AES vs NEE vs SO Stock Comparison

Aes, Nextera Energy and Southern Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
NEE Nextera Energy Inc
$82.42 +8.3% 1M -4.2% 1Y
Market cap
$172.83B
P/E
14.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.83B
Div. yield
2.94%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
SO Southern Co
$92.64 +11.8% 1M -2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$106.57B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
3.24%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Aes leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Aes 6, Nextera Energy 3, Southern 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAESNEESOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.72B $172.83B $106.57B NEE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 5.7x 14.8x 22.6x AES
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 6.8x 21.2x 19.1x AES
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +9.6% +6.4% NEE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.3% 40.4% 15.4% NEE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.9% 4.7% 5.1% AES
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.5x 7.0x 5.3x SO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.74% 2.94% 3.24% AES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.7% -4.2% -2.9% AES
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.1%/yr -0.9%/yr +8.1%/yr SO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.4% 21.1% 17.9% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 60/100 43/100 AES

Percentile Scorecard

AESNEESO

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

AxisAESNEESO
Valuation 91 #7 of 67 24 #51 of 67 35 #44 of 67
Growth 97 #3 of 65 92 #6 of 65 53 #31 of 65
Profitability 52 #31 of 63 89 #8 of 63 76 #16 of 63
Financial Health 3 #61 of 63 47 #34 of 63 34 #42 of 63
Shareholder Returns 74 #18 of 67 50 #34 of 67 17 #56 of 67
Overall 63 60 43
  • AES ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NEE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAESNEESOSPY
1 month +1.0%+8.3%+11.8% -0.2%
3 months +1.3%-7.7%-4.3% +3.9%
6 months +3.8%-14.6%-1.9% +8.2%
Year to date +4.8%+2.7%+6.2% +12.9%
1 year +3.7%-4.2%-2.9% +12.3%
3 years +1.9%+46.6%+39.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +0.6%+13.6%+11.7% +23.3%
5 years -41.2%-4.6%+47.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year -10.1%-0.9%+8.1% +10.9%
10 years +27.2%+163.5%+82.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +2.4%+10.2%+6.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAESNEESOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.4%21.1%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.9%22.2%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.320.10-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.14-0.20-0.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.1%-47.2%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.0%-15.8%-6.5% -1.2%
52-week high $17.28$97.88$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $13.44$75.50$82.35 $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.

MultipleAESNEESO
P/E now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 20.9x 14.8xmedian 20.9x 22.6xmedian 20.9x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.9x 6.0xmedian 2.9x 3.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 13.2x 18.4xmedian 13.2x 13.1xmedian 13.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.4xmedian 36.9x 37.0xmedian 36.9x -32.6xmedian 36.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.7x 2.4xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.06median 2.31 1.06median 2.31 0.71median 2.31

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 monthsAESNEESO
Revenue $13.05B $28.83B $30.18B
Gross profit $2.65B – $25.14B
Operating income $2.42B $8.66B $7.31B
Net income $1.87B $11.64B $4.66B
Free cash flow -$937.00M $4.67B -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $2.62 $5.55 $4.08
Cash & equivalents $1.80B $5.58B $2.98B
Total debt $32.12B $413.84B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 715.00M 2.10B 1.14B
Enterprise value $8.73B $170.95B $97.62B

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
MetricAESNEESO
P/E 5.7x 14.8x 22.6x
P/FCF -11.4x 37.0x -32.6x
P/Operating cash flow 2.1x 11.7x 10.0x
P/S 0.8x 6.0x 3.5x
P/B 1.1x 2.4x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 2.4x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 10.1x 18.4x 13.1x
EV/EBIT 17.0x 32.1x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 3.1x 9.6x 5.9x
EV/FCF -43.7x 59.4x -54.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.1x 18.7x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.06 1.06 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAESNEESO
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 9.6% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.3% 1.7% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 30.1% – 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.3% – 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 37.1% 13.4% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.5% -3.5% 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 115.9% 79.0% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 100.8% 15.1% 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 104.4% 76.7% 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 88.8% 14.0% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 40.0% 23.8% 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 16.3% 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 75.5% 30.9% -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.9% 124.1% -3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAESNEESO
Gross margin 20.3% – 83.3%
EBITDA margin 31.0% 52.2% 45.2%
Operating margin 18.5% 30.0% 24.2%
Pretax margin 5.7% 35.0% 17.4%
Net margin 14.3% 40.4% 15.4%
FCF margin -7.2% 16.2% -10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 38.5% 51.4% 35.3%
Return on equity 10.9% 13.9% 9.2%
Return on assets 2.0% 4.1% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 5.9% 4.7% 5.1%
Return on capital employed 5.4% 4.2% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.7x 1.3x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAESNEESO
Debt / assets 59.2% 45.0% 46.6%
Debt / equity 3.3x 1.5x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.5x 7.0x 5.3x
Debt / FCF -34.3x 23.6x -23.1x
Liabilities / assets 82.0% 70.3% 73.9%
Equity / assets 18.0% 29.7% 26.1%
Interest coverage 1.7x 2,164x 2.3x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.5x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.52 0.99 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAESNEESO
Dividend yield 4.7% 2.9% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – -0.6% –
Shareholder yield 4.7% 2.4% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 26.8% – 66.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) -53.6% – -94.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.4% – 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 5.1% – 1.2%

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.

ConsensusAESNEESO
Forward P/E 6.8xFY2026 21.2xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.21FY2026 $3.89FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.6%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.6% +18.5% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.56BFY2026 $32.08BFY2026 $31.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.7%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.0% +9.6% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAESNEESO
Held by institutions 89.6% 84.3% 72.5%
Institutions holding 698 3,020 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.0% +2.3% +5.7%
Institutions buying 348 1,589 1,248
Institutions selling 241 1,054 724
Buyers to sellers 1.44 1.51 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.

AESNEESO
AES 1.00 0.17 0.06
NEE 0.17 1.00 0.59
SO 0.06 0.59 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AES, NEE and SO?

Nextera Energy (NEE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Aes (AES) $10.72B, Nextera Energy (NEE) $172.83B, Southern (SO) $106.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, AES, NEE and SO?

Aes (AES) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Aes (AES) 5.7x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 14.8x, Southern (SO) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aes (AES) is cheapest (Aes (AES) 6.8x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.2x, Southern (SO) 19.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nextera Energy (NEE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Aes (AES) +8.5%, Nextera Energy (NEE) +9.6%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nextera Energy (NEE) has the highest net margin (Aes (AES) 14.3%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 40.4%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Aes (AES) leads (Aes (AES) 5.9%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 4.7%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Aes (AES) returned the most: Aes (AES) +3.7%, Nextera Energy (NEE) -4.2%, Southern (SO) -2.9%. Over five years, Southern (SO) compounded fastest (Aes (AES) -10.1%/yr, Nextera Energy (NEE) -0.9%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Aes (AES) has the highest dividend yield: Aes (AES) 4.74%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 2.94%, Southern (SO) 3.24%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southern (SO) has been the steadiest (Aes (AES) 27.4%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.1%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AES, NEE and SO?

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.