AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 6/6 · 18/10/2026
Moat50
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 2/4 · The established integrated system and customer base across defined territories support local efficient scale. Exclusive rights and superior replacement or operating economics are not demonstrated.
durability · 2/4 · Continuing retail demand and implemented rate recovery support persistence. Recovery remains conditional, and economically competitive self-generation limits confidence in long-term protection.
customer dependency · 2/4 · Serving approximately 1.7 million customers and substantial recurring retail volumes indicates ongoing dependence on the system indirectly. Economically competitive alternatives and missing switching or exclusivity disclosures prevent a stronger grade.
erosion resilience · 2/4 · Actual rate recovery and increased retail volumes show current resilience. Distributed-generation exposure and heavy externally financed investment remain meaningful vulnerabilities; the risk disclosures do not establish realized customer erosion.
Pricing power50
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
realized pricing · 2/4 · New Kansas Central retail rates contributed $30.3 million in the second quarter of 2026. Metro transmission prices also decreased. The disclosed cumulative retail-rate increase since 2017 was modest, supporting mixed, regulator-mediated pricing power rather than broad discretion.
retention · 2/4 · Retail volumes increased from 20.531 million to 21.101 million MWh, and a data-center customer began taking service. These are indirect signs of continuing demand, influenced by weather and customer mix; they do not establish customer-level retention or lock-in.
margin resilience · 3/4 · First-half 2026 GAAP gross margin increased from $856.6 million to $925.5 million and operating income from $635.4 million to $699.0 million despite higher depreciation, transmission and operating costs. This demonstrates resilience over the reported comparison, with weather and demand also contributing; exceptional durability is unproven.
contractual freedom · 1/4 · Regulators determine rate adjustments in both directions, and Kansas Central must refund half of earnings above the specified return threshold. No refund was owed for 2025, but the mechanism directly limits upside and pricing discretion.
Predictability69
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 75.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 4.33
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 0.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 2.97
Financial strength3
Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- debtFcfGrade
- 0.00
- netDebtEbitGrade
- 0.00
- interestCoverageGrade
- 13.52
- currentRatioGrade
- 0.00
- Net debt / operating income (x)
- 9.64
- Interest coverage (x)
- 2.49
- Current ratio (x)
- 0.49
Capital allocation56
Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
- 6.24
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- 0.09
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 0.32
- cashConversionGrade
- 0.00
Management63
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · First-half operating cash flow of $711.1 million fell below $1,811.8 million of cash capital additions, with dividends and substantial financing needs. Available credit capacity and construction contributions provide offsets. Completed note repurchases cost $309.5 million for $244.1 million principal, but their full economic benefit and investment returns are not established.
incentive alignment · 3/4 · The disclosed 2025 equity program used 70% performance-based RSUs and generally three-year cliff vesting, alongside clawback, hedging and unvested-dividend safeguards. These are actual program disclosures, not merely proposed awards. Missing ownership amounts and detailed targets limit assessment of alignment outcomes.
execution · 2/4 · Actual 2026 operating-income growth and commencement of data-center service support execution indirectly. Management reported improved reliability but acknowledged below-expectation 2025 financial results. Signed future-load agreements demonstrate commercial progress, not delivery of the full projected demand.
governance · 3/4 · A functioning independent audit committee, lead independent director responsibilities, actual director attendance and an unqualified internal-control audit support strong governance processes. These do not prove exceptional board effectiveness or eliminate the limitations of issuer disclosures.
Evidence
Evergy Kansas Central, Evergy Kansas South, Evergy Metro and Evergy Missouri West conduct business in their respective service territories using the name Evergy.
Organization and Basis of Presentation: service territories · Filed 06/08/2026
Collectively, the Evergy Companies have approximately 15,800 megawatts (MWs) of owned generating capacity and renewable power purchase agreements and engage in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 1.7 million customers in the states of Kansas and Missouri.
Organization and Basis of Presentation: capacity, infrastructure activities and customers · Filed 06/08/2026
Regulatory assets represent incurred costs that are probable of recovery from future revenues.
