Alliant Energy Corporation

Energy's third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Today's conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Susan Gill, Investor Relations Manager at Alliant Energy. Please go ahead.

Good morning. I would like to thank all of you on the call and the webcast for joining us today. We appreciate your participation. With me here today are Lisa Barton, President and CEO, and Robert Durian, Executive Vice President and CFO. Following prepared remarks by Lisa and Robert, we will have time to take questions from the investment community. We issued a news release last night announcing Alliant Energy's third quarter and year-to-date financial results. We narrowed our 2025 earnings guidance range, provided 2026 earnings and dividend guidance, and provided our updated capital expenditure and financing plans through 2029. This release as well as the earnings presentation will be referenced during today's call and are available on the investor page of our website at www.alliantenergy.com. Before we begin, I need to remind you that the remarks we make on this call and our answers to your questions include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause actual results to be materially different. Those risks include, among others, matters discussed in Alliant Energy's news release issued last night and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. In addition, this presentation contains references to ongoing earnings per share. which is a non-GAAP financial measure. References to ongoing earnings include material charges or income that are not normally associated with ongoing operations. The reconciliation between ongoing and GAAP measures is provided in the earnings release, which is available on our website. At this point, I'll turn the call over to Lisa.

Thank you, Sue. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our third quarter earnings call. Today we're pleased to share our Q3 and year-to-date results, another quarter and year where we delivered solid financial and operational performance. We will also share the outlook for the remainder of this year, update you on our strategic initiatives, including our capital expenditures, financing plans through 2029, and discuss how we're positioned to accelerate and extend our earnings expectations. We are well positioned because of the Alliant Energy advantage in the realization of additional near-term load growth opportunities from data centers. We are continuing our consistent track record of execution and financial performance. Our performance is driven by our customer-focused investments and supportive regulatory environments, a winning strategy for driving continued growth while prioritizing affordability and reliable service. Our focus on customers and building stronger communities is at the heart of everything we do. With our compelling large load opportunities and diverse capital investment plans, we are well positioned to continue meeting customer, community, and investor expectations. We will cover each of these advantages today as shown on slide three as they power Alliance's future. To start, I am pleased to share updates for the quarter. Our projected peak demand growth by 2030 has increased to an industry-leading 50% through the execution of a fourth electric service agreement with QTS Madison. We signed a new agreement with Google that further accelerates the load ramp in Cedar Rapids, and we continue to cultivate an active pipeline of additional opportunities. Our focus has been on prioritizing plug-in ready sites which minimizes transmission investments and accelerates our ability to serve new customers. As a result, we can deliver project certainty, near-term earnings, and near-term positive community and customer benefits. Concurrently, we continue to execute well against our capital plans. We completed construction of the Grant and Wood County energy storage projects, totaling 175 megawatts. and completed the Neenah and Sheboygan Falls Unit 1 advanced gas path projects, which increases the efficiency and capability of each of these Wisconsin facilities. These low growth opportunities and continued investments in our existing generation show how we're continuing to efficiently grow at the pace of our customers to foster economic development across our service territory. Our financial highlights. We delivered strong performance through the first three quarters. We are maintaining our midpoint and narrowing our 2025 ongoing earnings guidance range to $3.17 to $3.23 per share, as shown on slide five. And we are trending towards the upper half of this range. As shown on slide six, we are initiating 2026 earnings guidance of $3.36 to $3.46 per share, which represents a 6.6% increase over our 2025 midpoint. Our 2026 annual common stock dividend target is $2.14 per share, a 5.4% increase from the 2025 target of $2.03 per share. And we're increasing our four-year capital expenditure plan by 17% to $13.4 billion. This translates to a projected rate base and investment compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2025 to 2029. We expect our compound annual growth rate across 2027 to 2029 to be 7% plus. This is based on the planned growth in rate base and the expected data center revenues during that period. We will continue to assess our long-term earnings growth potential as we execute on our data center expansion and load growth plans. As shown on slide nine, construction is well underway on three of the four data centers under agreement, two in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and one in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. This progress clearly demonstrates that we are focused on meaningful near-term opportunities, each of which serves to unlock the potential of our customers and communities. The contracted demand from the four facilities totals three gigawatts, translating to 50% peak demand growth by 2030. Accordingly, we've updated our four-year capital plan and will invest $9 billion in both new and existing generation. complementing investments we are making in electric gas and technology enhancements. Looking beyond the plan, we have a solid outlook of investment opportunities that extend our growth potential. Investment upside would be driven by additional load growth beyond what is included in the base plan. We are focused on enabling real near-term growth, attracting high impact projects to accelerate economic development. as part of our commitment to Iowa and Wisconsin, and providing investors with a clear view of well-developed opportunities. As we continue to expand our pipeline, we remain committed to proactive community and stakeholder engagement, positioning Alliance Energy and the communities we serve for growth. Advancing win-win outcomes that maintain affordable service for customers and communities ensures Alliant continues to deliver value while unlocking the potential of our customers and communities. To share a few examples of win-win outcomes, first, the Iowa retail construct stabilizes electric base rates for customers through the end of the decade, serving as a perfect example of a win for our existing customers through stable rates. We executed an agreement to enable fiber connectivity to one of our data center customers by leasing our underground conduit in our service territories, which provides substantial financial benefits to our existing customers. And third, last week, QTS advanced its Wisconsin data center plans with meaningful community contributions, full funding of all infrastructure, and the purchase of renewable energy credits from new projects, reducing costs and creating value for all WPL customers. Support from our regulators has been key to moving our plans forward. The Iowa Utilities Commission approved the individual customer rates for our two data centers currently under construction in Cedar Rapids. Through these filings, we've demonstrated that our approach effectively protects existing while allowing them to benefit from additional growth. And yesterday, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved our unanimous retail electric and gas rate review settlement for forward test periods 2026 and 2027. This rate review cost effectively advances responsible energy solutions, strengthens the safety and resilience of our energy network, and expands options available to customers. Our strategy is rooted in being a trusted partner in delivering outcomes customers and regulators seek with a strong focus on customer value and forward-looking investments. We are well positioned to provide competitive rates for both new and existing customers over the long term as a result of our economic development success and our continued focus on cost controls. The Alliant Energy Advantage is an acute focus on driving near-term growth, making smart investments to serve that growth while keeping bills low and benefiting new and existing customers. In short, being plug-in ready enables stronger alignment between our revenue growth and capital investments. I will now turn the call over to Robert to provide our financial results, earnings and dividend guidance, financing plans, and an update on our regulatory matters.