CenterPoint Energy · Earnings release

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CenterPoint Energy reports strong Q1 2026 results;

reiterates full-year 2026 guidance; provides an update on Houston Electric load growth

·

Reports Q1 2026 earnings of $0.48 per diluted share on a GAAP basis and

$0.56 per diluted share on a non-GAAP basis (“non-GAAP EPS”)

·

G1Reiterates its 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance range of at least the midpoint

of $1.89-$1.91, which, at the midpoint, would represent 8% growth over 2025 delivered results1

·

Announces 12.2 gigawatts of firmly committed industrial load at Houston

Electric, expecting 8 gigawatts of data center load to be energized by 2029

Houston – April 23, 2026 – CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

(NYSE: CNP), or “CenterPoint,” today reported net income of $316 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, on a GAAP basis for

the first quarter of 2026, compared to $0.45 per diluted share in the comparable period of 2025.

Non-GAAP EPS for the first quarter of 2026 was $0.56, compared to $0.53

per diluted share in the comparable period of 2025. These strong first-quarter results were primarily driven by growth and regulatory

recovery, which contributed $0.11 per share of favorability compared to the first quarter of 2025. This favorability was partially offset

by $0.02 per share of unfavorable weather and usage and $0.04 of unfavorability from increased interest expense. Additionally, $0.03 of

unfavorable variance was primarily related to the divestiture of Louisiana and Mississippi natural gas LDC businesses, reflecting the

completed sale in the first quarter of 2025.

CenterPoint announced more than 12 gigawatts of firmly committed industrial

load and increased its data center load forecast, now expecting to energize 8 gigawatts of projects in the Greater Houston area by 2029,

with 3.5 gigawatts already under construction.

“We are fortunate to be living in one of the most unique and

exciting times in our industry’s history. Our teams are moving at pace to execute our customer-focused capital plans, deliver strong

financial results, and facilitate real and tangible electric load growth for the benefit of all our customers. Our strong first quarter

performance positions us well for the remainder of the year and delivering results at or above the midpoint of our 2026 earnings guidance

range. We remain confident that we are making the right investments to produce safer, more reliable, and more resilient outcomes than

ever before.” said Jason Wells, chair of the Board, president and CEO of CenterPoint.

“We understand the best way to deliver on affordability for our

current customers is by bringing more connections onto our electric systems. With the incremental and accelerating growth we see in Greater

Houston alone, we project to be able to deliver customer savings of approximately $4 billion over the next decade. Through our team’s

disciplined execution and moving at the speed of business, we have made meaningful progress for numerous new customers to help them realize

their large load connections. As a result, we now have clear line of sight to 12.2 gigawatts of firmly committed industrial load. Given

all these trends, we continue to believe we have one of the most tangible and executable growth plans in the industry.” concluded

Wells.

1 CenterPoint is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation

of forward-looking non-GAAP diluted earnings per share without unreasonable effort because changes in the value of ZENS (as defined herein)

and related securities, future impairments, and other unusual items are not estimable and are difficult to predict due to various factors

outside of management’s control.

1

Earnings Outlook

In addition to presenting its financial results in accordance with

GAAP, including presentation of net income or income available to common shareholders (loss) and diluted earnings (loss) per share, CenterPoint

provides guidance based on non-GAAP income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical

measure of a company’s historical or future financial performance that excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded

or included in the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Management evaluates CenterPoint’s financial performance in part

based on non-GAAP income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share. Management believes that presenting these non-GAAP financial measures

enhances an investor’s understanding of CenterPoint’s overall financial performance by providing them with an additional meaningful

and relevant comparison of current and anticipated future results across periods. The adjustments made in these non-GAAP financial measures

exclude items that management believes do not most accurately reflect the company’s fundamental business performance. These excluded

items are reflected in the reconciliation tables of this news release, where applicable. CenterPoint’s non-GAAP income and non-GAAP

diluted earnings per share measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, net income and

diluted earnings per share, which respectively are the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures

also may be different than non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

·

◦

Earnings or losses from the change in value of CenterPoint’s 2.0% Zero-Premium Exchangeable Subordinated Notes due 2029 (“ZENS”)

and related securities;

◦

Gains, losses and impacts, including related expenses, associated with mergers and divestitures, such as the divestiture of our Louisiana

and Mississippi natural gas LDC businesses and the announced sale of our Ohio natural gas LDC business;

◦

Impacts related to temporary emergency electric energy facilities “TEEEF” once they are no longer part of our rate-regulated

business.

