AEP vs ES vs XEL Stock Comparison

American Electric Power, Eversource Energy and Xcel Energy Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ES Eversource Energy
$67.56 +6.1% 1M -9.5% 1Y
Market cap
$25.48B
P/E
14.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.93B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$77.86 +11.5% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$48.83B
P/E
21.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

American Electric Power leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (American Electric Power 5, Eversource Energy 4, Xcel Energy 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAEPESXELLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $70.85B $25.48B $48.83B AEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.7x 14.6x 21.9x ES
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.5x 15.4x 18.1x ES
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.3% +9.8% +4.7% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.1% 12.5% 15.3% XEL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.5% 6.2% 4.5% ES
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 6.2x 6.4x AEP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.04% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.4% -9.5% -3.1% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.9%/yr -4.6%/yr +4.2%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.4% 24.8% 19.2% XEL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 41/100 68/100 16/100 ES

Percentile Scorecard

AEPESXEL

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

AxisAEPESXEL
Valuation 23 #52 of 67 85 #11 of 67 5 #64 of 67
Growth 64 #24 of 65 97 #3 of 65 16 #55 of 65
Profitability 59 #27 of 64 71 #19 of 64 29 #46 of 64
Financial Health 29 #46 of 64 3 #62 of 64 32 #44 of 64
Shareholder Returns 30 #47 of 67 85 #11 of 67 0 #67 of 67
Overall 41 68 16
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • ES ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAEPESXELSPY
1 month +9.2%+6.1%+11.5% -0.8%
3 months -3.3%-9.5%-3.5% +3.5%
6 months -4.3%-1.7%-2.0% +7.0%
Year to date +12.1%+0.3%+5.4% +12.2%
1 year +11.4%-9.5%-3.1% +13.0%
3 years +72.5%+27.1%+33.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +19.9%+8.3%+10.1% +23.1%
5 years +53.3%-21.1%+22.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +8.9%-4.6%+4.2% +11.0%
10 years +103.4%+24.4%+91.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +7.4%+2.2%+6.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAEPESXELSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.4%24.8%19.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.2%29.3%19.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.070.01-0.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.59-0.38-0.16 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.2%-44.2%-37.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.8%-11.4%-7.2% -1.8%
52-week high $138.69$76.21$83.91 $779.14
52-week low $113.70$63.29$69.39 $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.

MultipleAEPESXEL
P/E now vs peer median 25.5xmedian 20.8x 14.5xmedian 20.8x 21.8xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 3.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 13.1x 11.6xmedian 13.1x 14.7xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.2xmedian 36.7x 107.3xmedian 36.7x -6.3xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.7x 1.5xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.76median 2.23 3.86median 2.23 5.10median 2.23

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 monthsAEPESXEL
Revenue $22.79B $13.93B $14.62B
Gross profit $15.43B – –
Operating income $5.24B $3.14B $2.79B
Net income $3.07B $1.76B $2.23B
Free cash flow -$5.75B $236.71M -$7.69B
EPS (diluted) $5.02 $4.64 $3.56
Cash & equivalents $375.00M – $2.01B
Total debt $52.84B $29.62B $39.46B
Shares (diluted) 550.63M 376.58M 627.00M
Enterprise value $68.02B $25.48B $43.74B

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
MetricAEPESXEL
P/E 25.5x 14.5x 21.8x
P/FCF -12.2x 107.3x -6.3x
P/Operating cash flow 9.1x 5.8x 10.2x
P/S 3.1x 1.8x 3.3x
P/B 2.1x 1.5x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 1.5x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 14.0x 11.6x 14.7x
EV/EBIT 23.4x 17.5x 30.9x
EV/Revenue 5.4x 3.9x 5.9x
EV/FCF -21.3x 232.5x -11.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.9x 12.5x 18.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.76 3.86 5.10

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAEPESXEL
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.3% 9.8% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 3.4% -1.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.1% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.8% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 2.2% 26.1% 11.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 11.2% 4.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -17.4% 107.0% 7.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.7% 6.3% 8.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.2% 103.1% 1.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.2% 3.8% 4.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.1% 51.2% 5.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.6% 28.0% 2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -63.5% 116.6% -97.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.1% 29.1% -112.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAEPESXEL
Gross margin 67.7% – –
EBITDA margin 38.4% 34.1% 39.9%
Operating margin 23.0% 22.5% 19.1%
Pretax margin 15.4% 13.1% 13.7%
Net margin 12.1% 12.5% 15.3%
FCF margin -25.2% 1.7% -52.6%
Operating cash flow margin 33.8% 31.6% 32.6%
Return on equity 9.6% 10.7% 9.3%
Return on assets 2.7% 2.7% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 5.5% 6.2% 4.5%
Return on capital employed 5.0% 5.6% 3.6%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 2.5x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAEPESXEL
Debt / assets 43.5% 45.8% 45.3%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.8x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 6.2x 6.4x
Debt / FCF -9.2x 125.1x -5.1x
Liabilities / assets 72.6% 74.5% 72.4%
Equity / assets 27.4% 25.5% 27.6%
Interest coverage 2.4x 2.4x 1.7x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.7x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x – 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.92 0.74 0.85

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAEPESXEL
Dividend yield 2.9% 4.6% 3.0%
Net buyback yield – – -4.6%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 4.6% -1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 63.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 470.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 8.4% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.3% –

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.

ConsensusAEPESXEL
Forward P/E 21.5xFY2026 15.4xFY2026 18.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.01FY2026 $4.39FY2026 $4.30FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 -7.8%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.0% +9.3% +2.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.09BFY2026 $13.05BFY2026 $16.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.5%FY2026 -3.7%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.5% +7.0% +8.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAEPESXEL
Held by institutions 92.1% 86.3% 95.4%
Institutions holding 1,984 1,110 1,284
Change in shares held, QoQ +13.2% +3.7% +7.3%
Institutions buying 1,064 617 663
Institutions selling 584 320 386
Buyers to sellers 1.82 1.93 1.72

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.

AEPESXEL
AEP 1.00 0.57 0.74
ES 0.57 1.00 0.61
XEL 0.74 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AEP, ES and XEL?

American Electric Power (AEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Electric Power (AEP) $70.85B, Eversource Energy (ES) $25.48B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, AEP, ES and XEL?

Eversource Energy (ES) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Electric Power (AEP) 25.7x, Eversource Energy (ES) 14.6x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Eversource Energy (ES) is cheapest (American Electric Power (AEP) 21.5x, Eversource Energy (ES) 15.4x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.1x). 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%, Eversource Energy (ES) +9.8%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Xcel Energy (XEL) has the highest net margin (American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%, Eversource Energy (ES) 12.5%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%). On return on invested capital, Eversource Energy (ES) leads (American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%, Eversource Energy (ES) 6.2%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: American Electric Power (AEP) +11.4%, Eversource Energy (ES) -9.5%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.1%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (American Electric Power (AEP) +8.9%/yr, Eversource Energy (ES) -4.6%/yr, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.2%/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%, Eversource Energy (ES) 0.04%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 0.00%. American Electric Power (AEP) and Xcel Energy (XEL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Xcel Energy (XEL) has been the steadiest (American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Eversource Energy (ES) 24.8%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AEP, ES and XEL?

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 5. 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.