EXC vs XEL vs SO Stock Comparison

Exelon, Xcel Energy and Southern Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EXC Exelon Corp
$44.54 +10.4% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$45.81B
P/E
16.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.33B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
6 wins
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$77.86 +11.5% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$48.83B
P/E
21.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
1 win
SO Southern Co
$92.56 +11.7% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$105.29B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Exelon leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Exelon 6, Southern 5, Xcel Energy 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEXCXELSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $45.81B $48.83B $105.29B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.5x 21.9x 22.6x EXC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.8x 18.1x 19.1x EXC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.6% +4.7% +6.4% EXC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.0% 15.3% 15.4% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% 4.5% 5.1% EXC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.6x 6.4x 5.3x SO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.03% EXC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.3% -3.1% -3.5% XEL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.7%/yr +4.2%/yr +8.1%/yr SO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.1% 19.2% 17.9% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 16/100 43/100 EXC

Percentile Scorecard

EXCXELSO

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

AxisEXCXELSO
Valuation 82 #13 of 67 5 #64 of 67 36 #43 of 67
Growth 80 #14 of 65 16 #55 of 65 53 #31 of 65
Profitability 43 #37 of 64 29 #46 of 64 78 #15 of 64
Financial Health 43 #37 of 64 32 #44 of 64 35 #42 of 64
Shareholder Returns 68 #22 of 67 0 #67 of 67 15 #57 of 67
Overall 63 16 43
  • EXC ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • XEL 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

PeriodEXCXELSOSPY
1 month +10.4%+11.5%+11.7% -0.8%
3 months -5.5%-3.5%-4.1% +3.5%
6 months -4.4%-2.0%-1.3% +7.0%
Year to date +2.2%+5.4%+6.1% +12.2%
1 year -7.3%-3.1%-3.5% +13.0%
3 years +15.9%+33.5%+39.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.0%+10.1%+11.6% +23.1%
5 years +20.1%+22.8%+47.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.7%+4.2%+8.1% +11.0%
10 years +87.8%+91.8%+81.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.5%+6.7%+6.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureEXCXELSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.1%19.2%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.2%19.4%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.27-0.02-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.36-0.16-0.19 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.1%-37.4%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.4%-7.2%-6.6% -1.8%
52-week high $50.29$83.91$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $40.20$69.39$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.

MultipleEXCXELSO
P/E now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 20.8x 21.8xmedian 20.8x 22.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 3.3xmedian 2.9x 3.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 13.1x 14.7xmedian 13.1x 13.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -24.0xmedian 36.7x -6.3xmedian 36.7x -32.6xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.96median 2.23 5.10median 2.23 0.71median 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 monthsEXCXELSO
Revenue $25.33B $14.62B $30.18B
Gross profit – – $25.14B
Operating income $5.27B $2.79B $7.31B
Net income $2.78B $2.23B $4.66B
Free cash flow -$1.92B -$7.69B -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $2.71 $3.56 $4.08
Cash & equivalents $1.81B $2.01B $2.98B
Total debt $201.12B $39.46B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 1.03B 627.00M 1.14B
Enterprise value $41.12B $43.74B $96.35B

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
MetricEXCXELSO
P/E 16.4x 21.8x 22.6x
P/FCF -24.0x -6.3x -32.6x
P/Operating cash flow 6.4x 10.2x 10.0x
P/S 1.8x 3.3x 3.5x
P/B 1.5x 2.0x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 2.0x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 10.7x 14.7x 13.1x
EV/EBIT 18.3x 30.9x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 5.9x 5.9x
EV/FCF -50.3x -11.2x -54.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.4x 18.0x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.96 5.10 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEXCXELSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.6% 4.7% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.4% -1.4% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.8% 11.0% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 4.6% 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.9% 7.7% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.5% 8.8% 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 3.3% 1.0% 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 4.3% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 23.8% 5.8% 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.6% 2.7% 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -8.6% -97.2% -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.3% -112.8% -3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEXCXELSO
Gross margin – – 83.3%
EBITDA margin 35.6% 39.9% 45.2%
Operating margin 20.8% 19.1% 24.2%
Pretax margin 13.3% 13.7% 17.4%
Net margin 11.0% 15.3% 15.4%
FCF margin -7.6% -52.6% -10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 28.5% 32.6% 35.3%
Return on equity 9.4% 9.3% 9.2%
Return on assets 2.3% 2.6% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 5.4% 4.5% 5.1%
Return on capital employed 4.8% 3.6% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 2.1x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEXCXELSO
Debt / assets 43.4% 45.3% 46.6%
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.6x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.6x 6.4x 5.3x
Debt / FCF -27.3x -5.1x -23.1x
Liabilities / assets 75.4% 72.4% 73.9%
Equity / assets 24.6% 27.6% 26.1%
Interest coverage – 1.7x 2.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.7x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.4x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.76 0.85 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEXCXELSO
Dividend yield 3.7% 3.0% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – -4.6% –
Shareholder yield 3.7% -1.6% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 59.9% – 66.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) -87.1% – -94.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.2% – 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.3% – 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.

ConsensusEXCXELSO
Forward P/E 14.8xFY2026 18.1xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.01FY2026 $4.30FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.7%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.0% +2.1% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $26.87BFY2026 $16.60BFY2026 $31.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.8% +8.4% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEXCXELSO
Held by institutions 92.0% 95.4% 72.5%
Institutions holding 1,282 1,284 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% +7.3% +5.7%
Institutions buying 699 663 1,248
Institutions selling 372 386 724
Buyers to sellers 1.88 1.72 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.

EXCXELSO
EXC 1.00 0.64 0.72
XEL 0.64 1.00 0.78
SO 0.72 0.78 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EXC, XEL and SO?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Exelon (EXC) $45.81B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.83B, Southern (SO) $105.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, EXC, XEL and SO?

Exelon (EXC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Exelon (EXC) 16.5x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.9x, Southern (SO) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Exelon (EXC) is cheapest (Exelon (EXC) 14.8x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.1x, 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?

Exelon (EXC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Exelon (EXC) +6.6%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Exelon (EXC) 11.0%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Exelon (EXC) leads (Exelon (EXC) 5.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Xcel Energy (XEL) returned the most: Exelon (EXC) -7.3%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.1%, Southern (SO) -3.5%. Over five years, Southern (SO) compounded fastest (Exelon (EXC) +3.7%/yr, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.2%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Exelon (EXC) has the highest dividend yield: Exelon (EXC) 0.04%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 0.00%, Southern (SO) 0.03%. Xcel Energy (XEL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southern (SO) has been the steadiest (Exelon (EXC) 20.1%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EXC, XEL 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, Exelon (EXC) 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.