--- title: "National Grid raised EPS growth guidance to 15-16% and holds a $1.75 billion stake in US AI data center power" description: "National Grid raised its earnings growth guidance on record capex and a £48.6 billion debt pile, and confirmed a $1.75 billion bet on selling power straight to the AI data centers its grid serves." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Power" published: 2026-11-06T17:07:34.631Z modified: 2026-11-06T17:07:34.631Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/national-grid-raised-eps-growth-guidance-to-15-16-and-holds-a-1-75-billion-stake-in-us-ai-data-center-power language: en keywords: "National Grid, Earnings, Utilities, Data Centers, Guidance, Debt" --- # National Grid raised EPS growth guidance to 15-16% and holds a $1.75 billion stake in US AI data center power > National Grid raised its earnings growth guidance on record capex and a £48.6 billion debt pile, and confirmed a $1.75 billion bet on selling power straight to the AI data centers its grid serves. [National Grid](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/national-grid)'s wires made more money in six months than they ever have, and the utility used the moment to raise its earnings forecast. Underlying operating profit rose 13% to £2.59 billion in the half-year to September 30, underlying earnings per share rose 22% to 36.5p, and [full-year EPS growth guidance went up to 15-16% from 13-15%](https://www.jamessharp.co.uk/market-news/national-grid-plc-half-year-results-2026-27/) [1][2]. The City had forecast 35.1p [3]. Shares jumped as much as 3.4% to their best level since May [3]. ## The wires monopoly is borrowing to build, and billing for it First-half capital investment hit a record £6.7 billion, up 33%, on the way to £13.5 billion this year and at least £70 billion over five years, with supply chain and delivery secured for about 80% of that program [1]. [The City had expected closer to £12 billion of full-year spending](https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/ii-view-national-grid-earnings-impress-amid-record-investment-ii540813) [2]. Net debt rose to £48.6 billion from £44.1 billion in March [2], and regulatory gearing is planned back into the high-60s by 2030/31 [1]. The engine is the new RIIO-T3 price control, the UK regulator's framework that lets National Grid invest in transmission and collect the cost plus a return [2]. [Morgan Stanley](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/morgan-stanley) kept the stock as a top pick after the results, with a 1,400p price target [2]. *Chart: **Record first half, bigger full-year plan** Bars comparing National Grid's record 6.7 billion pound first-half capital investment with the roughly 12 billion pound full-year figure the City expected and the 13.5 billion pound full-year plan.* *National Grid capital investment, £ billions. First-half actual is reported; the full-year City expectation and the company's 2026/27 plan are forecasts. Sources: National Grid half-year results 2026/27 [1]; interactive investor [2]; Market Briefs [3]. [1][2][3]* ## A $1.75 billion stake puts National Grid inside the data-center power business The results statement carries a $1.75 billion investment in Joulent, a company building multi-gigawatt power for US large-load customers, struck in July through the National Grid Ventures arm; the new fact is that it now sits in the half-year highlights [1]. Joulent's first project, Kilby, [will deliver about 2.67GW under a 20-year power purchase agreement to a Microsoft-operated data-center campus](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/GEV-N/pressreleases/3073351/joulent-secures-1-75b-strategic-investment-from-national-grid-to-accelerate-growth-as-technology-driven-energy-company-powering-american-innovation/) [5]. Chief executive Zoë Yujnovich calls it exposure to the "AI-driven large load economy" [5]. That follows our November 2 report that the first 1.44GW at National Grid's Teesside site contracted onto a rival's private network: the regulated utility is now selling power to the buyers of compute, not just the wires beneath them [6]. ## The billpayer's side of the ledger [Yujnovich's answer to bill-rise politics is faster delivery](https://utilityweek.co.uk/national-grid-ceo-says-faster-delivery-will-solve-bill-rises-as-nget-profit-spikes/), arguing that speeding projects cuts constraint costs for consumers [4]. The mechanism working the other way is visible in the accounts: a £48.6 billion debt pile is serviced by bills or by regulators' permission to charge them [1][2]. In New York, the pressure is already documented: [our October 3 reporting found the company's gas rate "freeze" left $1.7 billion of recovery waiting on customer bills](https://theinference.example/article/national-grid-s-rate-freeze-leaves-1-7-billion-waiting-on-new-york-gas-bills) [6], and the half-year statement confirms a one-year rate stabilization proposal filed for the KEDNY and KEDLI gas businesses [1]. ## What decides it Two clocks now run on the same money. In Britain, RIIO-T3 delivery milestones against the £13.5 billion spending year [1]. In New York and New England, the rate proceedings that set how much of the build-out lands on bills, one week after a US election run partly on data-center scepticism [1][3]. ## Takeaway National Grid raised its EPS growth guidance to 15-16% on record capex, but the same build-out rests on a £48.6 billion debt pile billed to consumers, while a $1.75 billion Joulent stake pushes it into selling power directly to AI data centers. ## Sources 1. [James Sharp, National Grid plc Half-Year Results 2026/27, 5 November 2026](https://www.jamessharp.co.uk/market-news/national-grid-plc-half-year-results-2026-27/) 2. [interactive investor, ii view: National Grid earnings impress amid record investment, 5 November 2026](https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/ii-view-national-grid-earnings-impress-amid-record-investment-ii540813) 3. [Market Briefs, National Grid lifts EPS guidance as spending ramps up, 5 November 2026](https://www.briefs.co/news/national-grid-lifts-eps-guidance-as-spending-ramps-up/) 4. [Utility Week, National Grid CEO says faster delivery will solve bill rises as NGET profit spikes, 5 November 2026](https://utilityweek.co.uk/national-grid-ceo-says-faster-delivery-will-solve-bill-rises-as-nget-profit-spikes/) 5. [Business Wire via The Globe and Mail, Joulent Secures $1.75B Strategic Investment from National Grid, 1 July 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/GEV-N/pressreleases/3073351/joulent-secures-1-75b-strategic-investment-from-national-grid-to-accelerate-growth-as-technology-driven-energy-company-powering-american-innovation/) 6. [The Inference, earlier coverage: National Grid's first 1.44GW at Teesside contracted to a rival's network (2 November 2026) and National Grid's rate "freeze" leaves $1.7 billion waiting on New York gas bills (3 October 2026)](https://theinference.example/article/national-grid-s-rate-freeze-leaves-1-7-billion-waiting-on-new-york-gas-bills) --- National Grid raised EPS growth guidance to 15-16% and holds a $1.75 billion stake in US AI data center power — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/national-grid-raised-eps-growth-guidance-to-15-16-and-holds-a-1-75-billion-stake-in-us-ai-data-center-power