Southern Company reported first-quarter 2020 earnings of $868 million, or 82 cents per share, compared with $2.08 billion, or $2.01 per share, in the first quarter of 2019.   

Excluding the items described in the "Net Income – Excluding Items" table below, Southern Company earned $825 million, or 78 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2020, compared with $730 million, or 70 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2019.

NOTE: For more information regarding these non-GAAP adjustments, see the footnotes accompanying the Financial Highlights page of the earnings package.

Earnings drivers for the first quarter 2020 were positively influenced by constructive regulatory actions completed at the company's state-regulated utilities in 2019, partially offset by mild weather.

"Southern Company's strong start to 2020 will be beneficial as we look to overcome sales impacts from the coronavirus," said Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. "Our top priority remains keeping employees healthy and safe, even as our subsidiaries continue to provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy for customers. To date, our operational performance during this challenging time has been exceptional, and we have not experienced – nor do we anticipate – any significant supply chain disruptions for our utilities or construction efforts."

"Critical infrastructure businesses like ours never take a day off," added Fanning. "We continue to serve customers safely, employing new work practices that help safeguard both our employees and our communities from COVID-19."

First quarter 2020 operating revenues were $5.02 billion, compared with $5.41 billion for the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 7.3 percent. This decrease was primarily due to lower fuel costs.

Southern Company's first quarter earnings slides with supplemental financial information are available at http://investor.southerncompany.com.