Power supplier Southern Company SO reported second-quarter 2019 earnings per share (excluding certain one-time items) of 80 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents and in line with the year-ago profit. The robust performance stemmed from positive effects of rates and pricing changes, favorable weather conditions, as well as lower costs and expenses.The Atlanta-based utility’s quarterly revenue – at $5.1 billion – came 9.4% lower than the second-quarter 2018 sales and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.2 billion. The miss was primarily on account of loss of revenue from the divestment of its Gulf Power subsidiary and other assets.Overall Sales BreakupSouthern Company’s wholesale power sales decreased 7.6%. This came on top of the steep fall in retail electricity demand amid strategic sale of certain assets.Consequently, there was a downward movement in overall electricity sales and usage. In fact, total electricity sales during the second quarter were down 7.3% from the same period last year.Southern Company’s total retail sales decreased 7.2%, with residential and commercial sales going down by 9.2% and 7.4%, respectively. Moreover, industrial sales declined 5.2%.Southern Company (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Southern Company (The) price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Southern Company (The) QuoteExpenses SummaryThe power supplier’s operations and maintenance cost decreased 13.6% to $1.3 billion, while the utility’s total operating expense for the period – at $3.8 billion – was down 32.5% from the prior-year level.Zacks Rank & Stock PicksSouthern Company – one of the largest generators of electricity in the nation along with the likes of Exelon Corporation EXC and Duke Energy Corporation DUK – currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).A better-ranked player in the space is Atlantic Power Corporation AT. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The 2019 Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Dedham, MA-based utility is 24 cents, representing some 50% earnings per share growth over 2018. Next year’s average forecast is 27 cents pointing to another 12.5% growth.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report Southern Company (The) (SO): Free Stock Analysis Report Exelon Corporation (EXC): Free Stock Analysis Report Atlantic Power Corporation (AT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research