Black Hills Corp. Reports 2026 Third-Quarter Results and Reaffirms 2026 Earnings Guidance
RAPID CITY, S.D., Nov. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today announced financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026. Net income available for common stock and earnings per share, diluted (EPS) for the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2026, compared to the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2025, were:
Third-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.54 compared to $0.34 in the same period in 2025. Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.57, compared to $0.45 in the same period in 2025. Adjusted EPS financial results benefited from $0.15 per share of new rates and rider recovery and $0.06 per share of weather favorability, which more than offset higher operating expenses and financing and depreciation costs driven by capital investment and new assets in service.
Year-to-date GAAP EPS was $2.76 compared to $2.58 in the same period in 2025. Year-to-date adjusted EPS was $2.89, compared to $2.68 in the same period in 2025. Adjusted EPS financial results benefited from $0.63 per share of new rates and rider recovery and customer growth, which more than offset the unfavorable impacts of $0.12 per share from mild weather, and financing and depreciation costs driven by capital investment and new assets in service.
“We reported excellent third-quarter results as our team achieved significant progress on our strategic initiatives,” said Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. “We delivered strong earnings and maintained our solid investment-grade credit ratings.
“We are excited to have reached agreements to serve Google's planned data center in Wyoming, as previously announced. We expect earnings to begin mid-2027 and increase to approximately $150 million of net income in 2030, consisting of returns on investment of $1.8 billion in 564 MW of new generation, and microgrid management fees based on contracted customer load. Additionally, we have requested Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCNs) for $686 million of electric transmission expansion investments in Wyoming to serve our large-load opportunities. In total, additional investment of $2.5 billion in generation and transmission investment to serve large-load data center demand in Wyoming represents significant upside to our current plan.
“Our 99-MW Lange II generation facility is on track to be in service in the fourth quarter, with construction in the final stages in South Dakota to replace aging infrastructure and support updated reserve margins. We continued to make regulatory progress during the quarter, obtaining approval for new rates for Arkansas Gas and South Dakota Electric.
“Given strong execution by our team in serving our customers and advancing our regulatory and growth initiatives, we expect to deliver in the upper half of our 4% to 6% long-term EPS growth target supported by our current plan for 2026 to 2030. With significant upside to serve large-load growth, we look forward to providing a comprehensive update for 2027 to 2031 as part of our year-end earnings release,” concluded Evans.
Merger with NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc.
THIRD-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 by year-end 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.
Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included below.
Three Months Ended Sept. 30, 2026, Compared to the Three Months Ended Sept. 30, 2025
Nine Months Ended Sept. 30, 2026, Compared to the Nine Months Ended Sept. 30, 2025
OPERATING STATISTICS
Electric Utilities
OPERATING STATISTICS (continued)
Gas Utilities
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
Black Hills will host a live conference call and webcast at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 5, 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.