NiSource's data-center growth story meets storm costs and a governor's probe
Data centers and $28.6B buildout drive growth NiSource won Indiana approval for its Amazon and Alphabet data center contracts, which should return about $1.4 billion in bill relief to existing customers. It has 3 gigawatts of data centers in talks and plans $28.6 billion of investment through 2030, growing its rate base 9-11% a year.
This is the core long-term force lifting NI: new large power customers and a big regulated construction plan.
Weak Q2 profit, but guidance held Second-quarter profit fell to $45.5 million from $102.2 million, with adjusted earnings of $0.16 a share, hurt by record tornadoes and higher storm and labor costs. Management still reaffirmed full-year guidance of $2.02-$2.07 and 6-8% long-term growth, so investors looked past the weak quarter.
The earnings drop is the main near-term drag, while reaffirmed guidance is the offset that keeps the story intact.
Indiana governor seeks NIPSCO investigation Governor Mike Braun asked the state consumer office to file a complaint over NIPSCO's slow storm restoration, with 9,000-plus customers still out nearly two weeks later. A regulatory probe could bring penalties, added costs, or pressure on future rate requests, weighing on NI shares.
This is the newest and clearest risk to NI: regulatory scrutiny that could cost money and hurt trust.
Dividend kept steady, funds still hold NI NiSource declared its usual $0.30 quarterly dividend, payable in August and again in November, keeping its long record of annual increases. Goldman Sachs also listed NI among AI infrastructure stocks bought by both hedge funds and mutual funds, a sign of steady institutional demand.
Shows the income and fund-ownership support that underpins NI's valuation while growth projects play out.