NEE vs XEL vs DUK Stock Comparison

Nextera Energy, Xcel Energy and Duke Energy Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NEE Nextera Energy Inc
$88.44 +15.9% 1M +8.3% 1Y
Market cap
$185.46B
P/E
15.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.83B
Div. yield
2.74%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
6 wins
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$80.50 +12.6% 1M -1.3% 1Y
Market cap
$51.13B
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.87B
Div. yield
2.91%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
1 win
DUK Duke Energy CORP
$129.64 +13.9% 1M +4.7% 1Y
Market cap
$101.12B
P/E
19.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.25B
Div. yield
3.29%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionNEEXELDUKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $185.46B $51.13B $101.12B NEE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.9x 19.0x 19.5x NEE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.7x 18.7x 19.8x XEL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.6% +4.5% +6.3% NEE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 40.4% 17.9% 15.6% NEE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.7% 5.0% 5.4% DUK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.0x 6.0x 5.3x DUK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.74% 2.91% 3.29% DUK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.3% -1.3% +4.7% NEE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.7%/yr +4.8%/yr +5.0%/yr DUK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.6% 19.4% 16.9% DUK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 32/100 52/100 NEE

Percentile Scorecard

NEEXELDUK

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

AxisNEEXELDUK
Valuation 21 #53 of 67 20 #54 of 67 64 #25 of 67
Growth 95 #4 of 65 53 #31 of 65 70 #20 of 65
Profitability 88 #9 of 65 52 #32 of 65 77 #16 of 65
Financial Health 46 #36 of 66 34 #44 of 66 22 #52 of 66
Shareholder Returns 39 #41 of 67 0 #67 of 67 26 #50 of 67
Overall 58 32 52
  • NEE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • XEL 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

PeriodNEEXELDUKSPY
1 month +15.9%+12.6%+13.9% -1.0%
3 months +3.0%+4.3%+5.1% -0.4%
6 months -7.3%-0.1%+3.3% +4.5%
Year to date +10.2%+9.0%+10.6% +12.4%
1 year +8.3%-1.3%+4.7% +13.6%
3 years +48.9%+31.9%+43.6% +76.4%
3 years, per year +14.2%+9.7%+12.8% +20.8%
5 years +3.4%+26.2%+27.5% +63.7%
5 years, per year +0.7%+4.8%+5.0% +10.4%
10 years +187.1%+99.5%+67.8% +267.7%
10 years, per year +11.1%+7.1%+5.3% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureNEEXELDUKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.6%19.4%16.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.0%19.5%17.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.00-0.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.38-0.070.28 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.2%-37.4%-26.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.6%-4.1%-2.9% -1.6%
52-week high $97.88$83.91$133.46 $779.14
52-week low $75.50$69.39$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.

MultipleNEEXELDUK
P/E now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 21.2x 19.0xmedian 21.2x 19.5xmedian 21.2x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x 3.0xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 12.9x 14.1xmedian 12.9x 11.3xmedian 12.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 39.7xmedian 33.4x -6.7xmedian 33.4x -23.7xmedian 33.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.8x 2.0xmedian 1.8x 1.8xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 1.13median 2.06 1.86median 2.06 0.33median 2.06

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 monthsNEEXELDUK
Revenue $28.83B $14.87B $33.25B
Gross profit – – $24.76B
Operating income $8.66B $3.23B $9.23B
Net income $11.64B $2.67B $5.38B
Free cash flow $4.67B -$7.62B -$4.27B
EPS (diluted) $5.55 $4.22 $6.66
Cash & equivalents $5.58B $2.48B $673.00M
Total debt $110.22B $40.60B $91.24B
Shares (diluted) 2.10B 632.00M 779.00M
Enterprise value $183.57B $44.60B $99.49B

