NRG Energy (NRG) Earnings: Q3 2026 Results

The quarter ended September 30, 2026 and NRG Energy published the results on November 9, 2026. Revenue and diluted EPS are shown against Q3 2025, the same quarter a year earlier, which takes seasonal swings out of the comparison. NRG Energy reports EPS two ways: GAAP, under the accounting rules every US filer follows, and Adjusted EPS, which leaves out items the company considers outside its operating results. The release reconciles the two, and when they diverge, the reconciliation says why.

• NRG completed its acquisition of the LSP Portfolio from LS Power, 18 gas-fired and dual fuel plants totaling about 13 GW plus the CPower demand response business, on January 30, 2026, so Q3 2026 includes assets the year-ago quarter did not.
• NRG's release headlines basic GAAP EPS. Diluted GAAP EPS, shown here, was also $2.59 in Q3 2026 and $0.69 a year earlier. Adjusted EPS is calculated on basic shares.
• On November 9, 2026 NRG agreed to sell six gas-fired plants totaling 4.9 GW to LS Power for $4 billion, with closing expected in the second quarter of 2027.

Source: NRG Energy Q3 2026 results, November 9, 2026. Also in the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Figures as reported; checked against the release on November 10, 2026.

How NRG Energy splits revenue in its own release, under its own labels, for Q3 2026 against Q3 2025. Indented lines are parts of the line above them.

• NRG Energy's Texas revenue was $3.7 billion in Q3 2026, up 10% from $3.4 billion in Q3 2025, 39% of total revenue.
• NRG Energy's East revenue was $4.5 billion in Q3 2026, up 47% from $3.0 billion in Q3 2025, 47% of total revenue.
• NRG Energy's West/Other revenue was $692 million in Q3 2026, up 2% from $680 million in Q3 2025, 7% of total revenue.
• NRG Energy's Vivint Smart Home revenue was $609 million in Q3 2026, up 10% from $552 million in Q3 2025, 6% of total revenue.

Segment lines are the figures writers cite most often, because they show where the growth in a quarter came from. Companies redraw their segments from time to time and restate the prior year to match, so a year-ago figure here can differ from the one printed a year ago. When that has happened, the note above says so.

From the earnings release

NRG's guidance is given in tables. For 2026 it reaffirmed Adjusted EPS of $7.90 to $9.90, Adjusted EBITDA of $5,325 million to $5,825 million and FCFbG of $2,800 million to $3,300 million. For 2027 it initiated Adjusted EPS of $8.05 to $10.05 (midpoint $9.05) and Adjusted EBITDA of $5,500 million to $6,000 million, which do not reflect the planned 4.9 GW asset sale. NRG does not guide to GAAP net income.

In its Q3 2026 release, NRG Energy said:

“The Company plans to return $1.0 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and approximately $407 million through common stock dividends in 2026, as part of its previously announced 2026 capital allocation plan.”

“The Company is also announcing its 2027 base capital allocation plan, which includes $1 billion of debt reduction, $1 billion of share repurchases and an 8% increase in the annual common dividend to $2.05 per share”

“The Company does not guide to GAAP Net Income due to the impact of such fair value adjustments related to derivatives in a given year.”

Source: NRG Energy Q3 2026 release, Nov 9, 2026.

This is the company's own guidance as of Nov 9, 2026, quoted as given. Walnut does not make forecasts of its own. Analyst estimates for the coming quarters are on the NRG forecast page.

Revenue and diluted EPS for the last 5 quarters. Each date links to that quarter's release.

Revenue and GAAP diluted EPS, each as first reported in that quarter's release.

We do not hold a confirmed date for NRG Energy's next report. Companies post the date on their investor relations site a few weeks ahead, usually with the time of the conference call.

Each quarter keeps its own page with the figures as reported, so a link to one stays pointed at the same numbers after the next report.