CenterPoint does not consider the items noted above and other potential impacts such as changes in accounting standards, impairments,

or other unusual items, which could have a material impact on GAAP reported results for the applicable guidance period. The 2026 non-GAAP

EPS guidance range also considers assumptions for certain significant variables that may impact earnings, such as customer growth and

usage including normal weather, throughput, recovery of capital invested, effective tax rates, financing activities and related interest

rates, and regulatory and judicial proceedings. To the extent actual results deviate from these assumptions, the 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance

range may not be met, or the projected annual non-GAAP EPS growth rate may change. CenterPoint is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation

of forward-looking non-GAAP diluted earnings per share without unreasonable effort because changes in the value of ZENS and related securities,

future impairments, and other unusual items are not estimable and are difficult to predict due to various factors outside of management’s

control.

2

Reconciliation of consolidated net income

and diluted earnings per share (GAAP) to non-GAAP income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share

Three Months Ended

Dollars in

millions

Diluted

EPS(1)

Consolidated net income and diluted EPS on a GAAP basis

$

$

ZENS-related mark-to-market (gains) losses:

Equity securities (net of tax expense of $10)(2)(3)

)

)

Indexed debt securities (net of tax benefit of $9)(2)

Impacts associated with mergers and divestitures (net of tax expense of $15)(2)(4)

Impacts associated with TEEEF Units removed from Rate Base (net of tax benefit of $5)(5)

Consolidated income and diluted EPS on a non-GAAP basis(6)

$

$

1)

Quarterly diluted EPS on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding

during the quarter, and the sum of the quarters may not equal year-to-date diluted EPS

2)

Taxes are computed based on the impact removing such item would have on tax expense. Taxes related to the Ohio natural gas LDC business

sale are booked proportionately by applying the projected annual effective tax rate percentage to income earned each quarter in accordance

with GAAP

3)

Comprised of common stock of AT&T Inc., Charter Communications, Inc., and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

4)

Includes $13 million loss on early debt extinguishment associated with the planned divestiture of the Ohio natural gas LDC business

and removes income tax impacts related to the sale

5)

Represents impacts related to temporary emergency electric energy facilities following the removal of the units from our rate regulated

business

6)

The calculation on a per-share basis may not add down due to rounding

Reconciliation of consolidated net income

and diluted earnings per share (GAAP) to non-GAAP income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share

Three Months Ended

Dollars in

millions

Diluted

EPS(1)

Consolidated net income and diluted EPS on a GAAP basis

$

$

ZENS-related mark-to-market (gains) losses:

Equity securities (net of tax expense of $17)(2)(3)

)

)

Indexed debt securities (net of tax benefit of $16)(2)

Impacts associated with mergers and divestitures (net of tax expense of $0)(2)(4)

Consolidated income and diluted EPS on a non-GAAP basis(5)

$

$

1)

Quarterly diluted EPS on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding

during the quarter, and the sum of the quarters may not equal year-to-date diluted EPS

2)

Taxes are computed based on the impact removing such item would have on tax expense. Taxes related to the Louisiana and Mississippi

natural gas LDC businesses sale are booked proportionately by applying the projected annual effective tax rate percentage to income earned

each quarter in accordance with GAAP. Additional tax expense related primarily to the write-off of non-deductible goodwill was reflected

in tax expense over the remainder of 2025 and excluded from non-GAAP EPS.

3)

Comprised of common stock of AT&T Inc., Charter Communications, Inc., and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

4)

Includes $43 million loss on sale associated with the divestiture of our Louisiana and Mississippi natural gas LDC businesses

5)

The calculation on a per-share basis may not add down due to rounding

3

Reconciliation of consolidated net income

and diluted earnings per share (GAAP) to non-GAAP income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share

Twelve Months Ended

Dollars in

millions

Diluted

EPS(1)

Consolidated net income and diluted EPS on a GAAP basis

$

$

ZENS-related mark-to-market (gains) losses:

Equity securities (net of tax benefit of $11)(2)(3)

Indexed debt securities (net of tax expense of $12)(2)

)

)

Impacts associated with mergers and divestitures (net of tax expense of $22)(2)(4)

Impacts associated with TEEEF Units removed from Rate Base (net of tax benefit of $12)(5)

Consolidated income and diluted EPS on a non-GAAP basis(6)

$

$

1)

Quarterly diluted EPS on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding

during the quarter, and the sum of the quarters may not equal year-to-date diluted EPS

2)

Taxes are computed based on the impact removing such item would have on tax expense. Taxes related to the Louisiana and Mississippi

natural gas LDC business sale are booked proportionately by applying the projected annual effective tax rate percentage to income earned

each quarter in accordance with GAAP. Additional tax expense related primarily to the write-off of non-deductible goodwill was reflected

in tax expense over the remainder of 2025 and excluded from non-GAAP EPS

3)

Comprised of common stock of AT&T Inc., Charter Communications, Inc., and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

4)

Includes $37 million loss on sale associated with the divestiture of our Louisiana and Mississippi natural gas LDC businesses and

gain on early extinguishment of debt with proceeds from the divestiture of the Louisiana and Mississippi natural gas LDC businesses

