DUK vs KEP vs SO Stock Comparison

Duke Energy, Korea Electric Power and Southern Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DUK Duke Energy CORP
$124.79 +10.1% 1M -2.1% 1Y
Market cap
$97.12B
P/E
18.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.25B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
KEP Korea Electric Power Corp
$10.47 -4.9% 1M -30.5% 1Y
Market cap
$13.36B
P/E
2.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$67.60B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins
SO Southern Co
$92.64 +11.8% 1M -2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$105.42B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Southern leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Southern 4, Korea 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.

QuestionDUKKEPSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $97.12B $13.36B $105.42B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.7x 2.2x 22.6x KEP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.0x 4.2x 19.1x KEP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.3% -1.4% +6.4% SO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 8.8% 15.4% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.2% 5.1% KEP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.5x 5.3x KEP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.1% -30.5% -2.9% DUK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.0%/yr +1.5%/yr +8.1%/yr SO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 16.6% 47.7% 17.9% DUK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 67/100 43/100 DUK

Percentile Scorecard

DUKKEPSO

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

AxisDUKKEPSO
Valuation 83 #12 of 67 100 #1 of 67 35 #44 of 67
Growth 83 #12 of 65 88 #9 of 65 53 #31 of 65
Profitability 55 #29 of 63 39 #39 of 63 76 #16 of 63
Financial Health – 11 #56 of 63 34 #42 of 63
Shareholder Returns 73 #19 of 67 96 #4 of 67 17 #56 of 67
Overall 73 67 43
  • DUK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • KEP 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

PeriodDUKKEPSOSPY
1 month +10.1%-4.9%+11.8% -0.2%
3 months -3.5%-10.1%-4.3% +3.9%
6 months -2.4%-30.0%-1.9% +8.2%
Year to date +6.5%-36.5%+6.2% +12.9%
1 year -2.1%-30.5%-2.9% +12.3%
3 years +42.6%+74.8%+39.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +12.6%+20.5%+11.7% +23.3%
5 years +21.8%+7.5%+47.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.0%+1.5%+8.1% +10.9%
10 years +59.1%-52.8%+82.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +4.8%-7.2%+6.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureDUKKEPSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 16.6%47.7%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 16.9%48.6%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.321.31-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.13-0.64-0.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.0%-55.0%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.5%-55.0%-6.5% -1.2%
52-week high $133.46$23.26$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $113.24$10.47$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.

MultipleDUKKEPSO
P/E now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 20.9x 2.3xmedian 20.9x 22.6xmedian 20.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 2.9x 0.2xmedian 2.9x 3.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.2x 5.2xmedian 13.2x 13.1xmedian 13.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 36.9x 6.6xmedian 36.9x -32.6xmedian 36.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.7x 0.4xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.31median 2.31 0.07median 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 monthsDUKKEPSO
Revenue $33.25B $67.60B $30.18B
Gross profit – $10.41B $25.14B
Operating income $9.23B $8.79B $7.31B
Net income $5.38B $5.57B $4.66B
Free cash flow – $2.03B -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $6.66 $4.63 $4.08
Cash & equivalents $673.00M $1.70B $2.98B
Total debt – $357.84B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 779.00M 1.28B 1.14B
Enterprise value $97.12B -$16.78B $96.48B

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
MetricDUKKEPSO
P/E 18.7x 2.3x 22.6x
P/FCF – 6.6x -32.6x
P/Operating cash flow 8.4x 1.1x 10.0x
P/S 2.9x 0.2x 3.5x
P/B 1.7x 0.4x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 0.4x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA – 5.2x 13.1x
EV/EBIT – 10.8x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 1.4x 5.9x
EV/FCF – 47.0x -54.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.4x 7.6x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.31 0.07 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDUKKEPSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.3% -1.4% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 13.4% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 4.0% 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 36.9% 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.5% 5.2% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 34.5% 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.7% 21.1% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 59.0% 33.2% 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.9% 55.7% 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 59.6% 33.6% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.2% -7.8% 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 42.7% 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -55.3% -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 27.9% -3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDUKKEPSO
Gross margin – 15.4% 83.3%
EBITDA margin – 26.9% 45.2%
Operating margin – 13.0% 24.2%
Pretax margin – 11.1% 17.4%
Net margin – 8.8% 15.4%
FCF margin – 3.0% -10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 34.8% 18.6% 35.3%
Return on equity 9.5% 16.5% 9.2%
Return on assets 2.7% 3.3% 2.9%
Return on invested capital – 5.2% 5.1%
Return on capital employed – 7.2% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.4x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 2.3x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDUKKEPSO
Debt / assets – 50.8% 46.6%
Debt / equity – 2.6x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.5x 5.3x
Debt / FCF – 42.7x -23.1x
Liabilities / assets – 80.3% 73.9%
Equity / assets 28.3% 19.7% 26.1%
Interest coverage – 3.1x 2.3x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.4x 0.8x
Quick ratio – 0.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 0.60 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDUKKEPSO
Dividend yield 3.4% 5.0% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 3.4% 5.0% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 66.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -94.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusDUKKEPSO
Forward P/E 19.0xFY2026 4.2xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.56FY2026 $2.49FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 -44.2%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.4% +22.9% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.42BFY2026 $74.80BFY2026 $31.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.6%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.1% -9.9% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDUKKEPSO
Held by institutions 69.7% 2.6% 72.5%
Institutions holding 2,458 168 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +26.1% +5.7%
Institutions buying 1,297 117 1,248
Institutions selling 801 33 724
Buyers to sellers 1.62 3.55 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.

DUKKEPSO
DUK 1.00 0.03 0.86
KEP 0.03 1.00 0.02
SO 0.86 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DUK, KEP and SO?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Duke Energy (DUK) $97.12B, Korea Electric Power (KEP) $13.36B, Southern (SO) $105.42B.

Which stock is cheaper, DUK, KEP and SO?

Korea Electric Power (KEP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Duke Energy (DUK) 18.7x, Korea Electric Power (KEP) 2.2x, Southern (SO) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Korea Electric Power (KEP) is cheapest (Duke Energy (DUK) 19.0x, Korea Electric Power (KEP) 4.2x, 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?

Southern (SO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Duke Energy (DUK) +6.3%, Korea Electric Power (KEP) -1.4%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Korea Electric Power (KEP) 8.8%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Korea Electric Power (KEP) leads (Korea Electric Power (KEP) 5.2%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Duke Energy (DUK) returned the most: Duke Energy (DUK) -2.1%, Korea Electric Power (KEP) -30.5%, Southern (SO) -2.9%. Over five years, Southern (SO) compounded fastest (Duke Energy (DUK) +4.0%/yr, Korea Electric Power (KEP) +1.5%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Duke Energy (DUK) 0.00%, Korea Electric Power (KEP) 0.00%, Southern (SO) 0.03%. Duke Energy (DUK) and Korea Electric Power (KEP) 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%, Korea Electric Power (KEP) 47.7%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DUK, KEP 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, Southern (SO) 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.