8-KRegulation FD

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Feb 24, 2010)

Filed February 24, 2010For Securities:AEP

Summary

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) filed an 8-K on February 24, 2010, to disclose information related to investor meetings scheduled between February 24, 2010, and March 4, 2010. During these meetings, AEP reaffirmed its previously issued guidance for ongoing earnings per share (EPS) for the 2010 fiscal year, targeting a range of $2.80 to $3.20. This guidance was initially provided in a previous 8-K filing on January 28, 2010. The company emphasized its use of "ongoing earnings," which are GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items, as its primary metric for performance measurement when communicating with investors and analysts. This metric is also used internally for performance tracking against budgets and for reporting to the board of directors. The filing also included a standard disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements and the various factors that could cause actual results to differ from projections, common in SEC filings.

Key Highlights

  • 1AEP reaffirmed its 2010 fiscal year ongoing earnings per share guidance of $2.80 to $3.20.
  • 2The reaffirmation was made in anticipation of investor meetings scheduled from February 24, 2010, to March 4, 2010.
  • 3AEP prioritizes 'ongoing earnings' (adjusted GAAP earnings) as its key performance metric for investor communications.
  • 4The company uses ongoing earnings internally for performance measurement and board reporting.
  • 5The filing serves as a Regulation FD disclosure to inform investors of the reaffirmed guidance.
  • 6A standard risk disclosure for forward-looking statements is included, detailing potential factors that could affect actual results.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of this 8-K filing is to inform investors that American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) will be reaffirming its previous earnings per share guidance for the 2010 fiscal year during upcoming investor meetings.

AEP reaffirmed its guidance for ongoing earnings per share for the 2010 fiscal year to be in the range of $2.80 to $3.20.

AEP's management believes that ongoing earnings, which are GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items, provide a more meaningful representation of the company's performance. They use this metric as their primary performance measurement when communicating with analysts and investors about their earnings outlook and results, and also internally.

The filing lists numerous potential factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from projections. These include, but are not limited to, electric load and customer growth, weather conditions, fuel costs and availability, generating capacity performance, regulatory decisions, new legislation and litigation (such as environmental regulations and Clean Air Act enforcement), economic climate, financial market conditions, and changes in commodity prices.