Nov 7 (Reuters) - U.S. utility Constellation Energy ( CEG )

on Friday narrowed the upper end of its full-year

forecast, after missing third-quarter estimates on higher

operating expenses.

Shares of the Baltimore, Maryland-based company fell 4% in

premarket trading following the results.

Higher operating expenses, driven by infrastructure

investments and maintenance, tend to squeeze margins for

utilities such as Constellation Energy ( CEG ).

Due to the rapid growth in power consumption following the

expansion of AI data centers, rising domestic production and the

electrification of industries, U.S. utilities have been arguing

for higher customer electricity costs.

Utilities have been seeking to raise customer power bills to

fund infrastructure upgrades, as the country's electrical grids

face extreme weather events and growing demand due to industry

electrification and data center expansions

Constellation now expects full-year adjusted operating

earnings in the range of $9.05 to $9.45 per share, from a prior

view of $8.90 to $9.60 per share.

Economic uncertainties fueled by U.S. President Donald

Trump's tariff policies could prompt companies to rethink how

they spend the billions of dollars earmarked for developing

artificial-intelligence infrastructure.

Investors are also becoming skeptical about tech companies

spending billions of dollars on AI infrastructure, as the

returns are slower than expected.

Constellation's total operating expenses rose 7.8% to $5.48

billion in the July-September quarter.

It reported total quarterly operating revenue of $6.57

billion, up from $6.55 billion a year earlier.

The utility posted adjusted profit of $3.04 per share for

the three months ended September 30, compared with analysts'

average estimate of $3.12 per share, according to data compiled

by LSEG.