EXC vs AEP vs DUK Stock Comparison

Exelon, American Electric Power and Duke Energy Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EXC Exelon Corp
$44.54 +10.4% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$45.37B
P/E
16.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.33B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
DUK Duke Energy CORP
$124.46 +9.8% 1M -2.3% 1Y
Market cap
$96.58B
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.25B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

American Electric Power leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (American Electric Power 5, Duke Energy 3, Exelon 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEXCAEPDUKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $45.37B $70.22B $96.58B DUK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.3x 25.4x 18.6x EXC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.8x 21.5x 19.0x EXC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.6% +10.3% +6.3% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.0% 12.1% — AEP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% 5.5% — AEP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.6x 6.0x — EXC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.3% +11.4% -2.3% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.7%/yr +8.9%/yr +3.9%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.1% 19.4% 16.7% DUK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 41/100 74/100 DUK

Percentile Scorecard

EXCAEPDUK

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

AxisEXCAEPDUK
Valuation 82 #13 of 67 23 #52 of 67 83 #12 of 67
Growth 80 #14 of 65 64 #24 of 65 83 #12 of 65
Profitability 43 #37 of 64 59 #27 of 64 57 #28 of 64
Financial Health 43 #37 of 64 29 #46 of 64 –
Shareholder Returns 68 #22 of 67 30 #47 of 67 73 #19 of 67
Overall 63 41 74
  • EXC ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • DUK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEXCAEPDUKSPY
1 month +10.4%+9.2%+9.8% -0.8%
3 months -5.5%-3.3%-3.4% +3.5%
6 months -4.4%-4.3%-2.1% +7.0%
Year to date +2.2%+12.1%+6.2% +12.2%
1 year -7.3%+11.4%-2.3% +13.0%
3 years +15.9%+72.5%+42.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.0%+19.9%+12.5% +23.1%
5 years +20.1%+53.3%+21.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.7%+8.9%+3.9% +11.0%
10 years +87.8%+103.4%+58.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.5%+7.4%+4.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureEXCAEPDUKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.1%19.4%16.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.2%19.2%16.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.27-0.07-0.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.360.59-0.14 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.1%-32.2%-26.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.4%-6.8%-6.7% -1.8%
52-week high $50.29$138.69$133.46 $779.14
52-week low $40.20$113.70$113.24 $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.

MultipleEXCAEPDUK
P/E now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 20.8x 25.5xmedian 20.8x 18.7xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.9x 2.9xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 13.1x 14.0xmedian 13.1x —median 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -24.0xmedian 36.7x -12.2xmedian 36.7x —median 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.7x 2.1xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.96median 2.23 2.76median 2.23 0.31median 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 monthsEXCAEPDUK
Revenue $25.33B $22.79B $33.25B
Gross profit – $15.43B –
Operating income $5.27B $5.24B $9.23B
Net income $2.78B $3.07B $5.38B
Free cash flow -$1.92B -$5.75B –
EPS (diluted) $2.71 $5.02 $6.66
Cash & equivalents $1.81B $375.00M $673.00M
Total debt $201.12B $52.84B –
Shares (diluted) 1.03B 550.63M 779.00M
Enterprise value $40.69B $67.39B $96.58B

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
MetricEXCAEPDUK
P/E 16.4x 25.5x 18.7x
P/FCF -24.0x -12.2x –
P/Operating cash flow 6.4x 9.1x 8.4x
P/S 1.8x 3.1x 2.9x
P/B 1.5x 2.1x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 2.1x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 10.7x 14.0x –
EV/EBIT 18.3x 23.4x –
EV/Revenue 3.8x 5.4x 2.9x
EV/FCF -50.3x -21.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow 13.4x 15.9x 8.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.96 2.76 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEXCAEPDUK
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.6% 10.3% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 5.4% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 8.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 7.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.8% 2.2% 9.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 19.5% 13.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.9% -17.4% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.5% 15.7% 59.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 3.3% 5.2% 8.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 9.2% 59.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 23.8% 17.1% -3.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.6% 22.6% 26.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -8.6% -63.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.3% -19.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEXCAEPDUK
Gross margin – 67.7% –
EBITDA margin 35.6% 38.4% –
Operating margin 20.8% 23.0% –
Pretax margin 13.3% 15.4% –
Net margin 11.0% 12.1% –
FCF margin -7.6% -25.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 28.5% 33.8% 34.8%
Return on equity 9.4% 9.6% 9.5%
Return on assets 2.3% 2.7% 2.7%
Return on invested capital 5.4% 5.5% –
Return on capital employed 4.8% 5.0% –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 2.5x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEXCAEPDUK
Debt / assets 43.4% 43.5% –
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 5.6x 6.0x –
Debt / FCF -27.3x -9.2x –
Liabilities / assets 75.4% 72.6% –
Equity / assets 24.6% 27.4% 28.3%
Interest coverage – 2.4x –
Current ratio 1.1x 0.5x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.3x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x –
Altman Z-score 0.76 0.92 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEXCAEPDUK
Dividend yield 3.7% 2.9% 3.4%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 3.7% 2.9% 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 59.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -87.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.3% – –

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.

ConsensusEXCAEPDUK
Forward P/E 14.8xFY2026 21.5xFY2026 19.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.01FY2026 $6.01FY2026 $6.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.7%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.0% +19.0% +15.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $26.87BFY2026 $23.09BFY2026 $32.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026 +0.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.8% +3.5% +4.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEXCAEPDUK
Held by institutions 92.0% 92.1% 69.7%
Institutions holding 1,282 1,984 2,457
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% +13.2% +0.5%
Institutions buying 699 1,064 1,297
Institutions selling 372 584 801
Buyers to sellers 1.88 1.82 1.62

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.

EXCAEPDUK
EXC 1.00 0.71 0.75
AEP 0.71 1.00 0.72
DUK 0.75 0.72 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EXC, AEP and DUK?

Duke Energy (DUK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Exelon (EXC) $45.37B, American Electric Power (AEP) $70.22B, Duke Energy (DUK) $96.58B.

Which stock is cheaper, EXC, AEP and DUK?

Exelon (EXC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Exelon (EXC) 16.3x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.4x, Duke Energy (DUK) 18.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Exelon (EXC) is cheapest (Exelon (EXC) 14.8x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.5x, Duke Energy (DUK) 19.0x). 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: Exelon (EXC) +6.6%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Duke Energy (DUK) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

American Electric Power (AEP) has the highest net margin (Exelon (EXC) 11.0%, American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%). On return on invested capital, American Electric Power (AEP) leads (Exelon (EXC) 5.4%, American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: Exelon (EXC) -7.3%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.4%, Duke Energy (DUK) -2.3%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (Exelon (EXC) +3.7%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.9%/yr, Duke Energy (DUK) +3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Exelon (EXC) 0.04%, American Electric Power (AEP) 0.00%, Duke Energy (DUK) 0.00%. American Electric Power (AEP) and Duke Energy (DUK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Duke Energy (DUK) has been the steadiest (Exelon (EXC) 20.1%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Duke Energy (DUK) 16.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EXC, AEP and DUK?

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.