8-KRegulation FD

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Dec 2, 2008)

Filed December 2, 2008For Securities:AEP

Summary

This 8-K filing by AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC (AEP), dated December 2, 2008, primarily serves as a Regulation FD disclosure. The company announced that its management will be reaffirming its previously issued earnings guidance for the 2008 fiscal year during upcoming investor meetings on December 2nd and 3rd, 2008. Specifically, AEP intends to reiterate its ongoing earnings per share guidance of $3.15 to $3.25. AEP emphasizes that it uses "ongoing earnings," which are GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items, as its primary performance metric when communicating with investors and analysts. This measure is also used internally for performance evaluation. The filing also includes a comprehensive list of risk factors that could potentially impact the company's future financial results, a standard component of such disclosures, covering areas like regulatory environments, fuel costs, economic conditions, and financial market volatility.

Key Highlights

  • 1AEP is reaffirming its previously issued 2008 fiscal year ongoing earnings per share guidance of $3.15 to $3.25.
  • 2This reaffirmation is being communicated during investor meetings on December 2nd and 3rd, 2008.
  • 3The company utilizes 'ongoing earnings' (adjusted GAAP earnings) as its primary performance measurement for investor communications and internal reporting.
  • 4The filing includes a broad range of risk factors that could materially affect AEP's future financial performance.
  • 5Key risk categories include regulatory decisions, fuel costs, operational performance, economic conditions, and financial market changes.
  • 6This 8-K acts as a Regulation FD disclosure, ensuring all investors receive the same information simultaneously.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of this 8-K filing is to provide a Regulation FD disclosure, informing investors that American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) will be reaffirming its prior earnings guidance for the 2008 fiscal year during upcoming investor meetings.

AEP is reaffirming its ongoing earnings per share guidance for the 2008 fiscal year to be in the range of $3.15 to $3.25.

AEP defines 'ongoing earnings' as GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items. The company considers this metric to provide a more meaningful representation of its performance and uses it as its primary performance measurement when communicating with analysts and investors, as well as for internal performance tracking.

AEP discloses a wide array of risks that could affect its future financial results. These include factors related to electric load and customer growth, weather conditions, fuel costs and availability, generating capacity performance, regulatory and legislative actions (including environmental regulations), litigation, operating costs, economic climate in its service territory, financial market conditions, creditworthiness of counterparties, and potential catastrophic events.