Black Hills Corp. Reports 2026 Second-Quarter Results and Reaffirms 2026 Earnings Guidance
RAPID CITY, S.D., Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. Net income available for common stock and earnings per share, diluted (EPS) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, were:
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Second-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.50 compared to $0.38 in the same period in 2025. Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.54, excluding $0.04 of after-tax merger-related costs, compared to $0.38 in the same period in 2025. Financial results benefited from new rates and rider recovery, which more than offset higher financing and depreciation costs driven by capital investment and new assets in service.
Year-to-date GAAP EPS was $2.23 compared to $2.24 in the same period in 2025. Year-to-date adjusted EPS was $2.33, excluding $0.10 of after-tax merger-related costs, compared to $2.24 in the same period in 2025. Financial results benefited from new rates and rider recovery and cost management activities. These benefits more than offset $0.18 per share of impacts from mild weather and the impacts of higher financing and depreciation costs driven by capital investment and new assets in service.
“I’m extremely proud of our team and all we’ve accomplished in the first half of the year, delivering strong financial results and meaningful progress on our strategic initiatives,” said Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. “We continued to advance our regulatory requests and execute our customer-focused capital plan, which includes our new 99-MW Lange II generation facility in South Dakota to be in service by year-end.
“We are also focused on serving our large-load demand pipeline of more than 3 GW in Wyoming. Our current financial plan includes 600 MW by 2030 driven by Microsoft’s expansion of existing operations and Meta’s new AI data center. We continue to make progress toward definitive agreements to serve a 1.8 GW data center project in Cheyenne, and other large-load customers, which would be additive to our plan.
“These significant large-load opportunities and the solid performance of our core businesses provide confidence in our ability to deliver in the upper half of our 4% to 6% long-term EPS growth target, and create compelling upside potential. We also look forward to a brighter energy future for all our stakeholders through our merger with NorthWestern Energy with only one regulatory approval remaining,” concluded Evans.
Merger with NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc.
SECOND-QUARTER 2026 HIGHLIGHTS AND RECENT UPDATES
Electric Utilities
Gas Utilities
Corporate and Other
2026 ADJUSTED EARNINGS GUIDANCE REAFFIRMED
Black Hills reaffirms its guidance for 2026 adjusted EPS* to be in the range of $4.25 to $4.45, based on the following assumptions:
This guidance excludes the expected merger with NorthWestern Energy, which is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
* The 2026 Adjusted EPS guidance shown above is a forward-looking, non-GAAP financial measure. The company is not able to provide comparable GAAP EPS guidance due to items that are not considered representative of the company's underlying operating performance that cannot be reasonably quantified for the full-year period. These items include merger-related costs the company expects to incur in 2026, in addition to any other unplanned items that may affect GAAP results in 2026.
USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
As noted in this earnings release, in addition to presenting its earnings information in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the company has presented non-GAAP Adjusted earnings and Adjusted EPS, which reflect adjustments for expenses, gains and losses that the company believes do not reflect ongoing core operating performance, such as costs related to the pending merger with NorthWestern. The company’s management uses non-GAAP measures for financial planning and analysis, for reporting of results to the Board of Directors, in determining performance-based compensation and communicating its earnings outlook to analysts and investors. Non-GAAP financial measures are intended to supplement investors’ understanding of our performance and should not be considered alternatives for financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to those of other companies.
Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included below.
BLACK HILLS CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS
(Minor differences may result due to rounding)
CONSOLIDATING INCOME STATEMENTS
(Minor differences may result due to rounding)
Three Months Ended June 30, 2026 Compared to the Three Months Ended June 30, 2025
Six Months Ended June 30, 2026, Compared to the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025
OPERATING STATISTICS
Electric Utilities
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OPERATING STATISTICS (continued)
Gas Utilities
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CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
Black Hills will host a live conference call and webcast at 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, to discuss the company's financial results.
To participate by phone and ask a question during the live broadcast, participants can access the event directly at Black Hills Corp. Conference Call. Please allow at least five minutes to register. Upon registration, dial-in information will be provided, including a personal identification number.
To access a listen-only webcast and view presentation slides, please register at Black Hills Corp. Webcast. At the conclusion of the call, a replay of the broadcast will be available at this link and at Black Hills’ investor relations website for up to one year.
ABOUT BLACK HILLS CORP.
Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer-focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves more than 1.37 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. This includes, without limitations, our 2026 earnings guidance, long-term growth target and our expectations for regulatory approvals for and the closing of the merger with NorthWestern Energy. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time, and the following:
New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.