Dominion Energy (D) Q4 2025 Earnings Transcript

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Date

Monday, Feb. 23, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET

Call participants

• Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer — Robert M. Blue
• Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer — Steven D. Ridge
• Vice President – Investor Relations and Treasurer — David McFarland

Takeaways

• Full-year 2025 operating earnings per share — $3.42 reported; $3.33 when excluding Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) 45Z credits, both above the midpoint of 2025 guidance.
• Full-year 2025 GAAP earnings per share — $3.45, higher than operating EPS.
• 2026 operating earnings guidance — $3.40-$3.60 per share, excluding RNG 45Z credits; midpoint of $3.50 represents a 6.1% increase over 2025 guidance midpoint.
• Total 2026 operating earnings guidance — $3.57 per share at the midpoint, including RNG 45Z income.
• Moody’s CFO pre-working-capital to debt metric — Approximately 100 basis points above downgrade threshold; highest reported since 2012.
• 5-year capital investment forecast — Increased from $50 billion to approximately $65 billion, a 30% rise; over 90% of this increase at Dominion Energy Virginia.
• Updated investment base growth rate — Compounded annual growth rate now approximately 10%.
• Approximately two-thirds of capital spend — Eligible for recovery under rider mechanisms, pending regulatory approval.
• Dividend guidance — Reaffirmed, with potential for growth rate revision after achieving a peer-aligned payout ratio.
• Long-term operating EPS growth guidance — Reaffirmed at 5%-7% annually from a 2025 guidance midpoint of $3.30, with bias toward the upper half (6%-7%) beginning in 2028.
• Dominion Energy Virginia load growth — Weather-normal sales increased 5.4%, with all top 20 peak demand days occurring in the last fourteen months.
• Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project status — Over 70% complete, budget at $11.5 billion with $155 million unused contingency; first power to the grid expected by March.
• CVOW installation cadence — Targeting average of 2.25 days per turbine installation, majority of work in 2026 and balance in 2027, with timeline contingency included in budget through July 2027.
• Data center contracting pipeline — Over 48 gigawatts contracted as of December 2025, up from about 47 gigawatts in September.
• Residential rate competitiveness — Dominion Energy Virginia and Dominion Energy South Carolina rates currently 4% and 12% below the national average, respectively.
• Average residential rate growth expectation — Compound annual growth rate of 2.6% at Dominion Energy Virginia and 2.8% at Dominion Energy South Carolina projected.
• Customer affordability metrics — Dominion Energy Virginia and Dominion Energy South Carolina bills as a percentage of median household income have improved by 7% and 29% more than the national utility average since 2014.
• Efficiency benchmarking — Cited as one of the most efficient companies based on recent FERC data; ongoing efforts to reduce O&M costs further.
• PJM transmission awards — Over $5 billion in awarded projects to Dominion Energy Virginia announced by PJM, with in-service dates through 2032.
• Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center approval — Virginia SCC approved certificate and rider for a 1 GW gas-fired facility, expected online in 2029, $1.5 billion projected cost.
• S.C. rate case filing — Dominion Energy South Carolina filed for rate recovery supporting $1.4 billion of investments since 2023; decision expected in June with rates effective July.
• Millstone nuclear facility performance — 2025 capacity factor exceeded 91%; 55% of output is fixed-price contracted through late 2029.
• Equity issuance plan — Anticipated 2.5% of market cap issued per year to support growth; about one-third of total five-year equity in 2026-2028, two-thirds in 2029-2030.
• Financing plan — 60% of investing cash flows and dividends from internal cash flow, around 10% each from hybrids and equity, balance from debt.
• RNG 45Z credit assumptions — 2026 guidance incorporates updated credit scoring and lower production, with income separated from core EPS results.
• 7% of capital plan allocated to nuclear — Primarily for fuel, subsequent license renewal (SLR), and maintenance, as clarified in Q&A.
• Updated capital spend and rate base growth differentials — Largest drivers include 250 basis points from equity dilution, increased parent-level interest expense, and delayed cash collection from long-lead gas projects.

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Risks

• Executive team noted, “weather delays us out to July, that is all in the current budget of $11.05. And then if for some reason we are delayed beyond that, we have given you that benchmark of $150 to $200 million a quarter,” indicating potential project cost escalation for extended CVOW turbine installation timelines.
• Lower future Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production assumptions and adverse updates to carbon intensity (CI) scoring are reflected in decreased RNG 45Z credit earnings projections.
• Management acknowledged increased parent-level interest expense and reliance on capital markets to fund the larger investment plan as factors impacting future EPS growth rates.
• Customer affordability may come under pressure; company stated, “customers are feeling the pressure of higher costs for housing, groceries, and other essentials, including their electric bill.”

Summary

Dominion Energy (D 2.40%) raised its five-year capital investment outlook by 30% to $65 billion, with over 90% of that increase concentrated at Dominion Energy Virginia to serve accelerating demand from data center clients. The company guided to a 6.1% increase in 2026 operating EPS (excluding RNG credits), reaffirmed long-term 5%-7% annual operating EPS growth, and plans an equity issuance program averaging 2.5% of market cap per year. Regulatory outcomes enabled the approval of major projects such as the $1.5 billion Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center and over $5 billion in PJM-awarded transmission assets. Executives confirmed that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project surpasses 70% completion, is tracking within its $11.5 billion budget, and expects first power by March, with protections against extended delays built into the contingency. Strategic management of regulatory lag in South Carolina and North Carolina and new minimum demand charge contracts for large data center loads are positioned to support rate base growth and earnings stability.

