8-KRegulation FD

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

Filed August 24, 2010For Securities:AEP

Summary

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) filed this Form 8-K on August 24, 2010, to announce that its management would be reaffirming its previously issued 2010 fiscal year earnings guidance of $2.80 to $3.20 per share during investor meetings scheduled between August 24 and August 31, 2010. This guidance pertains to AEP's 'ongoing earnings,' which are defined as GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items, and represents the company's primary metric for communicating its performance and outlook to investors and analysts. The filing also serves as a reminder of AEP's business and the inherent risks and uncertainties that could impact its financial results. These include factors such as electric load growth, weather, fuel costs, regulatory decisions, environmental regulations, litigation, economic conditions, and capital market fluctuations. Investors should note that the company explicitly disclaims any obligation to update this forward-looking information.

Key Highlights

  • 1AEP reaffirms 2010 fiscal year ongoing earnings guidance of $2.80 to $3.20 per share.
  • 2Guidance to be communicated during investor meetings from August 24 to August 31, 2010.
  • 3'Ongoing earnings' (adjusted GAAP earnings) are the company's primary performance metric for investors.
  • 4The filing includes a comprehensive list of risk factors that could affect future results.
  • 5Key risk factors include regulatory and environmental matters, fuel costs, economic conditions, and capital markets.

Frequently Asked Questions

The primary purpose of this 8-K filing is to formally announce that AEP management will be reaffirming its previously issued earnings guidance for the 2010 fiscal year during upcoming investor meetings. It also serves to remind investors of the company's forward-looking statements and the associated risk factors.

AEP is reaffirming its guidance for ongoing earnings (adjusted GAAP earnings) of $2.80 to $3.20 per share for the 2010 fiscal year.

AEP uses 'ongoing earnings' as its primary performance measurement. This metric represents GAAP earnings that have been adjusted for certain items, providing what management believes is a more meaningful representation of the company's performance compared to reported GAAP earnings.

The filing lists numerous risk factors, including but not limited to, electric load and customer growth, weather conditions, fuel costs and availability, regulatory decisions and rate cases, environmental regulations and compliance, litigation, economic conditions in AEP's service territory, and changes in financial and capital markets.