DUK vs AEP vs NEE Stock Comparison

Duke Energy, American Electric Power and Nextera Energy Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DUK Duke Energy CORP
$124.97 +9.4% 1M -1.8% 1Y
Market cap
$96.91B
P/E
19.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.17B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
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

Nextera Energy leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Nextera Energy 4, American Electric Power 4, Duke Energy 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDUKAEPNEELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $96.91B $70.33B $171.30B NEE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.1x 25.5x 14.7x NEE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.1x 21.7x 21.1x DUK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.2% +10.3% +9.6% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.3% 12.1% 40.4% NEE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% 5.5% 4.7% AEP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.2x 6.0x 7.0x DUK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.8% +11.6% -1.4% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.8%/yr +8.7%/yr -0.6%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 16.6% 19.4% 21.2% DUK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 40/100 61/100 NEE

Percentile Scorecard

DUKAEPNEE

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

AxisDUKAEPNEE
Valuation 70 #21 of 67 23 #52 of 67 24 #51 of 67
Growth 75 #17 of 65 64 #24 of 65 94 #5 of 65
Profitability 80 #14 of 65 58 #28 of 65 89 #8 of 65
Financial Health 35 #43 of 66 26 #49 of 66 49 #34 of 66
Shareholder Returns 23 #52 of 67 27 #49 of 67 49 #35 of 67
Overall 56 40 61
  • DUK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AEP 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

PeriodDUKAEPNEESPY
1 month +9.4%+9.5%+6.6% -1.0%
3 months -4.3%-4.3%-8.6% +2.9%
6 months -1.8%-3.7%-13.8% +6.4%
Year to date +6.6%+12.5%+2.3% +11.4%
1 year -1.8%+11.6%-1.4% +13.1%
3 years +42.4%+73.5%+49.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.5%+20.2%+14.2% +21.5%
5 years +20.4%+51.5%-2.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +3.8%+8.7%-0.6% +10.9%
10 years +60.2%+107.6%+165.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +4.8%+7.6%+10.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureDUKAEPNEESPY
Volatility, 1Y 16.6%19.4%21.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 17.0%19.2%22.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.31-0.070.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.110.60-0.06 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.0%-32.2%-47.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.4%-6.5%-16.1% -2.5%
52-week high $133.46$138.69$97.88 $779.14
52-week low $113.24$113.70$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.

MultipleDUKAEPNEE
P/E now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 20.8x 25.6xmedian 20.8x 14.7xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 2.8x 3.1xmedian 2.8x 6.0xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.0xmedian 13.1x 14.0xmedian 13.1x 18.4xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -29.5xmedian 36.7x -12.3xmedian 36.7x 36.8xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.7x 2.1xmedian 1.7x 2.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.68median 2.27 2.77median 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 monthsDUKAEPNEE
Revenue $33.17B $22.79B $28.83B
Gross profit $24.71B $15.43B –
Operating income $9.01B $5.24B $8.66B
Net income $5.24B $3.07B $11.64B
Free cash flow -$3.30B -$5.75B $4.67B
EPS (diluted) $6.53 $5.02 $5.55
Cash & equivalents $2.14B $375.00M $5.58B
Total debt $352.76B $52.84B $413.84B
Shares (diluted) 779.00M 550.63M 2.10B
Enterprise value $93.49B $67.50B $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
MetricDUKAEPNEE
P/E 19.1x 25.6x 14.7x
P/FCF -29.5x -12.3x 36.8x
P/Operating cash flow 8.3x 9.2x 11.6x
P/S 2.9x 3.1x 6.0x
P/B 1.7x 2.1x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 2.1x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 11.0x 14.0x 18.4x
EV/EBIT 20.6x 23.4x 32.0x
EV/Revenue 5.6x 5.4x 9.6x
EV/FCF -56.2x -21.3x 59.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.9x 16.0x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.68 2.77 1.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDUKAEPNEE
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.2% 10.3% 9.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 5.4% 1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.9% 8.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 7.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.5% 2.2% 13.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.2% 19.5% -3.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.7% -17.4% 79.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 15.7% 15.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.6% 5.2% 76.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.1% 9.2% 14.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.0% 17.1% 23.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.6% 22.6% 16.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -1,646% -63.5% 30.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.6% -19.1% 124.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDUKAEPNEE
Gross margin 74.5% 67.7% –
EBITDA margin 51.0% 38.4% 52.2%
Operating margin 27.2% 23.0% 30.0%
Pretax margin 18.1% 15.4% 35.0%
Net margin 15.3% 12.1% 40.4%
FCF margin -9.9% -25.2% 16.2%
Operating cash flow margin 35.2% 33.8% 51.4%
Return on equity 9.6% 9.6% 13.9%
Return on assets 2.7% 2.7% 4.1%
Return on invested capital 5.4% 5.5% 4.7%
Return on capital employed 5.1% 5.0% 4.2%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 2.5x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDUKAEPNEE
Debt / assets 45.6% 43.5% 45.0%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.6x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.2x 6.0x 7.0x
Debt / FCF -27.4x -9.2x 23.6x
Liabilities / assets 71.5% 72.6% 70.3%
Equity / assets 28.5% 27.4% 29.7%
Interest coverage 2.4x 2.4x 2,164x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.5x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.73 0.92 0.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDUKAEPNEE
Dividend yield 3.4% 2.9% 3.0%
Net buyback yield – – -0.6%
Shareholder yield 3.4% 2.9% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 63.7% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -101.3% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.1% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.5% – –

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.

ConsensusDUKAEPNEE
Forward P/E 19.1xFY2026 21.7xFY2026 21.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.56FY2026 $5.99FY2026 $3.89FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.4% +19.2% +18.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.40BFY2026 $23.04BFY2026 $32.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.5%FY2026 +5.3%FY2026 +17.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.1% +3.4% +9.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDUKAEPNEE
Held by institutions 69.7% 92.1% 84.3%
Institutions holding 2,457 1,984 3,019
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +13.2% +2.3%
Institutions buying 1,297 1,064 1,588
Institutions selling 801 584 1,054
Buyers to sellers 1.62 1.82 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.

DUKAEPNEE
DUK 1.00 0.72 0.61
AEP 0.72 1.00 0.51
NEE 0.61 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DUK, AEP and NEE?

Nextera Energy (NEE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Duke Energy (DUK) $96.91B, American Electric Power (AEP) $70.33B, Nextera Energy (NEE) $171.30B.

Which stock is cheaper, DUK, AEP and NEE?

Nextera Energy (NEE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Duke Energy (DUK) 19.1x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.5x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 14.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Duke Energy (DUK) is cheapest (Duke Energy (DUK) 19.1x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.7x, 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: Duke Energy (DUK) +7.2%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Nextera Energy (NEE) +9.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nextera Energy (NEE) has the highest net margin (Duke Energy (DUK) 15.3%, American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 40.4%). On return on invested capital, American Electric Power (AEP) leads (Duke Energy (DUK) 5.4%, American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: Duke Energy (DUK) -1.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.6%, Nextera Energy (NEE) -1.4%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (Duke Energy (DUK) +3.8%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.7%/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: Duke Energy (DUK) 0.03%, American Electric Power (AEP) 0.00%, 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, Duke Energy (DUK) has been the steadiest (Duke Energy (DUK) 16.6%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DUK, AEP 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, Nextera Energy (NEE) leads on 4. 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.