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
MetricNEEXELDUK
P/E 15.9x 19.0x 19.5x
P/FCF 39.7x -6.7x -23.7x
P/Operating cash flow 12.5x 10.1x 8.7x
P/S 6.4x 3.4x 3.0x
P/B 2.5x 2.0x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 2.0x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 19.3x 14.1x 11.3x
EV/EBIT 33.5x 27.6x 20.8x
EV/Revenue 10.1x 6.0x 5.8x
EV/FCF 62.1x -11.7x -44.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.6x 17.6x 16.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.13 1.86 0.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNEEXELDUK
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.6% 4.5% 6.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 0.1% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 9.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 8.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.4% 37.5% 9.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -3.5% 9.9% 13.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 79.0% 39.4% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 15.3% 59.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 76.7% 31.2% 8.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 10.2% 59.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 23.8% 11.9% -3.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.3% -0.3% 26.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 30.9% -47.9% -659.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 124.1% -159.7% 14.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNEEXELDUK
Gross margin – – 74.5%
EBITDA margin 52.2% 42.7% 51.0%
Operating margin 30.0% 21.7% 27.8%
Pretax margin 35.0% 16.8% 18.6%
Net margin 40.4% 17.9% 15.6%
FCF margin 16.2% -51.2% -12.9%
Operating cash flow margin 51.4% 34.1% 34.8%
Return on equity 13.9% 10.8% 9.5%
Return on assets 4.1% 3.0% 2.7%
Return on invested capital 4.7% 5.0% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 4.2% 4.1% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.9x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNEEXELDUK
Debt / assets 45.0% 44.8% 45.4%
Debt / equity 1.5x 1.6x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.0x 6.0x 5.3x
Debt / FCF 23.6x -5.3x -21.3x
Liabilities / assets 70.3% 71.9% 71.7%
Equity / assets 29.7% 28.1% 28.3%
Interest coverage 2,164x 1.9x 2.4x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.7x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 1.04 0.87 0.74

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNEEXELDUK
Dividend yield 2.7% 2.9% 3.3%
Net buyback yield -0.5% -5.9% –
Shareholder yield 2.2% -3.0% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 62.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -79.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 4.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 1.8%

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.

ConsensusNEEXELDUK
Forward P/E 22.7xFY2026 18.7xFY2026 19.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.89FY2026 $4.30FY2026 $6.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.5% +2.1% +15.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.08BFY2026 $16.60BFY2026 $32.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.0%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 +0.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.6% +8.4% +4.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNEEXELDUK
Held by institutions 84.3% 95.4% 69.6%
Institutions holding 3,026 1,288 2,462
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +7.3% +0.5%
Institutions buying 1,592 666 1,300
Institutions selling 1,056 387 802
Buyers to sellers 1.51 1.72 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.

NEEXELDUK
NEE 1.00 0.66 0.62
XEL 0.66 1.00 0.80
DUK 0.62 0.80 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NEE, XEL and DUK?

Nextera Energy (NEE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nextera Energy (NEE) $185.46B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $51.13B, Duke Energy (DUK) $101.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, NEE, XEL and DUK?

Nextera Energy (NEE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nextera Energy (NEE) 15.9x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.0x, Duke Energy (DUK) 19.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Xcel Energy (XEL) is cheapest (Nextera Energy (NEE) 22.7x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.7x, Duke Energy (DUK) 19.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nextera Energy (NEE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nextera Energy (NEE) +9.6%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.5%, Duke Energy (DUK) +6.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nextera Energy (NEE) has the highest net margin (Nextera Energy (NEE) 40.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 17.9%, Duke Energy (DUK) 15.6%). On return on invested capital, Duke Energy (DUK) leads (Nextera Energy (NEE) 4.7%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 5.0%, Duke Energy (DUK) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nextera Energy (NEE) returned the most: Nextera Energy (NEE) +8.3%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -1.3%, Duke Energy (DUK) +4.7%. Over five years, Duke Energy (DUK) compounded fastest (Nextera Energy (NEE) +0.7%/yr, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.8%/yr, Duke Energy (DUK) +5.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Duke Energy (DUK) has the highest dividend yield: Nextera Energy (NEE) 2.74%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 2.91%, Duke Energy (DUK) 3.29%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Duke Energy (DUK) has been the steadiest (Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.6%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.4%, Duke Energy (DUK) 16.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NEE, XEL 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, Nextera Energy (NEE) 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.