Key Highlights

  • The company raised its 2026 EPS guidance to $3.10 to $3.20.
  • Nine-month EPS was $1.62, compared with $1.36 a year earlier.
  • The Utility added 17,000 connections over the 12 months ended September 30, 2026, a growth rate of 1.8%.
  • NW Natural invested $373 million in its gas and water systems in the first nine months.

NW Natural Holding Company (NYSE:NWN), the parent of a Natural Gas utility serving Oregon and Washington and a water utility business, reported third-quarter 2026 results and raised its full-year 2026 Earnings Per Share guidance. The company posted a third-quarter net loss per share of $0.71, but its nine-month EPS of $1.62 was higher than the prior-year figure. The release also points to constructive regulatory outcomes and steady customer growth.

Gas and water utilities earn returns on the Capital they invest, so the company's earnings tend to grow with its rate base. That is why the company's guidance raise, combined with its Investment figures, points to a Business whose earnings are tied to infrastructure spending rather than to short-term operating swings. The third-quarter net loss reflects the seasonality of a utility's earnings, which are concentrated in colder months.

Earnings and Guidance Revision

Reported EPS for the first nine months of 2026 was $1.62, compared with $1.36 in the same period of 2025. Adjusted EPS for the prior-year period was $1.52, which is the comparison the company uses for its adjusted measures. The third-quarter net loss of $0.71 per share was slightly narrower than the $0.73 loss a year earlier.

The company raised its 2026 EPS guidance to a range of $3.10 to $3.20. The previous range was $2.95 to $3.15, and the prior guidance had pointed to the upper half of that range. The revised figures shift the full-year range higher.

Rate relief is typically phased in over several years, so the three step increases described in the release give investors a schedule of expected Revenue growth from the company's regulated operations. The release's reference to a 50% Equity Capital Structure indicates the mix of financing that regulators have accepted as a basis for the company's returns.

Regulatory Outcomes and Rate Relief

The release describes constructive regulatory outcomes in Washington and Oregon and a settlement in a rate case involving its SiEnergy business in Texas. Regulatory decisions set the rates a utility may charge, so favorable outcomes help determine how much of its investment the company can recover in customer prices.

One multi-year rate order provides a $20.1 million revenue increase in its first year, beginning August 1, 2026, followed by increases of $7.5 million and $7.4 million in the next two years. The order assumes a capital structure of 50% common equity and 50% long-term debt.

Customer growth of 1.8% is a steady pace for a regulated utility. Each new connection adds to the number of customers paying rates that cover fixed costs, so growth in the customer base helps spread the cost of the infrastructure the company builds. The release does not disaggregate growth between gas and water connections.

Customer Growth and Capital Investment

The company added 17,000 gas and water utility connections over the 12 months ended September 30, 2026, a growth rate of 1.8%. Customer additions expand the base over which fixed infrastructure costs are recovered, and they signal Demand for the company's service in its territories.

NW Natural invested $373 million in its gas and water systems during the first nine months of 2026. The investment supports the company's effort to maintain and expand its networks, and it contributes to the rate base on which regulated earnings are calculated.

The combination of a 6% to 8% rate base growth target and a 4% to 6% EPS growth target is consistent with a regulated utility that expects its earnings to grow in line with its investment program. Readers should note that earnings growth can differ from rate base growth in any year, depending on financing costs and allowed returns.

The reaffirmed targets provide a framework for evaluating whether the company is executing its capital plan. The release does not change those targets, which means the revised 2026 guidance reflects progress against the existing plan rather than a new long-term direction.

Long-Term Targets

The company reaffirmed a rate base growth expectation of 6% to 8% through 2030. That expectation is driven by planned capital expenditures of $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion over the period from 2026 to 2030. The release also reaffirmed a long-term EPS growth target of 4% to 6%, with potential to reach 5% if conditions allow.

The long-term targets link the near-term guidance to a multi-year program of infrastructure spending. Investors can compare future quarterly results with the 4% to 6% EPS target to judge whether the capital plan is translating into earnings growth as expected.

Outlook

NW Natural's third-quarter report combines a higher 2026 EPS range, customer growth of 1.8%, rate relief in multiple jurisdictions and a multi-year capital plan. The company's execution on that plan, and the pace of regulatory approvals, will shape its earnings path through 2030.