Vistra's Fourth Quarter Earnings Fall Short of Projections, Year-Over-Year Revenue Grows

Vistra Corp. Q4 2025 Earnings Overview

Vistra Corp. (VST) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025, posting earnings of $2.18 per share. This figure fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.51 by 13.1%. Despite missing expectations, the company saw a significant year-over-year increase of 91.2% compared to $1.14 per share in the same period last year.

Revenue Performance

During the quarter, Vistra generated $4.58 billion in revenue, which was 14.1% below the consensus estimate of approximately $5.34 billion. However, this represents a 13.5% improvement over the $4.04 billion reported in the prior year’s fourth quarter.

For the full year 2025, total revenues reached $17.74 billion, up from $17.22 billion in 2024.

Price, Consensus, and EPS Surprise

Operational Highlights

• Annual expenses for fuel, purchased power, and delivery reached $9.1 billion, a 24.9% increase from $7.29 billion the previous year.
• Operating costs for the year rose to $2.8 billion, up 16.1% from $2.41 billion in 2024.
• Selling, general, and administrative costs totaled $1.71 billion, reflecting a 7.1% rise from $1.6 billion last year.
• Operating income for the year was $1.91 billion, down from $4.08 billion in the prior year.
• Interest and related expenses climbed to $1.18 billion, marking a 31% increase year-over-year.

Financial Position

• As of December 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents stood at $0.79 billion, compared to $1.19 billion at the end of 2024.
• Net cash from operating activities in 2025 was $4.07 billion, down from $4.56 billion the previous year.
• Capital expenditures for the year totaled $2.75 billion, up from $2.09 billion in 2024.
• The company’s available liquidity at year-end was $2.78 billion, sufficient to cover short-term needs.
• By February 18, 2026, Vistra had repurchased $5.9 billion in shares since November 2021. The company still has $1.8 billion authorized for buybacks, which it aims to complete by the end of 2027.

Outlook for 2026

Looking ahead, Vistra projects its Ongoing Operations Adjusted EBITDA for 2026 to be between $6.8 billion and $7.6 billion. The company also expects its Ongoing Operations Adjusted free cash flow before growth investments to range from $3.925 billion to $4.725 billion.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Vistra holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Recent Earnings Reports from Industry Peers

• Dominion Energy Inc. (D): Reported Q4 2025 operating earnings of $0.68 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.64. This marks a 17.2% increase from the previous year. Revenue reached $4.09 billion, exceeding expectations and up 20.4% year-over-year.
• FirstEnergy Corp. (FE): Achieved Q4 2025 operating earnings of $0.53 per share, slightly above the consensus estimate of $0.52. Last year’s figure was $0.67 per share. Operating revenue was $3.78 billion, beating estimates and rising 19.6% from the prior year.
• IDACORP, Inc. (IDA): Posted Q4 2025 earnings of $0.78 per share, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 and up 11.4% from $0.70 a year earlier. Total revenue for the quarter was $405.2 million, just below expectations but up 1.8% year-over-year.

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