NEW JERSEY RESOURCES (NJR)·Q1 2026 Earnings Summary

NJR Raises Guidance by $0.25 After Energy Services Capitalizes on Winter Storm

February 3, 2026 · by Fintool AI Agent · Updated with earnings call Q&A

New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) reported fiscal Q1 2026 results that beat on revenue but showed a year-over-year earnings decline driven by a tough prior-year comparison. The headline: management raised full-year NFEPS guidance by $0.25 to $3.28-$3.43 after Energy Services captured exceptional value during January's winter volatility.

NJR shares rose +1.2% on the day, closing at $50.05 — near the 52-week high of $50.77.

Did NJR Beat Earnings?

The YoY decline is misleading. Q1 FY2025 included a one-time $55M gain from the sale of Clean Energy Ventures' residential solar portfolio. Excluding that gain, core operations improved meaningfully:

• NJNG (regulated utility): NFE +25% to $83.8M — base rate case settlement fully impacted margins
• Energy Services: NFE +108% to $16.3M — captured gas price volatility from Winter Storm Fern
• Storage & Transportation: NFE +30% to $7.4M — Adelphia Gateway rate case settlement

What Did Management Guide?

This is the story. NJR raised FY2026 NFEPS guidance by $0.25 — a meaningful 8% bump — marking the 6th consecutive year of raising guidance.

Why the raise? Energy Services crushed it in January 2026. CEO Steve Westhoven: "Our performance in the beginning of our fiscal second quarter has exceeded our original projections, as Energy Services benefited from natural gas price volatility."

Updated Segment Mix for FY2026

The company maintains its 7-9% long-term NFEPS growth target from a FY2025 base of $2.83.

What Changed From Last Quarter?

NJNG: Utility Firing on All Cylinders

The regulated utility delivered its strongest Q1 performance, with NFE up $16.9M (+25%) to $83.8M.

Key drivers:

• Base rate case settlement fully impacted utility gross margin (approved Nov 2024)
• Customer growth: 592,000 customers (+3,000 from Sept 2025)
• BGSS incentive programs: $5.6M vs $3.2M prior year — market volatility drove off-system sales and capacity release

Winter Storm Fern highlight: NJNG achieved its highest 7-day sendout in history from Jan 26 to Feb 1, 2026, with uninterrupted service and nearly 90% of supply hedged before winter.

Energy Services: The January Windfall

Energy Services NFE more than doubled to $16.3M from $7.8M. This segment leverages geographically diverse storage and transportation assets to capture value during gas price volatility.

"Leveraged geographically diverse storage and transportation assets throughout the U.S. to capture significant value during heightened nationwide demand and volatility" — NJR on Winter Storm Fern

Clean Energy Ventures: Tough Comp but On Track

CEV NFE fell to $9.6M from $48.1M — but this is entirely due to the prior-year gain on the residential solar portfolio sale.

Operations are healthy:

• Placed 9.7 MW of commercial solar into service in Q1
• 489 MW total commercial solar capacity across 7 states
• 1.2 GW project pipeline with capacity expected to grow 50%+ by 2027

Storage & Transportation: Rate Case Wins

S&T NFE improved 30% to $7.4M as Adelphia Gateway's Section 4 rate case settlement took effect Nov 2025.

Growth catalyst: Leaf River Energy Center filed with FERC in Oct 2025 to expand natural gas storage capacity by 17.6 BCF — a 70%+ increase.

How Did the Stock React?

NJR closed at $50.05, up 1.2% on the earnings release — trading near its 52-week high of $50.77. The stock yields 3.8% with an annual dividend of $1.90 (raised for 30 consecutive years).

The muted reaction suggests the guidance raise was partially anticipated given January weather patterns. However, the stock is up +9% YTD as investors reward the consistency.

Capital Allocation and Outlook

$4.8-$5.2B Capital Plan Through 2030

Key point: Utility investment represents 60%+ of capex, and NJR expects no block equity needs — funded through operations ($535-575M CFO in FY2026) and modest debt.