Critical accounting estimates: regulatory assets and probable recovery · Filed 19/02/2026
Evergy's gross margin (GAAP) increased $34.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same period in 2025 and Evergy's utility gross margin (non-GAAP) increased $61.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same period in 2025, both measures were driven by: •a $30.8 million increase primarily due to favorable weather (cooling degree days increased by 25%) and higher weather-normalized demand driven by a data center customer that began taking service in 2026 and higher demand from a large load industrial customer; and •a $30.3 million increase from new Evergy Kansas Central retail rates effective in October 2025.
Results of Operations: actual contribution from new retail rates and demand · Filed 06/08/2026
64 Table of Contents Revenues and Expenses MWhs Sold Year to Date June 30 2026 Change 2025 2026 Change 2025 Retail revenues (millions) (thousands) Residential $ 1,011.1 $ 9.3 $ 1,001.8 7,520 (83) 7,603 Commercial 947.2 43.1 904.1 9,316 390 8,926 Industrial 330.5 25.0 305.5 4,224 269 3,955 Other retail revenues 23.6 2.8 20.8 41 (6) 47 Total electric retail 2,312.4 80.2 2,232.2 21,101 570 20,531 Wholesale revenues 175.2 35.4 139.8 6,122 (1,449) 7,571 Transmission revenues 268.1 5.8 262.3 N/A N/A N/A Other revenues 188.1 10.9 177.2 N/A N/A N/A Operating revenues 2,943.8 132.3 2,811.5 27,223 (879) 28,102 Fuel and purchased power (688.5) (2.8) (685.7) SPP network transmission costs (228.4) (17.1) (211.3) Operating and maintenance(a) (277.6) (11.7) (265.9) Depreciation and amortization (609.6) (33.1) (576.5) Taxes other than income tax (214.2) 1.3 (215.5) Gross margin (GAAP) 925.5 68.9 856.6 Operating and maintenance(a) 277.6 11.7 265.9 Depreciation and amortization 609.6 33.1 576.5 Taxes other than income tax 214.2 (1.3) 215.5 Utility gross margin (non-GAAP) $ 2,026.9 $ 112.4 $ 1,914.5 (a) Operating and maintenance expenses which are deemed to be directly attributable to revenue-producing activities include plant operating and maintenance expenses at generating units and transmission and distribution operating and maintenance expenses and have been separately presented in order to calculate gross margin as defined under GAAP.
Results of Operations: retail revenues, volumes and GAAP gross margin · Filed 06/08/2026
Self-generation and distributed generation technologies, including microturbines, wind turbines, fuel cells and solar cells, as well as those related to the storage of energy produced by these systems, have become economically competitive with the manner and price at which the Evergy Companies sell electricity.
Risk factors: economic competitiveness of self-generation and storage · Filed 19/02/2026
Increased adoption of these technologies could reduce electricity demand and the pool of customers from whom fixed costs are recovered, resulting in under recovery of the fixed costs of the Evergy Companies.
Risk factors: distributed generation and fixed-cost recovery · Filed 19/02/2026
Under this mechanism, Evergy Kansas Central’s jurisdiction is required to refund customers 50% of annual earnings in excess of a 9.7% return on equity.
Rate Matters and Regulation: earnings-sharing obligation · Filed 06/08/2026
The new prices became effective in May 2026 and are expected to decrease Evergy Metro's annual retail revenues by $4.3 million when compared to 2025.
