Fortum reported a weaker second quarter with comparable operating profit of €110 million, below the €126 million consensus, due to nuclear outages and low spring floods reducing hydropower output. Barclays kept an equal weight rating and €21 price target, citing Fortum's low-carbon Nordic fleet as a key beneficiary of Europe's datacenter buildout. The article highlights that datacenter demand, which is steady and high-volume, could tighten the Nordic supply-demand balance and support forward power prices. For investors, the focus should be on whether datacenter-linked demand keeps Nordic forward prices firm over time, rather than temporary quarterly disruptions from outages or weather.