Credit Metrics Remain Strong

• NJNG Secured Rating: A1 (Moody's), A+ (Fitch)
• Adjusted FFO/Debt: 19-20% estimated
• Liquidity: $825M credit facilities available through FY2029

New Jersey Policy Tailwinds

New Governor Sherrill (sworn in Jan 20, 2026) immediately issued two Executive Orders focused on energy affordability.

Executive Order 1: Pause or offset 2026 electric rate increases
Executive Order 2: Accelerate in-state energy supply (solar, storage, distributed resources)

NJR is positioned to benefit: natural gas remains New Jersey's most affordable energy option, and CEV is aligned with accelerated solar development.

Key Takeaways

1. Guidance raised $0.25 — Energy Services captured exceptional value from January winter volatility; this is the 6th consecutive year of guidance raises

2. Utility momentum strong — NJNG NFE +25% as rate case settlement and BGSS incentives contribute; customer base continues growing

3. CEV tough comp but on track — Prior-year gain masks healthy operations; 1.2 GW pipeline with 50%+ capacity growth expected by 2027

4. S&T inflection point — NFE expected to more than double by 2027 with Adelphia rate case and Leaf River expansion

5. Shareholder returns intact — 30 consecutive years of dividend increases; 3.8% yield; no block equity needs

Q&A Highlights

The earnings call Q&A surfaced several key updates:

Energy Services: More Upside Possible?

Analyst (Mizuho): With single-digit weather expected again this weekend, could there be further upside to guidance?

CEO Steve Westhoven: "The guidance that we issued last night is based on results to date or kind of our estimates through the end of January. So obviously, we've got a lot of fiscal year that's left and not able to incorporate events that haven't happened yet."

Translation: January was captured, but continued volatility could drive further beats.

Leaf River Expansion: Contract Secured

Key announcement: NJR has already secured a long-term contract for the initial capacity expansion at Leaf River (compression and existing cavern expansion to 43 BCF by 2028).

The fourth cavern expansion (43 BCF → 55 BCF) is not yet contracted but management sees "constructive" market interest, with a target timeline of 2029 construction.

"The open seasons, recent market volatility, all points towards the need for more storage in that area and we know that we're pursuing that aggressively." — Steve Westhoven

Hedging Strategy: The $2.20 vs $135 Differential

Management highlighted how proactive gas procurement protected customers during Winter Storm Fern:

"Our average hedged price was approximately $2.20 per decatherm... and that compares to a Citygate pricing that traded in excess of $135 per decatherm during the event."

NJNG was 87% hedged going into winter, well above the 75% minimum policy.

CEV Technology Upside

Analyst (Siebert): Can you elaborate on the technology opportunities at CEV?

Westhoven: "We own a number of grid-connected facilities. Those interconnections are very valuable. Being able to use those at a much higher load factor through distributed generation, battery power, those all bring capacity to the grid... we have brownfield infrastructure that's already in place."

This represents upside to the current plan — battery and DG additions at existing solar sites could unlock incremental value.

Solar Pipeline Geography

CEV's forward pipeline is split 50% New Jersey / 50% outside NJ, providing geographic diversification as the company pursues projects meeting return thresholds across the PJM footprint.

Key Management Quotes

On the winter performance:

"Thanks to all of our employees for your collective efforts on behalf of our customers. Our assets were operated safely and successfully across our entire natural gas portfolio." — Steve Westhoven

On the guidance raise:

"As a result of energy services performance, we're able to increase our fiscal 2026 NFEPS guidance by $0.25 per share... This represents the sixth consecutive year of raising guidance as a result of the strength of our complementary portfolio of businesses." — Steve Westhoven

On S&T growth trajectory:

"Over the next two years, we expect NFE to more than double at S&T, and this is largely driven by strong recontracting of both Adelphia and Leaf River. These are fixed-price contracts with quality, credit-worthy counterparties." — Steve Westhoven

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For more on NJR, see the company research page or read the full Q1 FY2026 earnings transcript.