S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE:NEE) reported its results for the fourth quarter. NextEra Energy provides electricity-related services through two operating subsidiaries, FPL and FPL Energy.

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NextEra Energy Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Fourth Quarter

Results: Net income for NextEra Energy Inc. rose to $667 million ($1.59 per share) vs. $263 million (63 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This is a more than twofold rise from the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 13.2% to $3.86 billion from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: NEE reported adjusted net income of 93 cents per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of 92 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $3.75 billion.

Quoting Management: “NextEra Energy delivered strong performance in the fourth quarter and overall for 2011. At Florida Power & Light, earnings growth was driven by investments in the business, including new efficient power generation, that are helping to provide our customers with the lowest bills in the state and reliability that is among the best in the country. At NextEra Energy Resources, we signed nearly 2,200 megawatts of long-term wind and solar contracts in 2011, our most ever in a single year,” said NextEra Energy Chairman and CEO Lew Hay.

Key Stats:

The company topped expectations last quarter after falling short of forecasts in the third quarter with net income of $1.31 versus a mean estimate of net income of $1.43 per share.

Net income has increased 14.6% year over year on average across the last five quarters. The biggest gain came in the most recent quarter, when income climbed more than twofold from the year earlier quarter.

Revenue rose last quarter after seeing a drop the quarter before. Revenue fell 6.6% to $4.38 billion in the third quarter from the year earlier.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly negative about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year has moved down from 98 cents a share to 89 cents over the last ninety days. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved down from $4.45 a share to $4.39 over the last ninety days.

Competitors to Watch: Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), El Paso Electric Company (NYSE:EE), Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR), The Southern Company (NYSE:SO), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE), PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POM), American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE:AEP), Northeast Utilities System (NYSE:NU), and Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:CEG).

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

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