NextEra Holds 2026 Profit Target as Dominion Deal Faces Regulators

NextEra Energy is aiming to finish 2026 at the upper end of its adjusted earnings outlook, giving investors a measure of operating confidence as the company spends political capital to push through its proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy.

The Florida-based utility reaffirmed adjusted earnings guidance of $3.92 to $4.02 a share and said it is targeting the high end of that range. The company also repeated its forecast for at least 8% annual adjusted earnings growth through 2032, followed by the same target through 2035, based on 2025 adjusted earnings of $3.71 a share. NextEra said its dividend should grow roughly 10% through 2026, then about 6% annually from the end of 2026 through 2028.

That backdrop matters because the Dominion transaction is built around a long runway of regulated investment. NextEra expects the combination to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings once it closes, with the enlarged company targeting at least 9% annual adjusted earnings-per-share growth through 2032. Closing is expected in the second half of 2027, but the deal still needs shareholder votes and approvals from state and federal regulators.

To improve its odds in Virginia, NextEra and Dominion unveiled a richer package on September 14. Residential customers would receive $10 monthly bill credits for four years instead of two, while Dominion’s EnergyShare assistance program would receive an additional $100 million through 2038. The companies also pledged a $100 million workforce-development fund, 1,000 new direct jobs and a supplier program capable of directing up to $1 billion annually to Virginia businesses for five years.

The political target is clear. Regulators and lawmakers have been wary of allowing a larger utility to shift costs from Northern Virginia’s fast-growing data-center economy onto households and small businesses. The companies say the revised filing would protect residential customers from merger-related costs and preserve Dominion Energy Virginia’s local leadership and separate regulatory oversight.

For NextEra, the deal offers scale across four growing states and greater exposure to rising electricity demand from data centers, manufacturing and electrification. For Dominion shareholders, it offers a path into a larger platform. The obstacle is not the earnings model. It is proving that the merger’s promised efficiencies will reach ratepayers before regulators decide the risks are too concentrated.