5)

Represents impacts related to temporary emergency electric energy facilities following the removal of the units from our rate regulated

business

6)

The calculation on a per-share basis may not add down due to rounding

Filing of Form 10-Q for CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

Today, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. filed with the Securities and

Exchange Commission (“SEC”) its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. A copy of that

report is available on the company’s website, under the Investors section. Investors and others should note that we may announce

material information using SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts, and the Investor Relations page of our

website. In the future, we will continue to use these channels to distribute material information about the company and to communicate

important information about the company, key personnel, corporate initiatives, regulatory updates, and other matters. Information that

we post on our website could be deemed material; therefore, we encourage investors, the media, our customers, business partners and others

interested in our company to review the information we post on our website.

Webcast of Earnings Conference Call

CenterPoint’s management will host an earnings conference call

on April 23, 2026, at 7:00 a.m. Central time / 8:00 a.m. Eastern time. Interested parties may listen to a live audio broadcast

of the conference call on the company’s website under the Investors section. A replay of the call can be accessed approximately

two hours after the completion of the call and will be archived on the website for at least one year.

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About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

As the only investor owned electric and gas utility based in Texas,

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation

and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas. As of

March 31, 2026, the company owned approximately $47.8 billion in assets. With approximately 8,800 employees, CenterPoint

Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release includes, and the earnings conference call will include

forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release and the earnings conference

call are forward-looking statements made in good faith by CenterPoint and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established

by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning CenterPoint’s expectations, beliefs, plans,

objectives, goals, strategies, future operations, events, financial position, earnings and guidance, growth, costs, prospects, capital

investments or performance or underlying assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. You should not place undue reliance

on forward-looking statements. When used in this news release and the conference call, the words "anticipate," "believe,"

"continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend,"

"may," "objective," "plan," "potential," "predict," "projection," "should,"

"target," "will" or other similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The absence of these

words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking.

Examples of forward-looking statements in this news release or on the

earnings conference call include statements about CenterPoint’s 10-year capital investment plan and the projects and programs therein

(which include Houston Electric’s Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative, System Resiliency Plan, the Houston Downtown Revitalization

Project, industrial load growth projects and 765 kilovolt projects, and other plans, projects and programs relating to electric transmission,

generation, resiliency, reliability, safety, gas meter upgrades, and system modernization), including the timing, execution, financing,

costs, affordability, and anticipated benefits thereof, regulatory matters relating thereto, and related matters, other capital investments

and opportunities therefor (including with respect to incremental capital opportunities, deployment of capital, execution, financing and

timing of such projects, and anticipated benefits related thereto), future earnings and guidance, CenterPoint’s goals regarding

the resiliency, reliability, and safety of our electric and gas systems, CenterPoint’s long-term growth rate and plans related thereto,

dividend growth and payouts, customer charges, customer bills and rate affordability (including forecasts of potential customer savings),

operations and maintenance expense reductions, the announced sale of our Ohio natural gas LDC business (including with respect to timing,

anticipated benefits, and related matters, such as the Seller’s Note), anticipated benefits thereof, regulatory matters including

the timing of, projections for, recovery through and anticipated benefits from the settlement of, rate cases and interim capital trackers

for CenterPoint and its subsidiaries (as applicable), base rate growth and population growth and economic development in CenterPoint’s

service territories, CenterPoint’s ability to support economic growth, meet customer needs and improve customer experiences, Houston

Electric’s release of its 15 large 27 megawatt (“MW”) to 32 MW temporary emergency electric energy facilities (“TEEEF”)

units to the San Antonio area and its ability to complete one or more other future transactions involving various sizes of TEEEF units

(including with respect to timing, filings related thereto, corresponding reductions in Houston Electric’s TEEEF fleet capacity,

anticipated benefits including with respect to revenue generation, rates, expected market demand for the units, and related matters),

the timing and extent of CenterPoint's recovery of costs and investments, electric demand growth (including industrial load growth) in

CenterPoint’s service territories (including forecasts and the drivers thereof, our ability to meet capacity needs related thereto,

interconnection requests and projects related thereto and our ability to connect customers, anticipated timing and the speed with which

we can energize such projects and the charges and bills related to such projects, capital investment opportunities related thereto, the

timing of investments related thereto, and anticipated benefits of such growth), transmission planning studies and anticipated results

thereof, financing plans (including in relation to operating cash flow, capital recycling, and the need for, timing of, and anticipated

benefits of any future equity or debt issuances, forward sales, and securitization, credit metrics and parent level debt), preparation

for weather conditions, CenterPoint’s 2.0% Zero-Premium Exchangeable Subordinated Notes due 2029 (“ZENS”) and impacts

of the maturity of ZENS, CenterPoint’s credit health, tax structure and liability (including with respect to the Corporate Alternative

Minimum Tax and guidance related thereto), balance sheet health, future financial condition, financial performance and results of operations,

value creation, opportunities and expectations. We have based our forward-looking statements on our management’s beliefs and assumptions

based on information currently available to our management at the time the statements are made. We caution you that assumptions, beliefs,

expectations, intentions, and projections about future events may and often do vary materially from actual results. Therefore, we cannot

assure you that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking

statement contained in this news release or discussed on the earnings conference call speaks only as of the date of this release or the

earnings conference call.

