Verbund stock faces earnings reset after weak hydropower quarter

VERBUND reported a sharp decline in first-nine-month earnings on Thursday, November 5, 2026, after historically low water supply reduced hydropower generation and weaker realized sales prices added pressure. The company's official results release said EBITDA fell 29.0 percent year on year to 1,498.5 million euros in the first three quarters. The Group result declined 43.5 percent to 684.8 million euros.

Revenue decreased 5.4 percent to 5,560.4 million euros, while the operating result fell 39.4 percent to 1,005.6 million euros. Adjusted for non-recurring effects, the Group result was 725.0 million euros, down 37.3 percent from the prior-year period.

Hydropower drives the earnings decline

Hydropower generation fell by 20.2 percent to 15,984 gigawatt-hours. The run-of-river hydro coefficient was 0.61, below both the prior-year level of 0.79 and the long-term average. VERBUND said lower output forced extensive buybacks for electricity volumes that had already been sold but could not be generated, while spot-market prices were higher.

The average sales price achieved for the group's own hydropower generation fell by 33.8 euros per megawatt-hour to 79.7 euros per megawatt-hour. Wind and photovoltaic generation rose by 70 gigawatt-hours to 1,622 gigawatt-hours, but the increase did not offset the pressure on the Hydro segment. Contributions from the Sales segment and other activities provided some compensation.

Reuters reported that the water supply was the lowest since records began around 100 years ago and said hydropower accounted for about 85 percent of VERBUND's electricity output last year. The report also described the first-nine-month EBITDA decline as a result of weaker output and sales prices.

Lower targets set for 2026

VERBUND now expects 2026 EBITDA of around 2,120 million euros, a reported Group result of around 1,010 million euros and an adjusted Group result of around 1,050 million euros. The company said the updated outlook reflects below-average water supply in October. It assumes average own generation from hydropower, wind power and photovoltaics in November and December.

The planned payout ratio for 2026 is between 45 percent and 55 percent of the Group result after adjustment for non-recurring effects. For investors, the next major operational swing factor is therefore the level of water availability and generation during the final two months of the year.

Verbund stock traded at 72.00 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 12:05 CET on Thursday, November 5, 2026. Investors can follow the real-time quote of Verbund stock.

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