Edison International (EIX) shares fell 7.4% in pre‑open trading, extending a decline that saw the stock close at $70.17 on August 28, down 4.76%, before edging to $70.69 in after‑hours. Peer utility PG&E (PCG) also slipped, losing 7.52%.
Analyst houses trimmed their outlooks on Edison. Mizuho lowered its price target to $70 from $86 and downgraded the stock to Neutral, while Barclays cut its target to $75 and moved the rating to Equal‑Weight. Morgan Stanley reduced its target to $65, and Argus shifted its recommendation to Hold, citing heightened wildfire liability risk. The utility’s 52‑week high remains $81.62.
Edison and its subsidiary Southern California Edison reported $1.6 billion in settlement‑related losses tied to the June 30, 2026, Eaton Fire settlement. The losses add to ongoing concerns over California’s wildfire fund, where liability caps sit at 20% of the CPUC transmission and distribution rate base.
The stock slide follows California’s missed deadline of August 29, 2026, to enact substantive wildfire liability reform. Although the legislature passed SB 492 on the final day, the bill omitted a mechanism to replenish the state’s wildfire fund and left the link between fund solvency and liability caps intact. Governor Newsom’s proposals to cap fund withdrawals at $6 billion per incident and to eliminate subrogation also failed to become law.
Broad market indices were modestly lower, with the S&P 500 down about 0.2%, the Dow Jones off 0.1% and the Nasdaq slipping 0.1% as investors digested the utility sector news.