• Q3 2026 (this page), reported Nov 9, 2026

NRG Energy reports four segments: Texas, East, West/Other and Vivint Smart Home. Of $9,466 million in Q3 2026 revenue, Texas brought in $3,728 million, East $4,464 million, West/Other $692 million and Vivint Smart Home $609 million, less $27 million of corporate eliminations. (NRG Energy Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy's revenue is mostly retail: $8,193 million of retail revenue in the quarter, split between Home customers ($4,070 million) and Business customers ($4,123 million). Wholesale lines grew far faster after the LSP Portfolio deal, with energy revenue of $780 million against $148 million a year earlier and capacity revenue of $359 million against $87 million. (NRG Energy Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy's East segment revenue rose from $3,030 million to $4,464 million. NRG completed the acquisition of the LSP Portfolio on January 30, 2026, adding 18 natural gas-fired and dual fuel facilities totaling approximately 13 GW and the CPower demand response platform, which the 10-Q says doubles NRG's generation capacity. Power generation sold rose to 23,379 GWh from 11,241 GWh. (NRG Energy Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy attributes the year-over-year gain in net income to the LS Power portfolio, higher realized capacity prices in the East and higher margins in Texas, including favorable weather. Texas cooling degree days were 1,959 against 1,659 a year earlier. Vivint Smart Home's growth came from more new customers and higher monthly recurring service margin per customer. (NRG Energy Q3 2026 release, Nov 9, 2026; NRG Energy Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy ended the quarter with 5,520 thousand retail Home customers, against 5,610 thousand a year earlier, and 2,593 thousand Vivint Smart Home customers, against 2,414 thousand. In PJM's auction for the 2028/2029 delivery year, NRG cleared approximately 6,839 MW at the $325/MW-day cap and expects approximately $811 million of capacity revenue from that fleet for the year. (NRG Energy Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy's GAAP diluted EPS was $2.59 in Q3 2026 and its Adjusted EPS $4.68, against $0.69 and $2.78 a year earlier. The gap is mainly derivatives and one-off items: NRG's adjusted figures exclude a $155 million mark to market loss on economic hedges ($0.74 a share), driven largely by lower natural gas prices, and $172 million related to termination of acquired hedges. NRG notes the hedges are marked to market each period while the related customer contracts are not. (NRG Energy Q3 2026 release, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy's interest expense rose to $302 million from $187 million, and depreciation and amortization to $510 million from $360 million, both tied to the LS Power assets and the acquisition financing. The effective tax rate was 28.0%, against 36.1% a year earlier. (NRG Energy Q3 2026 release, Nov 9, 2026; NRG Energy Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy's diluted weighted average shares were 210 million, against 195 million a year earlier, because the LSP Portfolio purchase price included 24.25 million NRG shares. NRG completed $977 million of share repurchases and paid $302 million of common dividends in 2026 through October 31, and its board approved an additional $1.0 billion of buybacks on November 6, 2026. (NRG Energy Q3 2026 release, Nov 9, 2026; NRG Energy Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Nov 9, 2026)

Diluted EPS divides net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding in the quarter, plus the shares that options and other equity awards could add. Buybacks shrink that count and lift EPS for the same profit; share issuance and stock awards enlarge it.

NRG Energy gives annual guidance in its release on non-GAAP measures only. With Q3 2026 results it reaffirmed 2026 guidance of Adjusted EPS of $7.90 to $9.90 and Adjusted EBITDA of $5,325 to $5,825 million, and initiated 2027 guidance of Adjusted EPS of $8.05 to $10.05, a $9.05 midpoint, and Adjusted EBITDA of $5,500 to $6,000 million. It does not guide to GAAP net income because of derivative fair value adjustments. (NRG Energy Q3 2026 release, Nov 9, 2026)

NRG Energy's 2027 guidance does not reflect its agreement to sell six natural-gas fired plants totaling 4.9 GW to LS Power for $4 billion, expected to close in the second quarter of 2027. NRG plans to use the proceeds for $3 billion of share repurchases across 2026 and 2027 and an additional $2 billion of debt reduction, and says it will update 2027 guidance after closing. (NRG Energy Q3 2026 release, Nov 9, 2026)

A consensus figure is the average of the models published by the analysts who cover NRG Energy, collected by a data provider and revised up to the day of the report. A quarter that lands above it says how expectations were set as much as how the business did, and the share price on the day also reflects the guidance and the lines no consensus covers.

The consensus figures on this page are Yahoo Finance's, as pulled on the date shown. Each comes with the number of analysts behind it; the smaller that number, the more one revised estimate can move the average.

The figures below are the ones NRG Energy's own release and filings put weight on for Q3 2026, with the latest reported value for each.

What the quarter means for a holding is a separate question from what it reported. The case for and against owning NRG is on is NRG a buy or a sell?, what analysts expect next is on the NRG forecast, and what the company does is on the NRG Energy (NRG) stock page.

Every number on this page can be traced to a document NRG Energy published. Checking one takes a couple of minutes, and it is worth doing before you quote a figure anywhere.

• The results release is the document linked in the source line above. Companies publish it on their investor relations site at the moment results go out, and it carries the headline tables: revenue, operating income, net income and EPS for the quarter and the year-ago quarter.
• The same release is filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K under Item 2.02, usually on the day of the report. The SEC copy does not change after the fact, which makes it the safer thing to link when you cite a number.
• The quarterly report (Form 10-Q) follows within a few weeks and carries the full financial statements, the segment note and management's discussion of what changed. The fourth quarter is covered by the annual report (Form 10-K) instead.
• Restated comparisons are flagged in the notes on this page. When a company redraws its segments or changes how it adjusts EPS, it restates the year-ago column, so the year-ago figure in a new release can differ from the one printed a year ago. This page always uses the comparison in the newer release, because that is the like-for-like one.

A walk-through of every line in a release, with what each one tells you, is in how to read an earnings report.