Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results that management said capped another year of execution as the company marked its 25th anniversary. On the call, President and CEO Calvin Butler and CFO Jeanne Jones emphasized above-guidance earnings, continued top-tier reliability performance, and an updated capital plan that increases the company’s emphasis on transmission investment amid rising load growth expectations.
2025 earnings and quarterly results
Jones said Exelon delivered 2025 GAAP earnings of $2.73 per share and adjusted (non-GAAP) operating earnings of $2.77 per share for the full year. For the fourth quarter, the company earned $0.58 per share on a GAAP basis and $0.59 per share on an adjusted basis.
Guidance and long-term growth outlook
Exelon initiated 2026 operating earnings guidance of $2.81 to $2.91 per share. Jones said the implied midpoint growth relative to the midpoint of Exelon’s 2025 estimated guidance range is above 6%, citing growth that is “aligned with completed rate cases” and continued cost management. For the first quarter of 2026, Jones said the company expects earnings to be approximately 31% of the midpoint of the full-year guidance range, consistent with historical averages, reflecting regulatory items, revenue shaping, O&M timing, and normal weather and storm conditions.
Butler reiterated Exelon’s longer-term targets, pointing to returns on equity in the 9% to 10% range, rate base growth of approximately 8%, and annualized earnings growth of 5% to 7% through 2029, with the expectation of being near the top end of that range. In the Q&A, management also pointed to the role of AFUDC associated with transmission capital as a factor supporting earnings growth alongside rate base expansion.
Regulatory activity and rate case updates
Executives described 2025 as an active regulatory year, with several matters reaching resolution and new filings setting up the 2026 calendar.
- Atlantic City Electric: Jones said the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a settlement in November allowing recovery of $54 million tied to grid improvements and modernization investments at a 9.6% ROE, with new rates effective in early December 2025.
- Delmarva Power Gas (Delaware): The Delaware Public Service Commission issued a final order in December approving a settlement supporting a $21.5 million revenue requirement and 9.6% ROE, tied to reliability investments and LNG plant upgrades. Rates took effect at the beginning of 2026.
- BGE and ComEd reconciliations: Final orders were received in December providing clarity on recovery of investments from 2023 and 2024. Jones said Exelon was “disappointed” to receive about half of the BGE reconciliation and subsequently realigned capital.
- Pepco Maryland: The base rate case remains on schedule, with intervener testimony filed at the end of January and a final order expected in August 2026.
- Delmarva Power Electric (Delaware): In December, Delmarva filed an electric base rate case requesting a $44.6 million net revenue increase to support reliability, storm remediation, and storm damage costs, and requested a bill stabilization adjustment. Interim rates are expected to be implemented on July 9, according to Jones.
- ComEd multi-year grid plan: Filed January 16, the plan seeks approval for an investment program covering 2028 through 2031 aligned with Illinois’ CEJA and CRGA priorities. A final order is expected in December 2026, and ComEd expects its next rate filing in 2027.
In response to analyst questions, Butler said Exelon is evaluating the best approach for Pennsylvania regulatory actions, emphasizing that decisions are being weighed through the lens of customer affordability and maintaining a reliable and resilient grid.
Capital plan increases, with transmission leading the growth
Exelon updated its outlook for utility capital spending and rate base through 2029, highlighting a larger plan and a heavier transmission mix. Jones said the company plans to invest nearly $10 billion in 2026 and $41.3 billion over the next four years, an increase of $3.3 billion, or 9%, versus the prior four-year planning period.
Jones said about 70% of the incremental increase—or $2.3 billion—is attributable to incremental transmission investments, driven by high-voltage investment needs, capacity expansion to support large loads, evolving generation supply, and resilience needs tied to increasingly volatile weather. She added that much of the additional transmission spending relates to system performance and capacity expansion across Exelon’s platform, including support for incremental data center load and replacement of aging infrastructure.
On specific transmission programs, management highlighted:
- PJM Reliability Window: Butler said $1.2 billion of incremental Exelon investment was recommended, including a jointly developed solution with NextEra.
- Large projects: Exelon’s plan includes an additional year of investment for Brandon Shores and Tri-County, with those projects going into service from 2028 through 2030, and early spend for MISO Tranche 2.1, which Jones said is expected to go into service in 2034.
- Longer-term opportunity set: Jones said Exelon now has line of sight to $12 billion to $17 billion of additional transmission opportunities over the next decade, with more than 60% associated with existing infrastructure.
Jones said Exelon projects 7.9% annualized rate base growth over the next four years, reflecting an increase from the prior plan and a projected addition of nearly $23 billion in rate base from 2025 to 2029. Butler also cited anticipated load growth exceeding 3% through 2029 and said the company’s large-load pipeline is increasingly supported by signed transmission security agreements.
Affordability, supply-side concerns, and financing
Management repeatedly returned to affordability themes. Butler said Exelon executed a $60 million customer relief fund in the past year for low- and moderate-income customers facing higher supply costs. Jones also argued that Exelon’s cost discipline has helped keep customer rates 19% to 20% below national averages, and said the company is targeting no more than 2.5% adjusted O&M growth through 2029 after nearly flat expense growth from 2024 to 2026.
On supply, Butler and company executives said the “supply challenge is real,” and described engagement with federal, RTO, and state stakeholders. They referenced a Charles River Associates study that they said estimated utility-generated power could have saved PJM customers $9.6 billion to $20 billion in the 2028–2029 delivery year while reducing the risk of future outage events from energy shortages by about 85%.
On financing, Jones said Exelon issued $1 billion of convertible debt in December, pulling forward more than half of planned long-term corporate debt needs for 2026. Through 2029, she said the company expects to fund the $41.3 billion capital plan with $22 billion of internally generated cash flow, $13 billion of utility debt, and $3 billion of holding company debt, with the remainder funded with a “modest amount of equity.” Jones reiterated a policy of funding incremental capital needs with approximately 40% equity and said Exelon’s equity needs total $3.4 billion over the four-year plan, noting that $700 million was priced in 2025 using forward contracts under its ATM program.
About Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC)
Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC) is a Chicago-based energy company that operates primarily as a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company. The company’s businesses focus on the delivery of electricity and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as investments in grid modernization, customer energy solutions and demand-side programs. Exelon’s operations emphasize reliable service delivery, infrastructure maintenance and regulatory compliance across its utility footprint.
Formed in 2000 through the merger of Unicom and PECO Energy, Exelon historically combined generation and regulated utility businesses.