Rate Matters and Regulation: effective Evergy Metro transmission price reduction · Filed 06/08/2026
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) Year to Date June 30 2026 2025 CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES: (millions) Net income $ 372.7 $ 302.5 Adjustments to reconcile income to net cash from operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 609.6 576.5 Amortization of nuclear fuel 33.7 32.4 Amortization of deferred refueling outage 14.0 8.4 Amortization of corporate-owned life insurance 12.7 13.3 Stock compensation 13.2 11.3 Net deferred income taxes and credits (6.7) (11.1) Allowance for equity funds used during construction (22.9) (5.9) Payments for asset retirement obligations (1.8) (5.8) Equity in earnings of equity method investees, net of income taxes (3.9) (3.4) Income from corporate-owned life insurance (8.9) (7.9) (Gains) losses from investments in early-stage clean energy and energy solution companies (8.1) 29.0 Losses on induced conversion of convertible notes 10.3 — Other 1.0 0.8 Changes in working capital items: Accounts receivable (154.3) (137.6) Accounts receivable pledged as collateral 46.0 63.0 Fuel inventory and supplies (38.4) 21.9 Prepaid expenses and other current assets (61.9) 15.0 Accounts payable (106.1) (169.5) Accrued taxes 115.9 105.6 Other current liabilities (71.0) (16.1) Changes in other assets (4.8) 20.1 Changes in other liabilities (29.2) (69.0) Cash Flows from Operating Activities 711.1 773.5 CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Additions to property, plant and equipment (1,811.8) (1,220.1) Purchase of securities - trusts (50.7) (70.8) Sale of securities - trusts 58.5 68.0 Proceeds from nonrefundable contributions in aid of construction 130.0 — Investment in corporate-owned life insurance (10.8) (14.8) Proceeds from investment in corporate-owned life insurance 54.5 5.2 Other investing activities 1.8 (2.9) Cash Flows used in Investing Activities (1,628.5) (1,235.4) CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Short-term debt, net 437.0 215.6 Proceeds from term loan facility 555.0 — Repayment of term loan facility (55.0) — Collateralized short-term borrowings, net (46.0) (63.0) Issuance of common stock 0.7 0.4 Proceeds from long-term debt 724.3 593.4 Retirements of long-term debt (397.4) (8.0) Borrowings against cash surrender value of corporate-owned life insurance 47.1 46.1 Repayment of borrowings against cash surrender value of corporate-owned life insurance (42.1) (3.3) Proceeds from refundable advances for construction 27.5 — Cash dividends paid (315.3) (304.6) Other financing activities (18.1) (9.6) Cash Flows from Financing Activities 917.7 467.0 NET CHANGE IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH 0.3 5.1 CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH: Beginning of period 27.0 29.9 End of period $ 27.3 $ 35.0 The accompanying Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
Evergy consolidated cash flows: operating cash, investment and financing · Filed 06/08/2026
If recovery or refund of regulatory assets or liabilities is not approved by regulators or is no longer deemed probable, these regulatory assets or liabilities are recognized in the current period results of operations.
Critical accounting estimates: consequences of regulatory non-recovery · Filed 19/02/2026
Large Load Customers In 2026, the Evergy Companies signed ESAs with multiple large load customers to serve data centers with a projected peak steady state load of approximately 2,600 MWs.
MD&A: signed large-load service agreements and projected demand · Filed 06/08/2026
The service of these large load customers, inclusive of an optional transitional load period not to exceed five years, has commenced or is expected to commence at dates ranging from 2026 to 2028.
MD&A: transitional load period and actual or expected service commencement · Filed 06/08/2026
Three Months Ended June 30 Year to Date June 30 2026 Change 2025 2026 Change 2025 (millions) Operating revenues $ 1,500.1 $ 63.1 $ 1,437.0 $ 2,943.8 $ 132.3 $ 2,811.5 Fuel and purchased power 328.5 (1.9) 330.4 688.5 2.8 685.7 SPP network transmission costs 118.8 3.9 114.9 228.4 17.1 211.3 Operating and maintenance 260.9 5.8 255.1 504.1 17.0 487.1 Depreciation and amortization 304.3 15.9 288.4 609.6 33.1 576.5 Taxes other than income tax 107.0 2.6 104.4 214.2 (1.3) 215.5 Income from operations 380.6 36.8 343.8 699.0 63.6 635.4 Other income (expense), net 18.3 25.7 (7.4) 30.0 40.4 (10.4) Interest expense 165.9 12.1 153.8 340.4 34.1 306.3 Income tax expense 16.4 6.4 10.0 19.8 0.2 19.6 Equity in earnings of equity method investees, net of income taxes 1.5 (0.3) 1.8 3.9 0.5 3.4 Net income 218.1 43.7 174.4 372.7 70.2 302.5 Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 3.1 — 3.1 6.2 — 6.2 Net income attributable to Evergy, Inc.
Evergy Results of Operations: operating income, expenses and net income · Filed 06/08/2026
A year of strong operational performance: While our financial results in 2025 were below expectations due primarily to lower-than-expected weather-normalized demand and mild weather in the second and third quarters, our operational performance was strong.
