FORM 11-K (Mark One) [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934For the year ended December 31, 2025 OR[] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from ____ to ____Commission file number 333-179701, 333-82306, 333-115028, 333-135128, 333-156242, and 333-233037A. Full title of the plan and the address of the plan, if different from that of the issuer named below: Employees’ Thrift Plan of Indianapolis Power & Light Company B. Name of issuer of the securities held pursuant to the plan and the address of its principal executive office: The AES Corporation4300 Wilson BoulevardSuite 1100Arlington, VA 22203 A list of the required financial statements filed as part of this Form 11-K is set forth on page F-1. The consent of Ernst& Young to the incorporation by reference of these financial statements into the AES Corporation’s Forms S-8Registration Statements relating to the Plan (Registration No’s. 333-179701, 333-82306, 333-115028, 333-135128, and333-156242) is set forth hereto as Exhibit 23.1. The certification of the chief executive officer and the chief financialofficer of Indianapolis Power & Light Company, which does business as AES Indiana, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, isattached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTALSCHEDULE Employees’ Thrift Plan of IndianapolisPower & Light CompanyDecember31, 2025 and 2024,and Year Ended December31, 2025With Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Employees’ Thrift Plan of Indianapolis Power & Light Company Financial Statements and Supplemental Schedule December31, 2025 and 2024, and Year Ended December31, 2025 Contents Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Financial Statements Statements of Net Assets Available for BenefitsStatement of Changes in Net Assets Available for BenefitsNotes to Financial Statements 345 Supplemental Schedules Schedule H, Part IV, Line 4a – Schedule of Delinquent Participant Contributions Schedule H, Line 4i - Schedule of Assets (Held at End of Year) Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm To the Plan Participants and the Plan Administrator of Employees’ Thrift Plan of Indianapolis Power & Light Company Opinion on the Financial Statements We have audited the accompanying statements of net assets available for benefits of Employees’ Thrift Plan ofIndianapolis Power & Light Company (the Plan) as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, and the related statement of changesin net assets available for benefits for the year ended December 31, 2025, and the related notes (collectively referred to asthe “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the net assetsavailable for benefits of the Plan at December 31, 2025 and 2024, and the changes in its net assets available for benefitsfor the year ended December 31, 2025, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Basis for Opinion These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion onthe Plan’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public CompanyAccounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Plan inaccordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and ExchangeCommission and the PCAOB. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan andperform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement,whether due to error or fraud. The Plan is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internalcontrol over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control overfinancial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Plan’s internal control overfinancial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements,whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures includedexamining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits alsoincluded evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluatingthe overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. Supplemental Schedules Required by ERISA The accompanying supplemental schedules of assets (held at end of year) as of December 31, 2025, and delinquentparticipant contributions for