WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call July 31, 2024 2:00 PM ET
Company Participants
Scott Lauber - President and CEO
Xia Liu - CFO
Conference Call Participants
Shar Pourreza - Guggenheim Partners
Julien Dumoulin-Smith - Jefferies
Michael Sullivan - Wolfe Research
Durgesh Chopra - Evercore ISI
Carly Davenport - Goldman Sachs
Andrew Weisel - Scotiabank
Neil Kalton - Wells Fargo Securities
Jeremy Tonet - JPMorgan
Paul Patterson - Glenrock Associates
Operator
Good afternoon and welcome to the WEC Energy Group's Conference Call for Second Quarter 2024 Results. This call is being recorded for rebroadcast and all participants are in a listen-only mode at this time. After the presentation, the conference will be opened to analysts and questions-and-answers. In conjunction with this call, a package of detailed financial information is posted on wecenergygroup.com. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of this call.
Before the conference call begins, please note that all statements in the presentation, other than historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that are subject to change at any time. Such statements are based on management's expectations at the time they are made.
In addition to the assumptions and other factors referred to in connection with the statements, factors described in WEC Energy Group's latest Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. During the discussions, referenced earnings per share will be based on diluted earnings per share unless otherwise noted.
And it's now my pleasure to introduce Scott Lauber, President and Chief Executive Officer of WEC Energy Group.
Scott Lauber
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we review our results for the second quarter of 2024.
Here with me today are Xia Liu, our Chief Financial Officer; and Beth Straka, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations.
As you saw from our news release this morning, we reported second quarter 2024 earnings of $0.67 per share. We're firmly on track to meet the full-year 2024 guidance of $4.80 to $4.90 a share. This, of course, assumes normal weather for the balance of the year. We continue to see strong foundational growth in our regional economy. The unemployment rate in Wisconsin stands at 2.9%, continuing a long-running trend below the national average.
The pipeline of economic activity is particularly strong in what we call the I-94 corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago. For example, just last month, WestRock broke ground on a new facility at the former site of our retired power plants. WestRock is a leading company in paper and packaging solutions with 50,000 employees and 300 plants worldwide.