Research Update: NextEra Energy Inc. 'A-' Issuer Credit Rating Affirmed, Outlook Stable; Financial Risk Profile Revised Downward

We expect that NextEra Energy Inc.'s (NEE) financial measures are modestly weakening from historical levels, primarily reflecting a robust capital spending plan. As such, we revised our assessment of NEE's financial risk profile downward to significant from intermediate but at the same time, we revised the comparable rating analysis modifier to neutral from negative. This reflects our expectation that NEE's financial measures will consistently fall within the higher-end of the range for the significant financial risk profile category. We affirmed our ratings on NEE, including our 'A-' issuer credit rating. The stable outlook on NEE incorporates our view that the company will continue to focus on expanding its regulated utility business and reducing the risk of its competitive businesses through

...- We expect that NextEra Energy Inc.'s (NEE) financial measures are modestly weakening from historical levels, primarily reflecting a robust capital spending plan. - As such, we revised our assessment of NEE's financial risk profile downward to significant from intermediate but at the same time, we revised the comparable rating analysis modifier to neutral from negative. This reflects our expectation that NEE's financial measures will consistently fall within the higher-end of the range for the significant financial risk profile category. - We affirmed our ratings on NEE, including our 'A-' issuer credit rating. - The stable outlook on NEE incorporates our view that the company will continue to focus on expanding its regulated utility business and reducing the risk of its competitive businesses through the strategic augmentation of its lower risk contracted assets. We expect the company's regulated utility business to consistently account for more than 70% of consolidated EBITDA. We also...

Research Update