National Grid plc (NYSE: NGG) is still easy to frame as a defensive utility and dividend name, but its latest numbers suggest the more important question is how much growth it can turn into regulated and adjacent infrastructure earnings. In full-year 2025/26 results, National Grid reported underlying EPS of 78.0 pence, up 8% from 72.0 pence, underlying operating profit of £5.7 billion, up 9%, capital investment of £11.6 billion, up 21%, and asset growth of 10.9%. Those are not the metrics of a business trying to stand still.
The July 1 announcement that National Grid Ventures agreed to invest $1.75 billion for a 35% stake in Joulent LLC makes that shift even clearer. Management described the partnership as a way to develop contracted power and electrical infrastructure solutions for U.S. large load demand, a theme tied directly to data-center and AI-related power needs. That pushes the story beyond yield and into whether National Grid can compound value through a mix of regulated asset growth and selective U.S. power-infrastructure optionality.
Why National Grid’s U.S. power-demand exposure and network investment story matters beyond a dividend narrative
The core reason the U.S. angle matters is that National Grid already has a large American base to build from. In the FY25/26 presentation, the group described its portfolio as roughly 46% U.S. and 54% U.K., with electricity making up about 75% of the mix. That means the company is not making a token move into a new geography. It is adding a targeted large-load growth lever on top of an existing transatlantic utility platform.
The operating detail supports that. In New England, National Grid showed a rate base of $13.6 billion, up 12% from $12.2 billion, capital investment of £2.0 billion, up 24% from £1.7 billion, and adjusted operating profit of £960 million versus £925 million a year earlier. In New York, the group said rate-base growth was 10%, return on equity was 9.0%, and the business delivered 96% of allowed return. Those figures show that U.S. growth is already doing real work inside the earnings base.
Joulent matters because it sits one step beyond the standard regulated utility model. National Grid Ventures said the investment will support contracted power and electrical infrastructure solutions for large-load demand in the U.S., and specifically linked the strategy to data centers and AI. That is a different growth profile from simply waiting for rate cases and asset-base roll-forward. If it works, National Grid gets exposure to one of the clearest current demand themes in power infrastructure without having to remake the whole group around it.
That said, the attraction here is not that National Grid stops being a utility. It is that the company can use its balance sheet, execution capability, and network footprint to capture growth that a pure dividend framing misses. Investors should still view the regulated asset base as the anchor. The question is whether adjacent U.S. projects can improve the quality and duration of that growth.
What the latest reported capital plan, regulated-asset growth, financing needs, and balance-sheet context say about upside and risk now
National Grid’s capital plan is now big enough that financing discipline matters almost as much as growth. The company said its five-year framework has been upgraded to at least £70 billion of investment, with group asset growth CAGR of about 10% and upgraded underlying EPS CAGR of about 8% to 10% from the FY26 base. For 2026/27 alone, it expects capital investment to grow around 10% to nearly £13 billion, asset growth to be around 10%, and operating cash flow from operations to increase around 20% from 2025/26.
Those targets make the upside legible, but they also explain the balance-sheet pressure. National Grid reported £7.9 billion of cash generated from operations in FY25/26, a net cash outflow of £6.0 billion, and net debt of £44.2 billion versus £41.4 billion in FY25.
The regulatory backdrop is supportive enough to keep the machine moving, but not so generous that execution can relax. National Grid said Ofgem’s RIIO-T3 final determination for the April 2026 to March 2031 period included a real allowed cost of equity of 6.12% at 60% gearing for its Electricity Transmission business. The FY25/26 presentation also showed about two-thirds of the roughly £31 billion U.K. Electricity Transmission investment opportunity covered by regulatory agreements. That gives visibility, but not a free pass. Returns still depend on delivery, timing, and cost control.
This is why the Joulent deal matters symbolically as well as financially. It says National Grid wants part of its growth to come from solving new U.S. power bottlenecks tied to technology demand, not only from traditional grid expansion. If those contracted projects scale well, they can complement the regulated engine. If they do not, investors are left with the same heavy-capex utility story but with more execution complexity layered on top.
Key Signals for Investors
National Grid’s FY25/26 asset growth of 10.9% and capital investment of £11.6 billion show that this is already a growth utility, not just a payout vehicle.
The $1.75 billion Joulent investment matters because it targets contracted U.S. large-load demand tied to data centers and AI, giving the group a more direct route into a live infrastructure bottleneck.
U.S. operations are already meaningful, with New England rate base up 12% and New York rate-base growth at 10%, so the company has an operating base that can support the new strategy.
Net debt at £44.2 billion and adjusted net debt at £44.9 billion mean future execution has to be judged against financing strain as well as earnings growth.
The most important test from here is whether National Grid can keep translating its enlarged investment plan into regulated returns and cash flow without letting adjacent growth projects dilute discipline.
Sources
https://www.nationalgrid.com/document/576636/download
https://www.nationalgrid.com/document/576631/download
https://www.nationalgrid.com/national-grid-ventures-invest-175bn-accelerate-power-solutions-us-data-centers-and-ai
https://www.nationalgrid.com/ofgems-riio-t3-final-determination-published-national-grid-response
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