American Electric Power is spending heavily on power lines and plants for new large customers, paying with debt and new shares. In the first nine months of 2026, higher interest costs and more shares pushed profit per share down.
Switch on a kettle in West Virginia, Kentucky or Texas and the electricity may have travelled along wires owned by American Electric Power. AEP builds and runs power plants, the high-voltage lines that carry electricity over long distances, and the local networks that bring it to homes, shops and factories. It is a regulated utility. State commissions and a federal regulator set its prices from the cost of its assets plus a return they allow on that investment.
Households, shops and factories pay most of the bills, both for electricity and for using the network. Bulk sales to other power buyers and a smaller business selling power in open markets bring in most of the rest. Because prices are based on cost, three things decide what AEP keeps: how much it invests, the return regulators allow and how quickly customers repay the costs. For long-distance lines, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves a formula that sets each year's revenue for lines already working and lines planned. Regional grid operators pay AEP that amount and bill the users, so spending on new lines turns into revenue with little delay. Interest on the debt that funds the building is paid before shareholders.
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