Otter Tail Corporation reported diluted earnings of $1.41 per share for the third quarter of 2026 and reaffirmed the midpoint of its full-year earnings guidance, while narrowing the guidance range. The Minnesota-based company also declared a quarterly dividend and reported higher operating cash flow for the first nine months of the year.
Its businesses had mixed operating conditions: the electric utility continued to advance rate and investment plans, manufacturing sales volumes were improving, and the plastics segment faced lower volumes and selling prices.
Key details
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2026 earnings outlook: Otter Tail maintained the midpoint of its annual earnings guidance and narrowed the range. The company’s stated long-term targets remain annual earnings-per-share growth of 7% to 9% and total shareholder returns of 10% to 12%.
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Quarterly dividend: The board declared a dividend of $0.5775 per common share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record on November 13.
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Cash flow and investment: Operating activities generated $307.9 million in cash during the first nine months of 2026, up from $288.9 million in the same period of 2025. The increase was primarily tied to lower working-capital needs, including the timing of fuel-cost and rider-revenue recoveries from utility customers.
Capital expenditures totaled $451.6 million over the nine months, with investment concentrated largely in the electric business. Projects included the Abercrombie and Solway solar projects, a wind repowering initiative, and transmission work. -
Electric utility: Otter Tail Power continued work on its Minnesota rate case and on an integrated resource plan filed earlier this year. The company also cited ongoing renewable-generation and transmission investments, while noting growing challenges in transmission development.
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Manufacturing: Sales volumes were increasing as end-market demand improved. The company said inflationary costs and the challenge of meeting rising customer demand were affecting its manufacturing businesses.
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Plastics: The segment’s quarterly results were hurt by lower PVC pipe sales volumes and a continued decline in average selling prices. Customers had moved purchases earlier in the year ahead of announced resin-price increases, and a softer housing market also weighed on volumes. Use of added large-diameter capacity at the Arizona facility helped offset some of the decline.
Plain-English implications
Otter Tail’s full-year earnings outlook is unchanged at its midpoint, while the narrower range indicates a more confined outlook than before. The dividend declaration sets the next quarterly payment, and the company’s cash-flow increase was attributed mainly to working-capital timing rather than a stated change in its investment program.