NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG) stock traded lower Tuesday after the power and smart-home company reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings below expectations, despite stronger-than-expected revenue and reaffirmed full-year guidance.

Adjusted EPS of $1.49 missed the $1.72 estimate, while revenue rose 11% to $7.481 billion and beat the $7.312 billion estimate.

Earnings And One-Time Impacts

GAAP net income was $506 million, or $2.32 per basic share, compared with a $104 million loss, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted net income declined to $315 million from $339 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose 34% to $1.217 billion.

GAAP results benefited from the LS Power portfolio acquisition, higher realized East capacity prices, and unrealized, noncash gains on economic hedges. Mild weather and higher supply costs partly offset those gains.

Adjusted earnings reflected higher interest expense and depreciation and amortization related to the LS Power acquisition.

Segment Performance

Texas adjusted EBITDA fell 26% to $381 million on higher supply costs, mild weather, and increased expenses for new generation assets.

East adjusted EBITDA rose to $469 million from $99 million, driven by acquired assets, CPower, and higher capacity prices, partly offset by Winter Storm Fern costs and lower gas margins.

Vivint Smart Home adjusted EBITDA increased 16% to $301 million, while West/Other rose to $66 million from $39 million.

Cash Flow And Growth Projects

Operating cash flow rose to $1.117 billion from $451 million, while free cash flow before growth investments increased to $1.025 billion from $914 million.

NRG ended June with $162 million in cash, $5.280 billion in liquidity, and $23.256 billion in debt and finance leases.

The 415-megawatt T.H. Wharton facility began commercial operations, while two additional Texas Energy Fund projects remain on time and on budget for mid-2028 completion.

NRG also advanced a 1.2-gigawatt Texas project with a global cloud and AI hyperscaler. The $3.2 billion facility targets late-2029 operations and about $500 million in annual adjusted EBITDA.

Guidance And Capital Returns

NRG affirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $7.90 to $9.90, compared with the $9.23 estimate.

It also maintained adjusted EBITDA guidance of $5.325 billion to $5.825 billion and free cash flow before growth investments of $2.8 billion to $3.3 billion.

The company plans $1 billion in share repurchases and about $407 million in common dividends during 2026.

NRG Price Action: NRG Energy shares were down 14.47% at $118.42 at the time of publication on Tuesday. The stock is trading at a 52-week low, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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