KEP vs AEP vs SO Stock Comparison

Korea Electric Power, American Electric Power and Southern Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEP Korea Electric Power Corp
$10.48 -4.8% 1M -31.1% 1Y
Market cap
$13.44B
P/E
2.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$67.60B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins
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
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionKEPAEPSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.44B $70.85B $105.29B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 2.3x 25.7x 22.6x KEP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 4.2x 21.5x 19.1x KEP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.4% +10.3% +6.4% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.8% 12.1% 15.4% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% 5.5% 5.1% AEP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.5x 6.0x 5.3x KEP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -31.1% +11.4% -3.5% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.5%/yr +8.9%/yr +8.1%/yr AEP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.8% 19.4% 17.9% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 41/100 43/100 KEP

Percentile Scorecard

KEPAEPSO

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

AxisKEPAEPSO
Valuation 100 #1 of 67 23 #52 of 67 36 #43 of 67
Growth 88 #9 of 65 64 #24 of 65 53 #31 of 65
Profitability 38 #40 of 64 59 #27 of 64 78 #15 of 64
Financial Health 10 #58 of 64 29 #46 of 64 35 #42 of 64
Shareholder Returns 96 #4 of 67 30 #47 of 67 15 #57 of 67
Overall 66 41 43
  • KEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AEP 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

PeriodKEPAEPSOSPY
1 month -4.8%+9.2%+11.7% -0.8%
3 months -14.2%-3.3%-4.1% +3.5%
6 months -32.2%-4.3%-1.3% +7.0%
Year to date -36.5%+12.1%+6.1% +12.2%
1 year -31.1%+11.4%-3.5% +13.0%
3 years +75.0%+72.5%+39.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +20.5%+19.9%+11.6% +23.1%
5 years +7.7%+53.3%+47.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +1.5%+8.9%+8.1% +11.0%
10 years -53.2%+103.4%+81.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year -7.3%+7.4%+6.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureKEPAEPSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.8%19.4%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.8%19.2%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.32-0.07-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.650.59-0.19 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.9%-32.2%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -54.9%-6.8%-6.6% -1.8%
52-week high $23.26$138.69$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $10.48$113.70$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.

MultipleKEPAEPSO
P/E now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 20.8x 25.5xmedian 20.8x 22.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.9x 3.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 13.1x 14.0xmedian 13.1x 13.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 36.7x -12.2xmedian 36.7x -32.6xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 1.7x 2.1xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.07median 2.23 2.76median 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 monthsKEPAEPSO
Revenue $67.60B $22.79B $30.18B
Gross profit $10.41B $15.43B $25.14B
Operating income $8.79B $5.24B $7.31B
Net income $5.57B $3.07B $4.66B
Free cash flow $2.03B -$5.75B -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $4.63 $5.02 $4.08
Cash & equivalents $1.70B $375.00M $2.98B
Total debt $357.84B $52.84B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 1.28B 550.63M 1.14B
Enterprise value -$16.70B $68.02B $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
MetricKEPAEPSO
P/E 2.3x 25.5x 22.6x
P/FCF 6.6x -12.2x -32.6x
P/Operating cash flow 1.1x 9.1x 10.0x
P/S 0.2x 3.1x 3.5x
P/B 0.4x 2.1x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 0.4x 2.1x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 5.2x 14.0x 13.1x
EV/EBIT 10.8x 23.4x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 5.4x 5.9x
EV/FCF 47.0x -21.3x -54.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 15.9x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.07 2.76 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEPAEPSO
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.4% 10.3% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.4% 5.4% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.0% 8.1% 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 36.9% 7.8% 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 5.2% 2.2% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.5% 19.5% 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 21.1% -17.4% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 15.7% 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 55.7% 5.2% 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.6% 9.2% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -7.8% 17.1% 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 42.7% 22.6% 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -55.3% -63.5% -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.9% -19.1% -3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEPAEPSO
Gross margin 15.4% 67.7% 83.3%
EBITDA margin 26.9% 38.4% 45.2%
Operating margin 13.0% 23.0% 24.2%
Pretax margin 11.1% 15.4% 17.4%
Net margin 8.8% 12.1% 15.4%
FCF margin 3.0% -25.2% -10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 18.6% 33.8% 35.3%
Return on equity 16.5% 9.6% 9.2%
Return on assets 3.3% 2.7% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 5.2% 5.5% 5.1%
Return on capital employed 7.2% 5.0% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.5x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEPAEPSO
Debt / assets 50.8% 43.5% 46.6%
Debt / equity 2.6x 1.6x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.5x 6.0x 5.3x
Debt / FCF 42.7x -9.2x -23.1x
Liabilities / assets 80.3% 72.6% 73.9%
Equity / assets 19.7% 27.4% 26.1%
Interest coverage 3.1x 2.4x 2.3x
Current ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.60 0.92 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEPAEPSO
Dividend yield 5.0% 2.9% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 5.0% 2.9% 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.

ConsensusKEPAEPSO
Forward P/E 4.2xFY2026 21.5xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.49FY2026 $6.01FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -44.2%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.9% +19.0% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $74.80BFY2026 $23.09BFY2026 $31.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.4%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -9.9% +3.5% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEPAEPSO
Held by institutions 2.6% 92.1% 72.5%
Institutions holding 168 1,984 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ +26.1% +13.2% +5.7%
Institutions buying 117 1,064 1,248
Institutions selling 33 584 724
Buyers to sellers 3.55 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.

KEPAEPSO
KEP 1.00 0.13 0.02
AEP 0.13 1.00 0.72
SO 0.02 0.72 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEP, AEP and SO?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Korea Electric Power (KEP) $13.44B, American Electric Power (AEP) $70.85B, Southern (SO) $105.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEP, AEP and SO?

Korea Electric Power (KEP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Korea Electric Power (KEP) 2.3x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.7x, Southern (SO) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Korea Electric Power (KEP) is cheapest (Korea Electric Power (KEP) 4.2x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.5x, 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?

American Electric Power (AEP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Korea Electric Power (KEP) -1.4%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Korea Electric Power (KEP) 8.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, American Electric Power (AEP) leads (Korea Electric Power (KEP) 5.2%, American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: Korea Electric Power (KEP) -31.1%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.4%, Southern (SO) -3.5%. Over five years, American Electric Power (AEP) compounded fastest (Korea Electric Power (KEP) +1.5%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.9%/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: Korea Electric Power (KEP) 0.00%, American Electric Power (AEP) 0.00%, Southern (SO) 0.03%. Korea Electric Power (KEP) and American Electric Power (AEP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southern (SO) has been the steadiest (Korea Electric Power (KEP) 47.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KEP, AEP 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, Korea Electric Power (KEP) 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.