Talen's AI Power Demand Story Meets a Big Earnings Miss
Talen locks in $1.2B in 2028 capacity revenue Talen secured about $1.2 billion in guaranteed payments for June 2028–May 2029 through PJM's capacity auction, up from $805 million for 2026/2027. The jump came from offering 52% more megawatts, not higher prices. This locks in future revenue tied to AI data center demand, though the money arrives in two years.
This is the period's biggest new contract win and directly supports future revenue.
Goldman raises data center forecast, favors Talen Goldman Sachs now expects global data center capacity to reach 217 gigawatts by 2030, up from 168, requiring about $6 trillion in spending. It named Talen among independent power producers likely to benefit from rising power prices and data center contracts. More data centers mean more demand for Talen's electricity.
It shows a major bank sees a long runway for the demand that drives Talen's business.
Q2 earnings miss badly, stock falls 33% Talen reported Q2 adjusted earnings of 16 cents per share, missing the $3.20 consensus by 95%, and revenue of $747 million fell short. Shares dropped 33.3% over 12 weeks. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow improved sharply, but the miss tested the cash-flow story and left about $9.7 billion of debt.
This is the period's main negative event and explains the sharp stock decline.
Valuation debate: cheap on one measure, expensive on another One analyst model put fair value at $469.57 versus a $359.90 close, implying 23% upside, based on long-term nuclear contracts with AWS through 2042. But the stock trades at 5.3 times sales versus a 2.1 peer average, so it screens expensive on that metric. The market is split on what Talen is worth.
It captures the real counterweight to the bullish demand story and the uncertainty around valuation.