AEP vs AQN vs NEE Stock Comparison

American Electric Power, Algonquin Power & Utilities and Nextera Energy Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NEE Nextera Energy Inc
$82.11 +6.6% 1M -1.4% 1Y
Market cap
$171.30B
P/E
14.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.83B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

American Electric Power leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (American Electric Power 6, Nextera Energy 4, Algonquin Power & Utilities 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAEPAQNNEELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $70.33B $4.12B $171.30B NEE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.5x 29.6x 14.7x NEE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.7x 15.9x 21.1x AQN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.3% +5.7% +9.6% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.1% 11.5% 40.4% NEE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.5% 3.4% 4.7% AEP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 7.0x 7.0x AEP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.07% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.6% -6.9% -1.4% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.7%/yr -18.6%/yr -0.6%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.4% 25.7% 21.2% AEP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 58/100 61/100 NEE

Percentile Scorecard

AEPAQNNEE

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

AxisAEPAQNNEE
Valuation 23 #52 of 67 79 #15 of 67 24 #51 of 67
Growth 64 #24 of 65 69 #21 of 65 94 #5 of 65
Profitability 58 #28 of 65 66 #23 of 65 89 #8 of 65
Financial Health 26 #49 of 66 39 #41 of 66 49 #34 of 66
Shareholder Returns 27 #49 of 67 38 #42 of 67 49 #35 of 67
Overall 40 58 61
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AQN ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NEE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAEPAQNNEESPY
1 month +9.5%+6.5%+6.6% -1.0%
3 months -4.3%-11.3%-8.6% +2.9%
6 months -3.7%-14.8%-13.8% +6.4%
Year to date +12.5%-12.2%+2.3% +11.4%
1 year +11.6%-6.9%-1.4% +13.1%
3 years +73.5%+6.9%+49.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +20.2%+2.3%+14.2% +21.5%
5 years +51.5%-64.3%-2.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +8.7%-18.6%-0.6% +10.9%
10 years +107.6%-39.5%+165.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.6%-4.9%+10.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAEPAQNNEESPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.4%25.7%21.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.2%28.3%22.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.070.230.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.60-0.27-0.06 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.2%-73.3%-47.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.5%-22.6%-16.1% -2.5%
52-week high $138.69$6.98$97.88 $779.14
52-week low $113.70$4.99$75.50 $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.

MultipleAEPAQNNEE
P/E now vs peer median 25.6xmedian 20.8x 29.8xmedian 20.8x 14.7xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.8x 3.4xmedian 2.8x 6.0xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 13.1x 11.4xmedian 13.1x 18.4xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.3xmedian 36.7x 26.0xmedian 36.7x 36.8xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.7x 0.8xmedian 1.7x 2.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.77median 2.27 0.85median 2.27 1.05median 2.27

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 monthsAEPAQNNEE
Revenue $22.79B $1.21B $28.83B
Gross profit $15.43B -$435.80M –
Operating income $5.24B $525.40M $8.66B
Net income $3.07B $167.50M $11.64B
Free cash flow -$5.75B $159.40M $4.67B
EPS (diluted) $5.02 $0.18 $5.55
Cash & equivalents $375.00M $55.00M $5.58B
Total debt $52.84B $6.64B $413.84B
Shares (diluted) 550.63M 772.41M 2.10B
Enterprise value $67.50B $3.92B $158.05B

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
MetricAEPAQNNEE
P/E 25.6x 29.8x 14.7x
P/FCF -12.3x 26.0x 36.8x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 4.0x 11.6x
P/S 3.1x 3.4x 6.0x
P/B 2.1x 0.8x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 0.8x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 14.0x 11.4x 18.4x
EV/EBIT 23.4x 20.4x 32.0x
EV/Revenue 5.4x 8.9x 9.6x
EV/FCF -21.3x 67.3x 59.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.0x 10.5x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.77 0.85 1.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAEPAQNNEE
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.3% 5.7% 9.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% -5.3% 1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.1% 5.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 6.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 2.2% 14.0% 13.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.5% -5.8% -3.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -17.4% 112.7% 79.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.7% 52.3% 15.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.2% 153.3% 76.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.2% 35.1% 14.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.1% 6.7% 23.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.6% 11.6% 16.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -63.5% -45.1% 30.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.1% 28.6% 124.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAEPAQNNEE
Gross margin 67.7% -36.1% –
EBITDA margin 38.4% 77.8% 52.2%
Operating margin 23.0% 43.6% 30.0%
Pretax margin 15.4% 16.2% 35.0%
Net margin 12.1% 11.5% 40.4%
FCF margin -25.2% 13.2% 16.2%
Operating cash flow margin 33.8% 85.2% 51.4%
Return on equity 9.6% 1.5% 13.9%
Return on assets 2.7% – 4.1%
Return on invested capital 5.5% 3.4% 4.7%
Return on capital employed 5.0% – 4.2%
Asset turnover 0.2x – 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 6.1x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAEPAQNNEE
Debt / assets 43.5% 47.7% 45.0%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.3x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 7.0x 7.0x
Debt / FCF -9.2x 41.6x 23.6x
Liabilities / assets 72.6% 64.3% 70.3%
Equity / assets 27.4% 35.7% 29.7%
Interest coverage 2.4x 1.9x 2,164x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.9x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.92 0.18 0.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAEPAQNNEE
Dividend yield 2.9% 5.2% 3.0%
Net buyback yield – -0.2% -0.6%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 5.0% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 180.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 189.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -30.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -17.9% –

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.

ConsensusAEPAQNNEE
Forward P/E 21.7xFY2026 15.9xFY2026 21.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.99FY2026 $0.34FY2026 $3.89FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.3%FY2026 0.0%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.2% +17.6% +18.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.04BFY2026 $2.45BFY2026 $32.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.3%FY2026 +0.9%FY2026 +17.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.4% +14.7% +9.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAEPAQNNEE
Held by institutions 92.1% 68.7% 84.3%
Institutions holding 1,984 241 3,019
Change in shares held, QoQ +13.2% +2.1% +2.3%
Institutions buying 1,064 129 1,588
Institutions selling 584 67 1,054
Buyers to sellers 1.82 1.93 1.51

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.

AEPAQNNEE
AEP 1.00 0.32 0.51
AQN 0.32 1.00 0.33
NEE 0.51 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AEP, AQN and NEE?

Nextera Energy (NEE) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Electric Power (AEP) $70.33B, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) $4.12B, Nextera Energy (NEE) $171.30B.

Which stock is cheaper, AEP, AQN and NEE?

Nextera Energy (NEE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Electric Power (AEP) 25.5x, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 29.6x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 14.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) is cheapest (American Electric Power (AEP) 21.7x, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 15.9x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.1x). 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%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) +5.7%, Nextera Energy (NEE) +9.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nextera Energy (NEE) has the highest net margin (American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 11.5%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 40.4%). On return on invested capital, American Electric Power (AEP) leads (American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 3.4%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: American Electric Power (AEP) +11.6%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -6.9%, Nextera Energy (NEE) -1.4%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (American Electric Power (AEP) +8.7%/yr, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) -18.6%/yr, Nextera Energy (NEE) -0.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: American Electric Power (AEP) 0.00%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 0.07%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 0.00%. American Electric Power (AEP) and Nextera Energy (NEE) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Electric Power (AEP) has been the steadiest (American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) 25.7%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AEP, AQN and NEE?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, American Electric Power (AEP) 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.