NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) reported lower first-quarter earnings on Wednesday despite revenue growth and contributions from acquired assets.

Unrealized hedge losses, mild Texas weather and higher supply costs weighed on quarterly results. The company reaffirmed full-year guidance, although adjusted earnings missed analyst estimates.

Earnings And Revenue Performance

NRG reported first-quarter GAAP net income of $125 million, down from $750 million a year earlier. GAAP EPS was 52 cents, down from $3.70 a year earlier. Adjusted EPS was $1.48, missing the $1.77 analyst estimate.

Revenue rose 19% to $10.256 billion, beating the $8.499 billion estimate and up from $8.585 billion a year earlier.

Adjusted net income fell to $308 million from $531 million, while adjusted EBITDA declined to $1.08 billion from $1.13 billion.

The company said lower natural gas prices drove unrealized hedge losses, while prior-year results benefited from hedge gains and insurance proceeds tied to the W.A. Parish facility.

“Our team executed well this quarter. The fleet performed, and our retail and commercial businesses delivered affordable, reliable power to the customers and communities that count on us,” said Robert Gaudette, President & CEO.

Operations And Capital Allocation

NRG said its fleet delivered 94% ERCOT in-the-money availability during Winter Storm Fern.

The company expects commercial operations at the 415 MW T.H. Wharton facility by the end of May 2026, while all three Texas Energy Fund projects totaling 1.5 GW remain on time and on budget.

Operating cash flow swung to negative $169 million from positive $855 million a year earlier. Free cash flow before growth investments was negative $66 million compared with positive $293 million last year.

Cash and cash equivalents fell to $178 million from $4.71 billion at year-end.

Total liquidity declined to $3.25 billion from $9.63 billion, primarily due to funding the LS Power and CPower acquisitions. Long-term debt increased to $19.78 billion from $16.41 billion at Dec. 31, 2025.

NRG said it plans to return $1 billion to shareholders through buybacks and about $407 million through dividends in 2026.

Through April 30, the company completed $817 million in share repurchases and paid $102 million in dividends.

Guidance And Outlook

NRG reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $7.90 to $9.90, compared with the $8.78 analyst estimate.

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

Conference Call Highlights

During the earnings call, NRG said it remains on track to meet 2026 guidance without contributions from large-load or new development projects, positioning data-center opportunities as upside.

Management said discussions tied to data-center demand remain active, with infrastructure and interconnection issues representing the main hurdles.

The company also expanded its PJM upgrade and conversion opportunity to as much as 2 GW from the previously disclosed 1 GW.

Price Action: NRG shares were trading 3.35% lower at $152.16 at the time of publication on Wednesday.

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