• Dominion explicitly attributed the anticipated improvement in 2026 EPS to the full-year impact of Virginia’s biennial rate increase and a half-year benefit from South Carolina’s rate case.
• The utility highlighted that over 48 gigawatts of data center pipeline are increasingly anchored by signed Electrical Service Agreements (ESAs) and Construction Letters of Authorization (CLOAs) that extend projected demand visibility out to 2045 and underpin current capital allocation decisions.
• No capital for small modular reactors (SMRs) is included in the current five-year plan, though development authority and resource planning continue for future deployment.
• The company’s financing strategy relies on a mix of internally generated cash, hybrid capital, equity issued through DRIP/ATM programs, and both short- and long-term debt, with buffers maintained to protect credit ratings in case of construction or regulatory timing uncertainties.
• Executives reaffirmed a bias to achieve the upper half of the 5%-7% EPS growth range starting in 2028, driven by improved fundamentals such as accelerated rate base growth and tempered by headwinds including lower RNG output and higher financing costs.

Industry glossary

• RNG 45Z credits: Renewable natural gas production credits linked to Section 45Z of the U.S. tax code, providing tax incentives for low-carbon fuel generation through 2029.
• LSE: Load Serving Entity; a utility or entity responsible for securing energy to meet its customers’ electricity demands.
• CLOA: Construction Letter of Authorization; a binding agreement authorizing electric infrastructure build-out for a specific customer’s project.
• ESA: Electrical Service Agreement; a contract obligating a customer to minimum electricity purchases, often with exit fees and collateral requirements for large loads.
• SLR: Subsequent License Renewal; an extended regulatory approval for continued operation of a nuclear unit beyond its initial license period.
• Charybdis: Jones Act–compliant wind turbine installation vessel contracted for CVOW, relevant to installation timing and day rate expense projections.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Steven D. Ridge: Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. Over the last twenty-four months since the conclusion of our business review, we have consistently reiterated our focus on three principal priorities. First, consistent achievement of our financial commitments. Second, continued achievement of major construction milestones for the Coastal Virginia wind project. And third, constructive achievement of regulatory outcomes that demonstrate our ability to work cooperatively with regulators and stakeholders to benefit both customers and shareholders. Looking back on 2025, we successfully executed against these guiding priorities. And our focus for 2026 is unchanged.

As we execute, we empower our employees to provide the reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy that powers our customers every day, and we position ourselves to continue to deliver on the commitments we made at the conclusion of the business review.

Turning first to 2025 results as shown on slide five. As the first full year post business review, 2025 was a critical year for demonstrating our ability to produce high-quality earnings and robust credit results consistent with our original guidance. Therefore, I am pleased to report that we successfully delivered with full-year 2025 operating earnings of $3.42 per share, and operating earnings excluding RNG 45Z credits of $3.33 per share, both above the midpoint of our guidance. I would also note that full-year 2025 GAAP earnings of $3.45 per share were higher than operating EPS. As always, please refer to Schedules 2 and 4 of the earnings release kit for more details.

Continuing that theme, we delivered equally strong credit results. Of particular note is our estimate of Moody’s full-year CFO pre-working-capital to debt, which is both nearly 100 basis points above our downgrade threshold and the highest result we have reported for this metric since 2012. Balance sheet strength is critical given the substantial need for regulated capital investment across our system to meet our customers’ growth over the next several years, and our robust 2025 credit results position us well for that future.

Turning now to 2026 guidance on slide six. We expect 2026 operating earnings per share, excluding RNG 45Z credit income, to be between $3.40 and $3.60 per share with a midpoint of $3.50. As is our standard practice, we are using a range to account for variations from normal weather in our utility service territories. The midpoint represents a 6.1% increase relative to our comparable 2025 guidance midpoint of $3.30, despite 2026 being a double outage year at Millstone, driven by continued strength in sales and higher regulated investment. Our expectations for RNG 45Z income, which we continue to report separately, reflect updated credit scoring and lower production assumptions, which we have been highlighting for a while now.

We continue to await final 45Z regulations, but we believe that the guidance incorporates the range of likely outcomes. Of course, we will update our disclosures if and as needed. Taken together, total operating earnings guidance at the midpoint is $3.57 per share. We are also showing credit and dividend guidance for 2026, which are consistent with our previous long-term guidance. As a reminder, we will revisit our dividend per share growth rate when we achieve a peer-aligned payout ratio.

Before turning it over to Bob, let me hit on a few final related topics from our long-term financial outlook. First, electric demand growth, which for Virginia is illustrated on slide seven. Bob will cover specific drivers in his prepared remarks, including the differentiated high quality and low risk nature of our data center pipeline. We are continuing to observe tangible data points that underscore the real-time nature of this accelerating demand trend. For instance, in 2025, weather-normal sales in the Dominion Energy Virginia LSE increased 5.4% and all of the top 20 peak demand days in the Dominion Zone have occurred in the last fourteen months.

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