NRG Energy (NRG) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Exceeded raised 2025 guidance, marking the third consecutive year of above-guidance delivery and record financial and operational results.

• Closed the LS Power acquisition, doubling the generation fleet to 25 GW, expanding natural gas assets and demand response capabilities via CPower.

• Integration of LS Power is ahead of plan, with performance exceeding underwriting assumptions and 11 months of contribution included in 2026 guidance.

• Targeting at least 14% annual growth in adjusted EPS and free cash flow per share from 2026 through 2030, with significant growth initiatives underway.

• Strong focus on long-term contracts for new large loads, especially data centers, and scaling demand response capabilities.

Financial highlights

• 2025 adjusted EPS was $8.24, up 21% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA reached $4.087 billion, up 8%.

• Free cash flow before growth totaled $2.21 billion, a 7% increase from 2024, with FCFbG per share at $11.63, up 12%.

• Returned $1.6 billion to shareholders in 2025 via repurchases and dividends; dividend increased by 8% for the sixth consecutive year.

• Achieved top decile safety performance for the 10th consecutive year.

• Revenue for 2025 was $30.7 billion, up from $28.1 billion in 2024.

Outlook and guidance

• Reaffirmed 2026 guidance: adjusted EBITDA $5.325–$5.825 billion (midpoint $5.575 billion), adjusted net income $1.685–$2.115 billion, adjusted EPS $7.90–$9.90 (midpoint $8.90), free cash flow before growth $2.8–$3.3 billion (midpoint $3.05 billion).

• Long-term outlook targets >14% CAGR in adjusted EPS and free cash flow per share through 2030, assuming flat power and capacity prices.

• Guidance does not include upside from new data center contracts or higher power prices.

• At least 1 GW of long-term data center contracts targeted for 2026, not included in current guidance.

• 2026 priorities include integrating LS Power, delivering $750 million organic growth plan (2025–2029), and returning $1.4 billion to shareholders.