PPL Reaffirms Guidance as Data Center Pipeline Expands

TXNM Energy is trading at $58.44 with a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.9x, well above the US electric utilities industry average of 19.9x and a peer group average of 20.8x, according to a Simply Wall St valuation review. The company has delivered 10.4% earnings growth over the past year, outpacing the 9.1% pace for the US electric utilities industry, but earnings have declined by 2.5% per year over the past five years and profit margins of 8.8% are only slightly higher than last year's 8.7%. The review flags that TXNM Energy's interest payments are not well covered by earnings, its dividend yield of 2.89% is not well covered by earnings or free cash flow, and all of its funding comes from higher risk external borrowing rather than lower risk customer deposits. A discounted cash flow model estimates future cash flow value at $28.63 per share, below the current $58.44 price, framing the stock as overvalued on both earnings and cash flow tests. The company faces pressure if borrowing costs stay elevated or regulators take a tougher line on recovering grid spending through customer bills.

Kasikorn Securities, or KS, said in a research note that ESG is entering an era in which it genuinely affects financial outcomes, and unveiled 10 stocks set to benefit from the ESG transition. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is preparing to move from SET ESG Ratings to the FTSE Russell ESG Scores framework, with listed companies due to learn their own scores in 2026 and public disclosure beginning in 2027. Preliminary statistics from the 2025 FTSE Russell ESG Scores assessment show that 222 Thai listed companies averaged 3.6 out of 5, placing them at a Good practice level, with the utilities, healthcare, and oil and gas sectors scoring most strongly. KS said ESG development is reaching a regulatory level that will affect profits and ROIC through a carbon pricing mechanism with a pilot price of 200 baht per tonne of carbon equivalent, a planned emissions trading system trial in 2029-2030, the EU CBAM measure, and the IFRS S1/S2 standards and Thailand Taxonomy. A study of SET100 stocks found that high ESG-rated shares do not always trade at more expensive PER or PBV multiples or post higher EPS growth, but that good ESG enhances investability through liquidity and the shareholding of foreign and institutional investors. The case of DELTA, which was removed from the SETESG index, reflects how money from ESG-linked funds affects short-term price volatility. The 10 standout stocks span five themes: renewable energy business expansion, GULF, BCPG and CKP; green industrial infrastructure, WHA and AMATA; ESG data services and carbon management, DITTO and BBIK; sustainable finance, BAY and TTB; and the circular economy, SCGP.

Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council, in his capacity as a board member and secretary of the committee on policy for the operation of data centre businesses, disclosed that the criteria governing the data centre business are expected to be finalised and begin actual enforcement no later than mid-October, after various agencies submitted their data, covering current service providers, criteria for classifying data centre sizes, and average electricity and water usage. On the electricity criteria, the Ministry of Energy will have to set criteria controlling consumption volumes, with electricity rates to apply specifically to the data centre business group. As for the criteria governing each category of size, operators that meet the industrial-type criteria must be located in designated industrial estate areas, and this must not affect the household sector. He also expressed the view that hyperscale data centres should be set at an electricity usage level of 100 megawatts or more. The clarity of the actual criteria must await the board's consideration. On the timeline, after the deadline, a conclusion is to be reached within one month from the first meeting on 4 September, after which the process of drafting a policy specifically for data centres will begin, and a mechanism must be considered to prevent operations from becoming fragmented. As for which agency will be the host, that must await a further conclusion.