery of and return on regulated investments from new Kansas Central retail rates and FERC-regulated assets. These gains were partially offset by: an 8 cent per share decrease from higher O&M, depreciation and interest expense (net of AFDC); and a 6 cent per share net decrease from other items, including 2 cents of dilution from convertible bonds. Year-to-date 2026 weather-normalized demand grew 3.3%: commercial demand grew 4% driven by data center ramp-up, and industrial demand grew 6.2% driven by Panasonic's operations.

Risks & headwinds

- Political and local community opposition to data center development, including a data center moratorium becoming a campaign issue in the 2026 Kansas gubernatorial race, could create uncertainty for future project development - Future load growth beyond already secured contracts depends on successfully executing additional ESAs, which may face delays or fail to materialize - Inflation running above the company's current 2-3% modeling could push residential rate increases above projected levels - Rate case outcomes in Kansas and Missouri may differ from management expectations, impacting earnings and investment recovery - Missouri West rate increases above inflation could create customer and regulatory pushback - Incremental capital investment for new large load requires additional debt and equity financing, which could impact credit metrics if not properly managed

Analyst Q&A

• Q: The analyst asks how additional 2026 ESA signings would impact capital requirements and long-term rate-based growth, and whether Evergy will provide longer-term growth disclosure to reflect pipeline beyond 2030. /

  A: Management confirms high confidence in signing at least one additional ESA in 2026, with momentum continuing into 2027. Most new customers require firm power from Evergy resources, so additional load will drive incremental generation capex. Existing signed ESAs already have 750-1,000 GW of load ramping beyond 2030, and most new expansion and Tier 2 projects will also have resource needs well into the 2030s. Management will provide more specific long-term disclosure as additional ESAs are executed.

• Q: The analyst asks what the customer profile of the pending 2026 ESA will be, and if the Kansas gubernatorial race data center moratorium issue is impacting commercial discussions. /

  A: Management states the upcoming ESA will have a similar customer profile to existing agreements, consisting of high-quality hyperscalers or experienced data center developers aligned with hyperscale end customers. The data center moratorium issue has been far less prominent in Kansas than in other states; both major party candidates for governor have supported economic development and infrastructure investment, and the issue has not impacted customer discussions. Evergy and its customers only pursue development in receptive communities, and remain confident in the development pipeline.

• Q: The analyst asks for clarification on residential rate increase projections, including whether the 'at or below inflation' guidance is based on a specific inflation assumption, and explains the Missouri West exception. /

  A: The guidance is based on the company's current modeling, with inflation currently tracking in the 2-3% range, consistent with Fed targets. Missouri West currently has the lowest rates in Evergy's system (and among the lowest nationally) but is underinvested in infrastructure, is more exposed to volatile market energy prices, and needs new baseload generation. As a result, Missouri West residential rates will increase above inflation over the next five years, but will remain regionally competitive and stabilize long-term. The LLPS tariff already delivers measurable affordability benefits: Evergy reduced its requested revenue requirement in the Missouri Metro rate case by $25 million (15%) due to existing data center customer contributions, with that benefit growing as load ramps.

• Q: The analyst asks whether the 250 basis point delta between rate-based growth and EPS growth is stable over time, and why both Kansas and Missouri attract large data center customers. /

  A: Management views the 250 basis point delta as a generally stable rule of thumb, driven by consistent steady load growth and predictable lags between investment and earnings recognition, with only minor fluctuations from timing of rate cases and project completion. Both states have similar, widely approved LLPS tariff structures that offer predictability for customers, and the Kansas City metro region (spanning both states) offers attractive available land, strong EPC and engineering talent, and receptive communities, so customers select sites based on specific land availability rather than meaningful state-level differences.