8-KRegulation FD

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Aug 30, 2011)

Filed August 30, 2011For Securities:AEP

Summary

This 8-K filing from American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), dated August 30, 2011, primarily serves as a notice regarding investor meetings scheduled for the same day. The key takeaway for investors is the reaffirmation of AEP's prior guidance for ongoing earnings per share (EPS) for the fiscal year 2011, set at a range of $3.00 to $3.20. Management emphasizes that "ongoing earnings" (GAAP earnings adjusted for certain items) are considered a more meaningful measure of performance and are used internally and externally for performance assessment and outlook communication. The filing also includes a standard disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements. Investors should note that while the company is reaffirming its guidance, actual results could differ materially due to a wide range of factors. These include economic conditions, weather, fuel costs and availability, regulatory decisions, litigation, and changes in financial and commodity markets, among others. The company explicitly states it has no obligation to update this forward-looking information.

Key Highlights

  • 1AEP reaffirms its fiscal year 2011 ongoing earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $3.00 to $3.20.
  • 2The reaffirmation occurred during investor meetings conducted on August 30, 2011.
  • 3The company emphasizes 'ongoing earnings' as its primary performance metric for investor communications, adjusting GAAP earnings for specific items.
  • 4This 'ongoing earnings' metric is used internally for performance measurement and reporting to the board.
  • 5The filing includes a comprehensive list of potential risk factors that could affect actual results.
  • 6AEP explicitly disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements in this report.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of this 8-K filing is to inform investors that AEP representatives will be conducting meetings with investors and to reaffirm the company's previously issued earnings guidance for the fiscal year 2011.

AEP has reaffirmed its guidance for ongoing earnings per share (EPS) for the fiscal year 2011 to be in the range of $3.00 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, as well as for internal performance tracking.

The filing lists numerous risk factors, including electric load and customer growth, weather conditions, fuel costs and availability, regulatory decisions and rate recovery, new legislation and litigation (such as environmental regulations), operational costs, economic conditions in their service territory, financial market changes, and commodity price volatility. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements.