AEP vs AES vs TAC Stock Comparison

American Electric Power, Aes and Transalta Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AES Aes Corp
$15.03 +1.0% 1M +3.7% 1Y
Market cap
$10.72B
P/E
5.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.05B
Div. yield
4.74%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
6 wins
TAC Transalta Corp
$12.86 +11.5% 1M -24.4% 1Y
Market cap
$3.82B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.64B
Div. yield
2.18%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Aes leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Aes 6, American Electric Power 5, Transalta 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAEPAESTACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $70.93B $10.72B $3.82B AEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.7x 5.7x -69.8x AES
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.7x 6.8x 53.6x AES
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.3% +8.5% -8.8% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.1% 14.3% -3.3% AES
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.5% 5.9% 0.0% AES
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 7.5x 4.8x TAC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.92% 4.74% 2.18% AES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.0% +3.7% -24.4% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.0%/yr -10.1%/yr +2.6%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.4% 27.4% 40.9% AEP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 63/100 45/100 AES

Percentile Scorecard

AEPAESTAC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAEPAESTAC
Valuation 23 #52 of 67 91 #7 of 67 65 #9 of 24
Growth 64 #24 of 65 97 #3 of 65 27 #17 of 23
Profitability 58 #27 of 63 52 #31 of 63 55 #11 of 23
Financial Health 26 #47 of 63 3 #61 of 63 30 #17 of 24
Shareholder Returns 29 #48 of 67 74 #18 of 67 47 #11 of 20
Overall 40 63 45
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AES ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • TAC ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAEPAESTACSPY
1 month +10.1%+1.0%+11.5% -0.2%
3 months -2.0%+1.3%+0.9% +3.9%
6 months -3.9%+3.8%+1.2% +8.2%
Year to date +13.0%+4.8%+1.7% +12.9%
1 year +12.0%+3.7%-24.4% +12.3%
3 years +73.9%+1.9%+75.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +20.3%+0.6%+20.5% +23.3%
5 years +53.8%-41.2%+13.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +9.0%-10.1%+2.6% +10.9%
10 years +106.2%+27.2%+187.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +7.5%+2.4%+11.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAEPAESTACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.4%27.4%40.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.2%33.9%44.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.070.321.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.620.14-0.60 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.2%-67.1%-48.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.0%-13.0%-27.5% -1.2%
52-week high $138.69$17.28$17.73 $779.14
52-week low $113.70$13.44$11.53 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAEPAESTAC
P/E now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 20.9x 5.7xmedian 20.9x -69.8xmedian 25.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.9x 0.8xmedian 2.9x 2.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 13.2x 10.1xmedian 13.2x 11.6xmedian 11.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.3xmedian 36.9x -11.4xmedian 36.9x 13.6xmedian 13.6x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.7x 1.1xmedian 1.7x 2.9xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.78median 2.31 0.06median 2.31 2.20median 0.60

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAEPAESTAC
Revenue $22.79B $13.05B $1.64B
Gross profit $15.43B $2.65B $1.05B
Operating income $5.24B $2.42B $201.41M
Net income $3.07B $1.87B -$17.93M
Free cash flow -$5.75B -$937.00M $281.42M
EPS (diluted) $5.02 $2.62 $-0.18
Cash & equivalents $375.00M $1.80B $212.54M
Total debt $52.84B $32.12B $2.98B
Shares (diluted) 550.63M 715.00M 297.00M
Enterprise value $69.32B $8.73B $2.76B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAEPAESTAC
P/E 25.7x 5.7x -69.8x
P/FCF -12.3x -11.4x 13.6x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 2.1x 7.9x
P/S 3.1x 0.8x 2.3x
P/B 2.1x 1.1x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 1.4x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 10.1x 11.6x
EV/EBIT 23.5x 17.0x 32.2x
EV/Revenue 5.4x 3.1x 4.0x
EV/FCF -21.4x -43.7x 23.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.0x 8.1x 13.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.78 0.06 2.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAEPAESTAC
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.3% 8.5% -8.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 0.3% -14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.1% 30.1% -4.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 1.3% -12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 2.2% 37.1% 44.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 1.5% -29.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -17.4% 115.9% 81.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.7% 100.8% -27.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.2% 104.4% 60.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.2% 88.8% -31.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.1% 40.0% 9.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.6% 18.3% -14.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -63.5% 75.5% 38.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.1% 33.9% -2.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAEPAESTAC
Gross margin 67.7% 20.3% 63.9%
EBITDA margin 38.4% 31.0% 34.0%
Operating margin 23.0% 18.5% 12.3%
Pretax margin 15.4% 5.7% 0.4%
Net margin 12.1% 14.3% -3.3%
FCF margin -25.2% -7.2% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 33.8% 38.5% 29.4%
Return on equity 9.6% 10.9% -1.5%
Return on assets 2.7% 2.0% -0.3%
Return on invested capital 5.5% 5.9% 0.0%
Return on capital employed 5.0% 5.4% –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 2.7x -26.9x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAEPAESTAC
Debt / assets 43.5% 59.2% 47.9%
Debt / equity 1.6x 3.3x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 7.5x 4.8x
Debt / FCF -9.2x -34.3x 10.6x
Liabilities / assets 72.6% 82.0% 79.1%
Equity / assets 27.4% 18.0% 20.9%
Interest coverage 2.4x 1.7x 0.8x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.7x –
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.4x –
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 0.93 0.52 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAEPAESTAC
Dividend yield 2.9% 4.7% 2.2%
Net buyback yield – – -6.0%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 4.7% -3.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 26.8% -193.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -53.6% 12.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.4% -5.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% 3.6%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAEPAESTAC
Forward P/E 21.7xFY2026 6.8xFY2026 53.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.01FY2026 $2.21FY2026 $0.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 -5.6%FY2026 +71.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.0% +17.6% +54.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.09BFY2026 $12.56BFY2026 $1.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.5%FY2026 +2.7%FY2026 -20.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.5% +10.0% +23.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAEPAESTAC
Held by institutions 92.1% 89.6% –
Institutions holding 1,984 698 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +13.2% +2.0% –
Institutions buying 1,064 348 –
Institutions selling 584 241 –
Buyers to sellers 1.82 1.44 –

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AEPAESTAC
AEP 1.00 0.12 0.14
AES 0.12 1.00 0.19
TAC 0.14 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AEP, AES and TAC?

American Electric Power (AEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Electric Power (AEP) $70.93B, Aes (AES) $10.72B, Transalta (TAC) $3.82B.

Which stock is cheaper, AEP, AES and TAC?

Aes (AES) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Electric Power (AEP) 25.7x, Aes (AES) 5.7x, Transalta (TAC) -69.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aes (AES) is cheapest (American Electric Power (AEP) 21.7x, Aes (AES) 6.8x, Transalta (TAC) 53.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American Electric Power (AEP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Aes (AES) +8.5%, Transalta (TAC) -8.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Aes (AES) has the highest net margin (American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%, Aes (AES) 14.3%, Transalta (TAC) -3.3%). On return on invested capital, Aes (AES) leads (American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%, Aes (AES) 5.9%, Transalta (TAC) 0.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: American Electric Power (AEP) +12.0%, Aes (AES) +3.7%, Transalta (TAC) -24.4%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (American Electric Power (AEP) +9.0%/yr, Aes (AES) -10.1%/yr, Transalta (TAC) +2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Aes (AES) has the highest dividend yield: American Electric Power (AEP) 2.92%, Aes (AES) 4.74%, Transalta (TAC) 2.18%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Electric Power (AEP) has been the steadiest (American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Aes (AES) 27.4%, Transalta (TAC) 40.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AEP, AES and TAC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Aes (AES) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.