The facts have shifted, with Fortum''s CEO stating yesterday that the co is now in active discussions with data centre developers on PPAs, and that PPAs could attract premiums above current guidance - a change in stance vs. prior calls. The PPA debate has therefore shifted from ''if'' to ''how big'' ahead of the CMD on 25th Nov. But we est. Fortum would need to sign a colossal PPA to match the EPS CAGR of eg. RWE, despite already trading at higher multiples. With expectations now acute going into Nov, we would rather own others like RWE to gain exposure to DCs and US multiple convergence. A change of message on data centre PPAs, against our expectations CEO stated 1) Fortum is in discussions with DC operators over PPAs, 2) PPAs could attract ''several EUR'' premiums on top of regular guided optimisation premiums, and 3) there have been enquiries on 10 year+ PPAs. Other comments mentioned ''uncertainty'', but in the round, this seemed a quite clear change in message vs. Q2 and implies a PPA announcement could come at CMD on 25/11. We have done new work on p2-3 on what a DC PPA could mean for earnings and multiples In a normal environment, our numbers would give some pause for caution: we est. Fortum would need to sign a 4-5GW/20TWh (40% of group output) PPA at a EUR20/MWh premium (on top of current opt. prems) to bring the P/E back into line with through-cycle (~15x) levels. Or to achieve the same 18% 3-year EPS CAGR as RWE, Fortum would have to achieve close to EUR60/MWh on all of its output, or sign at 20TWh PPA at an even higher EUR25/MWh premium. These are big numbers. Nonetheless, the shares will likely be tough to position against for the next three weeks With US utilities reaching P/Es into the 30s or higher, we think there is a substantial and probably not yet fully-tapped investor base who either think the above figures could be validated at the CMD or beyond, and/or that the shares can continue to push to higher multiples. But on a relative basis,...