Spire Inc. (SR), a St. Louis-based natural gas utility serving nearly 2 million customers across Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, is closing out a transformative fiscal year. Over the past twelve months the company completed the acquisition of Spire Tennessee, divested its non-regulated Marketing and Storage businesses, and repositioned itself as a fully regulated utility. That shift aims to reduce earnings volatility and improve predictability, making this report an important checkpoint on whether the strategic reset is translating into steadier results. Because Spire's fiscal year ends in September, this release also sets the baseline for fiscal 2027 guidance and the company's stated 5–7% long-term adjusted EPS growth target.
For the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2026, Wall Street consensus estimates call for a loss of approximately $1.10 per share, compared with a loss of $0.47 per share in the prior-year quarter. Seasonal losses are common for gas utilities in the July-through-September window, when milder weather reduces heating demand and revenue lags the fixed costs of operating the system.
More important than the single-quarter loss will be Spire's full-year results measured against its own guidance. Management has guided to fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $3.90–$4.10 per share, and to fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS of $5.40–$5.60, the latter reflecting a full year of contributions from Spire Tennessee. The company has also reiterated a long-term adjusted EPS growth target of 5–7%, anchored to an $11.2 billion, ten-year capital investment plan.
Investors will also watch operational metrics such as contribution margin, operation and maintenance (O&M) expense trends, and the status of regulatory proceedings in Missouri and Alabama, which directly influence future rate recovery and earnings power.
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Sentiment heading into the report reflects a balancing act between a seasonally soft quarter and a constructive longer-term story. Spire shares have drawn attention for the company's move to a purely regulated business model, which management argues reduces earnings volatility and supports more predictable dividend and earnings growth. Still, near-term concerns persist, including elevated interest expense, higher corporate costs, and unresolved weather-related usage recovery in Missouri. Regulatory outcomes in Alabama, where interveners have recommended lower returns on equity than the company requested, add another layer of uncertainty. As a result, investors may react less to the headline seasonal loss and more to any changes in guidance, rate case timing, or commentary on financing and credit metrics such as funds from operations (FFO) to debt.
Looking past the print, several catalysts will shape Spire's trajectory through fiscal 2027. First is the Missouri rate case, with the company's first future test year filing expected in early November 2026. That filing is central to aligning rates with ongoing infrastructure investment and addressing weather-driven usage variability.
Second is the integration of Spire Tennessee, where new rates became effective October 1, 2026, following a $14 million annual review mechanism request. Successful execution here underpins the fiscal 2027 guidance step-up.
Third, investors should monitor credit and financing trends. Management targets a funds from operations (FFO) to debt ratio of 14–15% by the end of 2028, versus roughly 13% today, while aiming to fund most capital spending with operating-company debt and cash flow to limit equity issuance.
Finally, broader cost pressures such as interest expense, bad debt expense, and O&M discipline will remain in focus. While Spire reaffirmed its long-term 5–7% adjusted EPS growth target, delivering that growth will depend on constructive regulatory decisions and steady execution of its $11.2 billion capital plan.
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a distributer of natural gas
Industry GasDistributors