Q3 Split: Raises and Cash Returns on One Side, Cuts and Asset Sales on the Other

The raisers

The third-quarter earnings season split cleanly in two. Constellation Energy and Kodiak Gas Services reported strong quarters and raised their full-year guidance. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, loanDepot and Vivid Seats reported the other side of the season: a cut forecast, a loss, and asset sales. NRG Energy sat in the middle, reporting a solid quarter while announcing a $4 billion asset sale to fund buybacks and debt reduction. m:…9204 m:…3812 m:…1339 m:…6958 m:…4008 m:…5512

Constellation Energy, the filing says, reported third-quarter adjusted operating earnings of $5.06 per share and GAAP net income of $5.19 per share. The company raised the midpoint of its full-year adjusted operating earnings guidance for the second time this year, narrowing the range to $12.50 to $12.80 per share. The quarter came with a $715 million agreement to acquire RISEC Holdings, a 20-year, 690 MW power purchase agreement with Amazon tied to a $3 billion investment at Calvert Cliffs, and a 20-year agreement with Google to add 890 MW of nuclear capacity with a $4.3 billion investment. The company also signed a conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion from the Department of Energy to support nuclear uprates, and a 20-year, 270 MW Peak+ agreement starting in 2028. m:…9204

Kodiak Gas Services reported record compression infrastructure revenue of $318.4 million and record adjusted EBITDA of $224.5 million, the filing says. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $71.5 million, or $0.70 per diluted share. The company raised full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to $840 million to $860 million and discretionary cash flow guidance to $580 million to $600 million, declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share and extended its share repurchase program to December 31, 2027, with about $31.7 million still available under it. Kodiak also announced an agreement to provide 76 megawatts of behind-the-meter power capacity to a West Texas data center. m:…3812

NRG's reshuffle

NRG Energy reported third-quarter GAAP net income of $561 million and adjusted EBITDA of $2,013 million, the filing says, with free cash flow before growth investments of $1,242 million, and reaffirmed its 2026 guidance. The company also announced a $4 billion agreement to sell 4.9 GW of generation assets, with the proceeds supporting $3 billion of share repurchases across 2026 and 2027 and $3 billion of total debt reduction planned for 2027. NRG initiated 2027 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $5.5 billion to $6.0 billion and raised its annual common dividend 8 percent to $2.05 per share. Its 1.2 GW Bring Your Own Power data center project remains on track, the filing says. m:…5512

The cutters

Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported third-quarter revenue of $243 million and an operating loss of $130 million, the filing says. The company lowered its 2026 product sales guidance for TRYNGOLZA to about $50 million, while reaffirming guidance for DAWNZERA at $110 million to $120 million and its total revenue, operating loss and cash guidance. TRYNGOLZA generated $9 million in U.S. net product sales in the quarter and DAWNZERA $37 million. The company ended the quarter with $1.9 billion in cash and short-term investments. ZANVASTRO is the first FDA-approved medicine for Alexander disease, the filing says, and a final approval decision for TRYNGOLZA in Europe is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. m:…1339

loanDepot reported a net loss of $29 million, the filing says, with origination volume down 12 percent to $7.05 billion. The company's response was to sell: it completed the sale of $10 billion of Agency mortgage servicing rights and entered an agreement to sell a further $9 billion of Government mortgage servicing rights, which closed in October. It also repurchased $87 million of senior notes at an average price of 88 percent of par, and said productivity initiatives should deliver $25 million of annualized cost savings through the rest of 2026. Adjusted EBITDA was $17 million, and the filing says the company is still working on ways to refinance or extend upcoming debt maturities. The gain on sale margin improved 54 basis points to 399 basis points. m:…6958

Vivid Seats resets

Vivid Seats reported Marketplace gross order value of $624.0 million, revenue of $126.9 million and adjusted EBITDA of $8.9 million, the filing says, alongside a net loss of $17.4 million. It also reached an agreement in principle with term lenders on a recapitalization that would provide $60 million of new money term loans, convert a significant portion of existing debt into equity, cut overall funded debt by about $200 million and extend the maturity of the remaining debt. The deal still needs definitive documentation. For the full year, the company expects Marketplace gross order value of $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $34.0 million to $40.0 million. m:…4008

What is still open: whether the RISEC acquisition clears its final regulatory approvals, when the Department of Energy loan agreement is finalized, when NRG's asset sale closes and what its 2027 guidance looks like after it does, and whether Vivid Seats' lenders sign the definitive documents for its recapitalization. loanDepot's refinancing and the European decision on TRYNGOLZA are also still to come. m:…9204 m:…5512 m:…4008 m:…6958 m:…1339