Fortum Oyj came into today with the stock at €23.18 after a flat few weeks and a strong 90 day run. The utility has a reputation as a solid Nordic power producer with a premium P/E multiple and healthy trailing net margin. Q3 2026 put that premium under the microscope. Comparable operating profit held at €102 million and net income from continuing operations over the last twelve months stayed in the mid hundreds of millions, yet the latest quarter delivered basic earnings per share of just €0.04, a sharp squeeze against earlier 2026 profitability.
Love Fortum Oyj's premium P/E and established Nordic power profile but uneasy about earnings getting compressed into €0.04 per share this quarter? Compare that setup with companies that pair resilient profitability with sturdier fundamentals in our list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks (207 results)
Q3 2026 Earnings Summary
- Total Revenue (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): €1,122 million vs €929 million (up about 20.8%)
- Net Income from Continuing Operations, Excl. Extra Items (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): €31 million vs €52 million (down about 40.4%)
- Basic EPS (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): €0.04 vs €0.06 (down about 31.0%)
- Trailing 12 Month Net Margin (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): 14.2% vs 17.3% (compressed by about 3.1 percentage points)
Fortum just locked in a 22-year nuclear PPA with Google. Ask Charlie what the Google deal signals for Fortum’s growth.
Fortum data‑centre upside meets early reality check
Supporters argue Fortum’s Google alignment can anchor a bigger power and infrastructure franchise around data centres and industry.
"The company is building an approximately 8 gigawatt pipeline of onshore wind and solar projects backed by customer PPAs and is actively negotiating long tenor contracts with data centers and other industrial customers."
Q3 gives partial backing. The Google PPA now sits in hedge disclosures for 2028 and beyond, and Fortum is already optimising a 94 MW battery tied to Google’s Kajaani site. Yet group comparable operating profit in Q3 stayed modest at €102 million and basic EPS was just €0.04. The data‑centre thesis is visible but not yet lifting earnings.
Fortum risk case flags pressure points in Q3 2026
On the risk side, critics worry the recent profitability mix is fragile and hard to repeat.
"Expanding optimization and trading activity in a more volatile short term power market increases dependence on optimization premiums that are inherently cyclical and harder to forecast. This creates downside risk to future operating profit and earnings if volatility or Fortum's relative trading edge normalizes from the current elevated levels."
Q3 figures partly echo that concern. Optimization guidance still assumes an €8 to €10/MWh premium for 2026, yet net income from continuing operations excluding extra items in the quarter fell to €31 million and trailing net margin compressed to 14.2%. Generation benefited from higher nuclear output, while Consumer Solutions saw weaker sales margins, hinting at pressure where recent highs looked hardest to sustain.
The price and this Narrative do not agree. → Uncover what this Narrative says Fortum Oyj is actually worth.
Hunt For Quiet Fundamental Shifts
Fortum Oyj illustrates how a clear earnings story around power assets may still leave questions about durability. The real opportunity is finding stocks that could be undervalued before the market corrects them.
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Three companies from the same screener. Open the full list of 199 companies trading below our fair value estimates →
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