Duke Energy Posts Strong 2025 Results as Investments Grow, Executive Pay Reflects Performance, and Future Rate Increases for NC Customers Loom

Duke Energy’s rising profits in 2025 were driven by infrastructure investment and growing demand, while executive incentives and pending rate cases suggest continued upward pressure on North Carolina

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Duke Energy Corporation

Holly Springs, NC, Feb. 14, 2026 — Duke Energy entered 2026 on a strong financial footing after posting higher profits and revenue in 2025, highlighting the scale of the company that supplies electricity to much of North Carolina.

The company reported roughly $32 billion in revenue in 2025, up from about $30 billion in 2024, while profit rose to about $4.9 billion, an increase of more than ten percent from the prior year. Duke now holds nearly $200 billion in total assets, including about $130 billion invested in power plants, transmission lines, and grid infrastructure.

Those numbers help illustrate how Duke operates. Unlike competitors that rely on market pricing, Duke generates revenue through a regulated system. The company builds infrastructure, such as transmission lines, power plants, and grid upgrades, and regulators allow it to recover those costs over time through customer rates, along with an approved return on those investments.

That model means the company’s profits often rise when it invests more in the grid, because those investments become part of the system that regulators allow Duke to profit from.

Population growth in the Carolinas, expanding manufacturing, electrification trends, and rising demand from large energy users such as data centers all contributed to Duke’s improved financial performance last year.

Executive pay is tied closely to performance outcomes

Duke Energy’s compensation disclosures show that executive pay is designed so that most earnings depend on company performance rather than salary alone, a structure intended to tie leadership rewards directly to financial results.

In 2024, the company’s highest-paid executive was then-CEO Lynn Good, whose total compensation was about $21 million, most of it tied to stock awards and performance incentives. President Harry Sideris, who became CEO in 2025, earned roughly $7.8 million, while CFO Brian Savoy received about $5.7 million. In each case, salary made up only a small share of pay.

Because much of that compensation comes from stock and performance incentives, executives benefit most when Duke expands its infrastructure, grows earnings, and meets operational targets, the same factors that often lead the company to seek rate increases from regulators.

The 2025 compensation framework follows that same approach. When Sideris became CEO in April, his base salary rose to about $1.3 million, but his potential pay depends heavily on performance. If the company meets its incentive targets, his annual bonus could equal about 150 percent of his salary, and long-term stock incentives could reach roughly 750 percent of his salary, putting his total potential compensation near $13 million for a full year.

Other senior leaders operate under similar structures. Savoy’s salary is under $700,000, but incentive programs and stock awards raise his potential annual compensation to roughly $3.5 to $4 million if targets are met. Senior executive Julia Janson’s incentives place her potential total compensation in the $4 to $5 million range, depending on company performance.

For customers, the key point is that Duke’s leadership incentives are tied to growth, infrastructure investment, and financial performance. Those same priorities often drive future rate filings.

Some rate increases are already affecting 2026 bills; more are on tap

Not all rate changes facing North Carolina customers are new. A previously approved multi-year rate plan is already producing a modest increase for 2026. For many Duke Energy Carolinas customers, that adjustment adds about $2 to $3 per month to residential bills. Because the increase was approved in an earlier case, it is already reflected in current rates and is not tied to Duke’s latest request.

More significant changes could come later in the decade. In November 2025, Duke filed a new rate case with the North Carolina Utilities Commission covering both of its main utilities in the state. The company is seeking roughly $1.7 billion in additional annual revenue, which it says is needed to fund grid upgrades, new generation projects, and financing costs for its expanding infrastructure program.

If approved as filed, the proposal could raise residential bills by roughly 12 to 14 percent in 2027, with additional increases possible in 2028. For many households, that could mean monthly bills rising by roughly $20 to $30 over time. The request is still under review, and regulators will ultimately decide whether to approve, modify, or reject it.

Electricity prices have already been rising

Even without the pending rate case, electricity costs in North Carolina have been trending upward. Utility filings and federal data show that residential electricity prices in the state have risen noticeably over the past several years, with total increases estimated at 15-25 percent over five years, depending on region and timing.

While annual increases often track inflation, major rate cases can create larger jumps. A spike in electricity prices during 2025 suggests the pace of increases may be accelerating.

What this means for customers going forward

Taken together, Duke Energy’s 2025 financial performance, compensation structure, and ongoing investment plans all point to the same reality. The company’s profits depend on building infrastructure and recovering those costs through rates. Executives are rewarded for executing that strategy successfully. Regulators, meanwhile, must balance reliability and modernization needs with customers' affordability concerns.

For North Carolina residents, the result is likely to be continued upward pressure on electricity bills in the coming years, though the timing and size of increases will depend on decisions still pending from regulators.

As Duke continues expanding the grid and generation capacity to meet growing demand, the central question for customers may not be whether rates rise, but how quickly and by how much.