ES vs AEP vs XEL Stock Comparison

Eversource Energy, American Electric Power 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
$25.42B
P/E
14.5x
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
$48.69B
P/E
21.8x
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.

QuestionESAEPXELLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $25.42B $70.37B $48.69B AEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.5x 25.5x 21.8x ES
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.4x 21.5x 18.1x ES
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.8% +10.3% +4.7% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.5% 12.1% 15.3% XEL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 5.5% 4.5% ES
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 6.0x 6.4x AEP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.5% +11.4% -3.1% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.6%/yr +8.9%/yr +4.2%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.8% 19.4% 19.2% XEL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 41/100 16/100 ES

Percentile Scorecard

ESAEPXEL

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

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

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

Risk

MeasureESAEPXELSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.8%19.4%19.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.3%19.2%19.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.01-0.07-0.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.380.59-0.16 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.2%-32.2%-37.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.4%-6.8%-7.2% -1.8%
52-week high $76.21$138.69$83.91 $779.14
52-week low $63.29$113.70$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.

MultipleESAEPXEL
P/E now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 20.8x 25.5xmedian 20.8x 21.8xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.9x 3.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 13.1x 14.0xmedian 13.1x 14.7xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 107.3xmedian 36.7x -12.2xmedian 36.7x -6.3xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.7x 2.1xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 3.86median 2.23 2.76median 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 monthsESAEPXEL
Revenue $13.93B $22.79B $14.62B
Gross profit – $15.43B –
Operating income $3.14B $5.24B $2.79B
Net income $1.76B $3.07B $2.23B
Free cash flow $236.71M -$5.75B -$7.69B
EPS (diluted) $4.64 $5.02 $3.56
Cash & equivalents – $375.00M $2.01B
Total debt $29.62B $52.84B $39.46B
Shares (diluted) 376.58M 550.63M 627.00M
Enterprise value $25.42B $67.54B $43.59B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESAEPXEL
Gross margin – 67.7% –
EBITDA margin 34.1% 38.4% 39.9%
Operating margin 22.5% 23.0% 19.1%
Pretax margin 13.1% 15.4% 13.7%
Net margin 12.5% 12.1% 15.3%
FCF margin 1.7% -25.2% -52.6%
Operating cash flow margin 31.6% 33.8% 32.6%
Return on equity 10.7% 9.6% 9.3%
Return on assets 2.7% 2.7% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 5.5% 4.5%
Return on capital employed 5.6% 5.0% 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
MetricESAEPXEL
Debt / assets 45.8% 43.5% 45.3%
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.6x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 6.0x 6.4x
Debt / FCF 125.1x -9.2x -5.1x
Liabilities / assets 74.5% 72.6% 72.4%
Equity / assets 25.5% 27.4% 27.6%
Interest coverage 2.4x 2.4x 1.7x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.5x 0.7x
Quick ratio – 0.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio – 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.74 0.92 0.85

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESAEPXEL
Dividend yield 4.6% 2.9% 3.0%
Net buyback yield – – -4.6%
Shareholder yield 4.6% 2.9% -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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

ESAEPXEL
ES 1.00 0.57 0.61
AEP 0.57 1.00 0.74
XEL 0.61 0.74 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ES, AEP and XEL?

American Electric Power (AEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Eversource Energy (ES) $25.42B, American Electric Power (AEP) $70.37B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, ES, AEP and XEL?

Eversource Energy (ES) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Eversource Energy (ES) 14.5x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.5x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Eversource Energy (ES) is cheapest (Eversource Energy (ES) 15.4x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.5x, 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: Eversource Energy (ES) +9.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: Eversource Energy (ES) -9.5%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.1%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (Eversource Energy (ES) -4.6%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.9%/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: Eversource Energy (ES) 0.04%, American Electric Power (AEP) 0.00%, 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 (Eversource Energy (ES) 24.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ES, AEP 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.