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Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from

those expressed or implied by our forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to: (1) the

business strategies and strategic initiatives, restructurings, joint ventures and acquisitions or dispositions of assets or businesses

involving CenterPoint or its industry, including the ability to successfully complete such strategies, initiatives, transactions or plans

on the timelines we expect or at all, such as the proposed sale of our Ohio natural gas LDC business, which we cannot assure you will

have the anticipated benefits to us; (2) industrial, commercial and residential growth in CenterPoint’s service territories

and changes in market demand and energy consumption, including in relation to the expansion of data centers, energy refining and exports,

advanced manufacturing and logistics, as well as the effects of energy efficiency measures, technological advances and demographic patterns,

and our ability to appropriately estimate/forecast and effectively manage such demand and the business opportunities relating to such

matters; (3) CenterPoint’s ability to fund and invest planned capital, and the timely recovery of its investments, including

those related to CenterPoint’s 10-year capital plan; (4) the ability to execute and complete CenterPoint’s planned capital

projects and programs, including those within CenterPoint’s 10-year capital plan, in a timely and cost-effective manner and within

budget, obtain the anticipated benefits of such projects, and manage costs and impacts of such projects on customer affordability; (5) CenterPoint’s

ability to successfully construct, operate, repair, maintain, replace and restart electric generating facilities, natural gas facilities,

TEEEF and electric transmission facilities; (6) the timing and success of, and the ability to obtain approval for matters relating

to, Houston Electric’s release of its large TEEEF units to the San Antonio area, proposed removal of its medium TEEEF units, reduction

of its TEEEF fleet capacity and reduction of rates to reflect the removal of the large and medium TEEEF units from Houston Electric’s

TEEEF fleet, as well as the ability to complete one or more other future transactions involving the large and medium TEEEF units on acceptable

terms and conditions within the anticipated timeframe; (7) financial market and general economic conditions, including access to

debt and equity capital, economic uncertainty and volatility, inflation, potential for recession, interest rates, and their effect on

sales, prices and costs; (8) disruptions to the global supply chain, labor shortages and scarcity of certain materials, including

as a result of changes in U.S. and foreign trade policy and geopolitical and economic uncertainty or instability, including the conflict

involving Iran; (9) actions by credit rating agencies, including any potential downgrades to credit ratings; (10) the timing

and impact of regulatory proceedings and actions and legal proceedings, including those related to, among other things, Hurricane Beryl,

Houston Electric’s TEEEF units and the February 2021 winter storm event, and requested or favorable adjustments to rates and

approval of other requested items as part of base rate proceedings or interim rate mechanisms; (11) federal, state and local legislative,

executive and regulatory actions or developments, including any actions resulting from Hurricane Beryl, pipeline integrity and safety,

actions relating to our facilities and changes in regulation, legislation and governmental actions pertaining to the utility model, trade

(including tariffs, bans, retaliatory trade measures taken against the United States or related government action), tax legislation and

guidance (including further changes to or clarification of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Inflation Reduction Act), the implementation

of budget and spending cuts to federal government agencies and programs, effects of government shutdowns, and developments related to

the environment; (12) the impact of public health threats; (13) severe weather events, natural disasters and other climate-related impacts,

and CenterPoint’s ability to mitigate such impacts, including the approval and timing of securitization issuances; (14) damages

to our network, facilities and systems, including as a result of wildfires; (15) changes in business plans; (16) changes to technology

and our ability to anticipate, adapt to and implement technological changes and advances in and our ability to timely adopt, develop and

deploy, artificial intelligence; (17) operations and maintenance costs, our ability to control such costs and cost-related impacts on

the affordability of our rates for our customers; (18) CenterPoint’s ability to timely obtain and maintain necessary land rights,

licenses, permits, easements and approvals from landowners and local, federal and other regulatory authorities on acceptable terms and

resolve disputes or third-party challenges to such licenses, permits or approvals, as applicable; (19) CenterPoint’s ability to

execute on its strategy, initiatives, targets and goals, including its energy transition goals and operations and maintenance goals; and

(20) other factors discussed in CenterPoint’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and

CenterPoint’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, including under “Risk Factors,”

“Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial

Condition and Results of Operations — Certain Factors Affecting Future Earnings” in such report and in other filings with

the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) by CenterPoint, which can be found at www.centerpointenergy.com on the Investor

Relations page or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

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