Sign in
JT

James Thalacker

Managing Director and head of U.S. Utilities & Power research at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.

Far Hills, NJ, US

James Thalacker is a Managing Director and head of U.S. Utilities & Power research at BMO Capital Markets, specializing in equity analysis across utility and power sectors. He covers major companies such as Duke Energy, CMS Energy, and Constellation Energy, with a strong performance record that includes a 72% success rate and average return of 15.8% on stock recommendations, and notable single-call profits such as a 315% return on Vistra Corp. A veteran of the industry, Thalacker started his career as a financial analyst, served a decade as a portfolio manager at Millennium Management overseeing a $1.5 billion portfolio, and joined BMO in a senior analyst capacity prior to 2019. He holds relevant securities licenses and is registered with FINRA, recognized for providing detailed, unbiased industry coverage and actionable insights to institutional clients.

James Thalacker's questions to CENTERPOINT ENERGY (CNP) leadership

Question · Q4 2024

James Thalacker asked for details on CenterPoint's cost control program, specifically the levers it plans to use to achieve its 1-2% annual O&M reduction target despite increased spending on resiliency and vegetation management.

Answer

CFO Chris Foster affirmed the 1-2% O&M reduction target remains intact. He identified three key levers: 1) O&M savings from capital investments, such as grid automation reducing truck rolls; 2) standardization of legacy IT systems and vendor rationalization; and 3) empowering employees to identify and implement process efficiencies.

Ask follow-up questions

Best AI for Equity Research

Performance on expert-authored financial analysis tasks

Fintool-v490%
Claude Sonnet 4.555.3%
o348.3%
GPT 546.9%
Grok 440.3%
Qwen 3 Max32.7%