FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) executives on the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call highlighted a “transformative” year marked by higher earnings, stepped-up capital spending, improved reliability metrics, and a significantly expanded long-term investment plan aimed at modernizing its electric grid and supporting load growth.
2025 results and operational performance
Chairman, President and CEO Brian Tierney said the company “delivered strong financial results across all of our key metrics” in 2025 and advanced regulatory strategies, particularly in Ohio. FirstEnergy reported 2025 GAAP earnings of $1.77 per share, up from $1.70 in 2024. Core earnings were $2.55 per share, which management said was at the top end of its revised and increased guidance range and represented a 7.6% increase from 2024.
FirstEnergy declared quarterly dividends totaling $1.78 per share, a 5% increase from 2024, which Tierney described as consistent with a plan to provide “a solid dividend yield and an attractive total shareholder return.”
$36 billion five-year capital plan and growth framework
Management introduced a $36 billion, five-year capital investment program focused on improving reliability and grid resiliency. Tierney said the updated plan is nearly a 30% increase from the prior five-year plan and is expected to support core EPS compounded annual growth “near the top end” of the company’s 6% to 8% target for 2026 to 2030.
The company said the plan includes $19 billion of transmission investments across standalone transmission and integrated segments, a 35% increase versus the previous plan. Company-wide, management expects the updated plan to translate into 10% rate base growth over the planning period. CFO Jon Taylor added that 100% of the capital plan is tied to “awarded, approved, and contracted projects,” emphasizing that projects requiring uncertain future approvals are not included.
Taylor said the plan’s investment mix includes roughly 75% in formula rate programs. He also said total distribution investments are increasing 25%, or $3 billion, from the prior plan, reflecting higher reliability investments and core infrastructure upgrades. He pointed to Pennsylvania as the largest increase, citing accelerated spending under the long-term infrastructure improvement program and recovery through the distribution system improvement charge mechanism.
West Virginia generation filing and additional upside opportunities
Tierney outlined incremental investment opportunities beyond the base plan, led by a proposed new generating facility in West Virginia. The company filed a request for a 1.2 gigawatt combined-cycle natural gas facility to be located in Maidsville, West Virginia. Management said it evaluated a build-own-transfer request for proposals alongside a self-build approach and concluded an engineering, procurement, and construction approach was “the most prudent and cost-effective solution” for customers.
FirstEnergy said it anticipates regulatory approval in the second half of the year and expects the facility to be operational in 2031. Once approved by the West Virginia Public Service Commission, the company said it would add the $2.5 billion investment to its financial plan, increasing its consolidated rate base CAGR from 10% to 11%. Tierney said that if the initial project is approved, the company would seek additional generation in the state to support growing data center activity, noting West Virginia’s openness to regulated generation investment.
In response to questions, Taylor discussed a proposed financing structure for the West Virginia generation investment, including targeting 50% of total investment value from a U.S. Department of Energy loan, approximately 15% from cash recovery during construction, and the remaining portion potentially funded through new equity. Management said it filed an application with the DOE for a low-interest loan and expects a decision before year-end; Taylor said the loan would save customers more than $200 million over a 30-year term versus traditional financing.
Transmission investment backdrop, data centers, and affordability focus
FirstEnergy also detailed the long-run need for transmission spending. Tierney said the company has invested $17 billion in transmission since 2014, addressing about one-third of transmission lines and major substation assets. He said the company expects approximately 70% of lines and 30% of substation assets to reach end of life over the next decade, driving ongoing investment needs. Since 2022, management said FirstEnergy’s transmission segments have been awarded about $5 billion in competitive transmission projects through PJM’s open window process, and it expects the next solicitation in 2026 to be similar in scope, with PJM board approval of the next round anticipated in the first quarter of 2027.
Executives repeatedly emphasized affordability. Tierney said that in deregulated states, the company controls about 32% of the total customer electric bill, while the generation component represents about 60%. He said customer bills are approximately 20% below the in-state peer average and remain at or below 2.5% of “share of wallet,” adding that bills are expected to remain below current peer rates by 2030. Management cited baseline O&M savings of 15%, or more than $200 million, since 2022 and noted an Ohio legislative change that reduces property tax assessments by about $100 million in 2027, which the company expects to benefit customer bills in its upcoming three-year rate plan.
On data centers, Tierney said the most current activity is in FirstEnergy’s Maryland service territory, with additional activity in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Taylor added that the company has a 13 gigawatt data center pipeline through 2035 and said each additional gigawatt of contracted or active demand could drive roughly $250 million of incremental transmission capital investment, though those potential investments are not included in the current five-year plan.
Regulatory agenda and financing assumptions
Taylor said FirstEnergy plans to file traditional base rate cases in Maryland and West Virginia later in 2026, and to file an Ohio three-year rate plan early in the second quarter. He said the company anticipates requested rate increases at or below annual inflation compared with the current residential bill.
On financing, management said the plan targets investment-grade credit metrics and includes:
- $16 billion in new long-term debt issuances over the plan period
- Up to $2 billion in equity needs, including the company’s $100 million annual dividend reinvestment program
- Annual common equity issuances, including DRIP, averaging about 1% of current market capitalization through the forecast period, with the potential use of hybrids to reduce common equity needs
Management also said cash from operations is expected to fund about 65% of the investment plan, and it addressed the corporate alternative minimum tax, saying the expected impact of tax prepayments on cash flow is less than 2% and does not change the overall plan.
In closing remarks, Tierney said the company enters 2026 with momentum and a “disciplined plan to work safely, improve reliability, maintain affordability, and deliver sustainable growth.”
About FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE)
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.
FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.
