Alliant Energy (NASDAQ: LNT) lifts four-year capex forecast 19% on growing demand

What happened

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: LNT) raised its four-year capital spending forecast 19% to $15.9 billion on Oct. 29. It also set 2027 earnings guidance and a higher dividend target. The forecast covers 2027 through 2030.

Alliant Energy's utilities, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) and Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), have 3.4 gigawatts of contracted demand from data centers. The company expects peak demand to rise about 60% by 2031. It says the energy resources needed to serve that load raised the spending forecast.

For 2027, Alliant Energy guides to ongoing earnings per share of $3.63 to $3.73. The filing says the midpoint is 8% above the midpoint of the original 2026 ongoing guidance. The 2027 annual dividend target is $2.25 per share, up from the current $2.14 target. The company also narrowed 2026 ongoing guidance to $3.41 to $3.46 from $3.36 to $3.46.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Capital expenditure forecast, 2027 through 2030	$15.9 billion	+19%	SEC 8-K Exhibit 99.1
Third-quarter GAAP EPS	$1.52	from $1.09, +39.4%	Calculated from SEC 8-K Exhibit 99.1
Nine-month ongoing EPS	$2.99	from $2.62, +14%	SEC 8-K Exhibit 99.1
2027 ongoing EPS guidance	$3.63 – $3.73		SEC 8-K Exhibit 99.1
2027 dividend target vs current annual target of $2.14	$2.25	+5.1%	Calculated from SEC 8-K Exhibit 99.1
Nine-month interest expense	$430 million	from $372 million, +15.6%	Calculated from SEC 8-K Exhibit 99.1

Read more: Alliant Energy (LNT) company research

What the quarter showed

Third-quarter GAAP earnings per share were $1.52, against $1.09 a year earlier. That is a 39.4% gain by OptimistFi's calculation, but part of it comes from tax timing. The company lists the timing of income tax expense as a main driver and says the variances will reverse by year end.

Income before income taxes rose to $331 million from $263 million. The income tax benefit grew to $67 million from $18 million. A growing rate base raised revenue requirements, which added $0.12 per share at WPL and a smaller amount at IPL. Higher equity earnings from corporate venture investments, higher allowance for funds used during construction and higher retail electric sales also helped.

Higher operation and maintenance, financing and depreciation expenses offset part of that. Temperatures helped more than a year earlier, when they added an estimated $0.03 per share in the third quarter of 2025.

Over nine months, GAAP EPS was $3.04 versus $2.59, up 17%. Ongoing EPS was $2.99 versus $2.62, up 14%. The GAAP figure includes a $0.05 per-share benefit from remeasuring deferred tax assets after a change in estimated state income tax apportionment. The ongoing measure excludes it.

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Where the spending goes

Annual spending climbs steeply from this year. Alliant Energy projects $2.86 billion for 2026, about $4.3 billion in 2027 and about $4.7 billion in 2028, then $2.61 billion in 2030. The figures exclude allowance for funds used during construction and capitalized interest.

Generation drives the build. Thermal generation, listed in the filing as liquified natural gas, peaks at $2.09 billion in 2027. Renewables and energy storage projects peak at $1.89 billion in 2028.

Why it matters

OptimistFi has argued that Alliant Energy works if Wisconsin and Iowa regulators keep allowing cost recovery. Then asset growth turns into steady earnings and dividend growth. The release backs the growth half. IPL is extending its retail electric base rate stability plan by one year, through 2030, while earning its authorized return on equity.

The dividend target rises 5.1% from the current annual target by OptimistFi's calculation. That is slower than the 8% growth in earnings guidance at the midpoint.

Funding is the other half of the case. Nine-month interest expense was $430 million, up 15.6% from $372 million. Operating income was $823 million against $828 million. Commercial paper stood at $704 million on Sept. 30, up from $88 million at Dec. 31, 2025. Cash fell to $26 million from $556 million.

The outlook also carries conditions. The 2027 guidance assumes the company realizes expected revenue from new data center demand. The filing lists risks including regulatory approval of rates for large-load customers and customers delaying or cancelling planned facilities, which could leave generation or transmission overbuilt. OptimistFi reads the release as mixed for the case.

What's next

Alliant Energy holds its earnings call on Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. Central Time. President and CEO Lisa Barton and Chief Financial Officer Robert Durian host it. Details on how the company will finance the larger plan, and on rate treatment for data center customers, would test the leverage side of the case.

The first-quarter 2027 dividend is expected to be declared in January 2027, subject to board approval. The current quarterly rate is $0.535 per share. A higher declared rate would be the first payout step toward the new annual target.

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