Shareholder letter: 2025 financial performance below expectations · Filed 26/03/2026
We also improved reliability performance, as reflected by lower average outage duration and frequency for our customers and a lower forced outage rate in our generation fleet.
Shareholder letter: reported reliability and generation outage improvements · Filed 26/03/2026
Compensation Discussion and Analysis | Summary and Analysis of Executive Compensation | Evergy 2026 Proxy Statement 44 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Committee grants the annual award of equity incentives generally effective within the first few business days in March of each year and uses a mix of time-based RSUs (30% for 2025) and performance-based RSUs (70% for 2025) that are paid on the basis of the attainment of performance goals and satisfaction of other standard criteria.
Compensation Discussion and Analysis: 2025 equity incentive mix · Filed 26/03/2026
RSUs generally “cliff” vest in three years from the respective dates of grant, subject to satisfaction of the award terms, such as continued employment through the vesting date.
Compensation Discussion and Analysis: three-year vesting terms · Filed 26/03/2026
Strong Compensation Governance Practices Our Committee believes our executive compensation program also features best-in-class governance practices, such as: ✔ Alignment between pay and performance ✔ Annual risk assessment ✔ Compensation heavily weighted to performance ✔ Standard annual equity grant cycle ✔ Regular review of performance against compensation targets and outlook for payouts ✔ SEC compliant clawback policy and provisions in award agreements ✔ Independent Committee oversight ✔ No employment agreements – NEOs employed at will ✔ Standing Committee executive sessions ✔ No stock options ✔ Independent compensation consultant ✔ No repricing or backdating of stock options ✔ “Double trigger” change-in-control benefits ✔ No dividends for unvested awards ✔ Robust stock ownership guidelines ✔ No short selling, hedging or pledging ✔ Board review of succession plans ✔ No tax “gross-ups” Executive Summary of Compensation Matters | Evergy 2026 Proxy Statement 37 TABLE OF CONTENTS Compensation Discussion and Analysis Compensation Philosophy, Objectives, and Process Compensation Philosophy and Objectives Evergy’s executive compensation program is designed to support achievement of our business strategy without encouraging excessive risk-taking.
Compensation governance: disclosed safeguards and ownership guidelines · Filed 26/03/2026
Lead Independent Director Responsibilities The Lead Independent Director is responsible for developing agendas for executive sessions of independent directors and calling and presiding over the same.
Corporate Governance: lead independent director responsibilities · Filed 26/03/2026
Proposal 3 - Ratification of Appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP | Evergy 2026 Proxy Statement 72 TABLE OF CONTENTS Audit Committee Report The Audit Committee is currently comprised of four independent directors.
Audit Committee Report: current independent committee membership · Filed 26/03/2026
Each incumbent director nominee attended greater than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board and committees on which he or she served during 2025 (or portion of 2025 during which he or she served as a director or committee member).
Corporate Governance: actual 2025 director attendance · Filed 26/03/2026
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 18, 2026, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Independent auditor report: unqualified internal-control opinion · Filed 19/02/2026
As of June 30, 2026, Evergy had $1,648.4 million of available borrowing capacity under its master credit facility.
Liquidity and Capital Resources: available credit capacity · Filed 06/08/2026
repurchased $244.1 million aggregate principal amount of its $1.4 billion aggregate principal amount of Convertible Notes, under separate, privately negotiated repurchase agreements with certain holders of its Convertible Notes, for a total repurchase cost (including fees and excluding accrued and unpaid interest) of $309.5 million.
MD&A: completed convertible-note repurchases and cost · Filed 06/08/2026
In July 2026, the KCC issued an order accepting Evergy Kansas Central's 2025 earnings calculation and determined that there was no refund obligation for 2025.
Rate Matters and Regulation: accepted 2025 earnings calculation · Filed 06/08/2026
Since 2017, Evergy’s overall retail rates have increased a cumulative 4.9%, equal to approximately 0.5% annual inflation, well below the average rate increases in regional peer states and economy-wide inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index) over the same time period.(1) • Reliability: Our focus on safe and reliable service includes investments to modernize our transmission and distribution infrastructure to improve reliability for our customers and improve the resiliency of the electric grid and its ability to withstand extreme weather.
Strategic performance discussion: cumulative retail-rate history · Filed 26/03/2026
