AES vs TAC vs AEP Stock Comparison

Aes, Transalta and American Electric Power 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.

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

Percentile Scorecard

AESTACAEP

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

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

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureAESTACAEPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.4%40.9%19.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.9%44.3%19.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.321.10-0.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.14-0.600.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.1%-48.4%-32.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.0%-27.5%-6.0% -1.2%
52-week high $17.28$17.73$138.69 $779.14
52-week low $13.44$11.53$113.70 $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.

MultipleAESTACAEP
P/E now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 20.9x -69.8xmedian 25.0x 25.7xmedian 20.9x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.9x 2.3xmedian 2.8x 3.1xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 13.2x 11.6xmedian 11.5x 14.1xmedian 13.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.4xmedian 36.9x 13.6xmedian 13.6x -12.3xmedian 36.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.7x 2.9xmedian 2.1x 2.1xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.06median 2.31 2.20median 0.60 2.78median 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 monthsAESTACAEP
Revenue $13.05B $1.64B $22.79B
Gross profit $2.65B $1.05B $15.43B
Operating income $2.42B $201.41M $5.24B
Net income $1.87B -$17.93M $3.07B
Free cash flow -$937.00M $281.42M -$5.75B
EPS (diluted) $2.62 $-0.18 $5.02
Cash & equivalents $1.80B $212.54M $375.00M
Total debt $32.12B $2.98B $52.84B
Shares (diluted) 715.00M 297.00M 550.63M
Enterprise value $8.73B $2.76B $69.32B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAESTACAEP
Dividend yield 4.7% 2.2% 2.9%
Net buyback yield – -6.0% –
Shareholder yield 4.7% -3.8% 2.9%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

AESTACAEP
AES 1.00 0.19 0.12
TAC 0.19 1.00 0.14
AEP 0.12 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AES, TAC and AEP?

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

Which stock is cheaper, AES, TAC and AEP?

Aes (AES) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Aes (AES) 5.7x, Transalta (TAC) -69.8x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aes (AES) is cheapest (Aes (AES) 6.8x, Transalta (TAC) 53.6x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.7x). 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: Aes (AES) +8.5%, Transalta (TAC) -8.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

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

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

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.