Key Highlights

● Second-quarter adjusted earnings per share rose to $0.54 from an equivalent $0.38.

● Shareholders of both companies approved the NorthWestern Energy merger on 2 April 2026.

● Wyoming Electric set an all-time peak of 439 megawatts, driven by large-load customers.

● Full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance was reaffirmed at $4.25 to $4.45 per share.

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) reported second-quarter 2026 results on 5 August 2026, and the numbers sit alongside a pending combination with NorthWestern Energy. The two companies announced an all-stock merger on 19 August 2025. Shareholders of both approved it on 2 April 2026, and the combined business would be called Bright Horizon Energy Corporation, with completion expected in the second half of 2026. The exchange ratio was not stated in the release reviewed here. Index membership was not verified, so none is implied.

What the quarter showed

Net income available for common stock was $38.2 million, against $27.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Diluted earnings per share were $0.50 on a GAAP basis, up from $0.38. Adjusted earnings per share, which exclude after-tax merger-related costs of $0.04 in the quarter, were $0.54, equal to adjusted earnings of $41.5 million. An independent earnings summary put quarterly revenue at $452.8 million. The six-month picture is flatter. GAAP earnings per share were $2.23, compared with $2.24 a year earlier, and adjusted earnings per share were $2.33. Six-month net income available for common stock rose to $169.2 million from $161.7 million, with adjusted earnings of $176.6 million. Editorial interpretation: the second quarter was a clear improvement, but the first half as a whole has not moved much, and quarterly utility results can vary with seasonal and regulatory timing.

Large-load demand

Wyoming Electric set an all-time peak of 439 megawatts on 20 July 2026, driven mainly by large-load customers. The current financial plan includes 600 megawatts of such demand by 2030, linked to Microsoft and Meta, and the company described a pipeline above 3 gigawatts. Negotiations continue on definitive agreements for a 1.8 gigawatt data centre project in Cheyenne. The release said the customer on that project had provided refundable advances of $285 million to 30 June, later amended in July to $377 million with a maturity of 31 August 2026. The outcome after that date was not found in the sources reviewed.

Large-Load Pipeline Still Needs Signed Contracts

Black Hills Corporation's quarter showed real earnings improvement, but the bigger story is the pending combination with NorthWestern Energy into Bright Horizon Energy Corporation, with Nebraska regulators already approved and Montana, South Dakota and federal approvals pending at last update. A data centre customer's refundable advances grew to $377 million ahead of an August maturity, underscoring that the company's more than 3-gigawatt large-load pipeline, linked to Microsoft and Meta, remains a plan rather than contracted revenue until agreements are signed.