NRG vs TAC vs TLN Stock Comparison

Nrg Energy, Transalta and Talen Energy Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NRG Nrg Energy, Inc.
$96.99 0.0% 1M -43.9% 1Y
Market cap
$20.50B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
7 wins
TAC Transalta Corp
$13.08 +10.7% 1M -23.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.92B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.64B
Div. yield
0.01%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
2 wins
TLN Talen Energy Corp
$347.75 +14.6% 1M -11.7% 1Y
Market cap
$16.00B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.44B
Div. yield
–
Independent Power Producers Utilities
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nrg Energy leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nrg Energy 7, Talen Energy 2, Transalta 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNRGTACTLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $20.50B $3.92B $16.00B NRG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.2x -71.6x -86.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.4x 54.5x 17.3x NRG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.8% -8.8% +60.8% TLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.4% -3.3% -5.4% NRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.8% 0.0% 0.9% NRG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 4.8x 19.3x TAC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.01% 0.00% NRG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -43.9% -23.7% -11.7% TLN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +19.5%/yr +3.1%/yr — NRG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.0% 40.9% 57.1% TAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 44/100 43/100 NRG

Percentile Scorecard

NRGTACTLN

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

AxisNRGTACTLN
Valuation 70 #8 of 24 65 #9 of 24 26 #18 of 24
Growth 77 #6 of 23 27 #17 of 23 59 #10 of 23
Profitability 73 #7 of 23 55 #11 of 23 36 #15 of 23
Financial Health 17 #20 of 24 30 #17 of 24 9 #22 of 24
Shareholder Returns 89 #3 of 19 44 #11 of 19 83 #4 of 19
Overall 65 44 43
  • NRG ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • TAC ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • TLN ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNRGTACTLNSPY
1 month 0.0%+10.7%+14.6% +0.9%
3 months -21.9%+5.1%+10.0% +5.9%
6 months -34.9%+8.9%-1.2% +8.5%
Year to date -39.1%+3.5%-7.2% +13.3%
1 year -43.9%-23.7%-11.7% +12.4%
3 years +132.8%+78.0%+556.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +32.6%+21.2%+87.3% +23.5%
5 years +143.1%+16.6%— +68.2%
5 years, per year +19.5%+3.1%— +11.0%
10 years +841.7%+191.3%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +25.1%+11.3%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNRGTACTLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.0%40.9%57.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.6%44.3%61.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.411.102.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.88-0.58-0.21 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.8%-48.4%-35.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -47.3%-26.2%-20.6% -0.9%
52-week high $184.03$17.73$438.12 $779.14
52-week low $92.32$11.53$286.52 $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.

MultipleNRGTACTLN
P/E now vs peer median 26.2xmedian 24.9x -71.0xmedian 24.9x -86.3xmedian 24.9x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 2.7x 2.4xmedian 2.7x 4.8xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 11.6x 11.7xmedian 11.6x 53.8xmedian 11.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 58.6xmedian 13.8x 13.8xmedian 13.8x 29.3xmedian 13.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.1x 3.0xmedian 2.1x 10.2xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.77median 0.61 2.24median 0.61 —median 0.61

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 monthsNRGTACTLN
Revenue $33.13B $1.64B $3.44B
Gross profit $6.23B $1.05B –
Operating income $2.02B $201.41M $88.00M
Net income $849.00M -$17.93M -$185.00M
Free cash flow $348.00M $281.42M $568.00M
EPS (diluted) $3.69 $-0.18 $-4.03
Cash & equivalents $162.00M $212.54M $231.00M
Total debt $23.44B $2.98B $9.57B
Shares (diluted) 212.00M 297.00M 45.90M
Enterprise value $14.72B $2.82B $13.55B

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
MetricNRGTACTLN
P/E 26.2x -71.0x -86.3x
P/FCF 58.6x 13.8x 29.3x
P/Operating cash flow 13.1x 8.0x 20.9x
P/S 0.6x 2.4x 4.8x
P/B 4.2x 3.0x 10.2x
P/Tangible book 7.5x 3.4x 10.2x
EV/EBITDA 11.6x 11.7x 53.8x
EV/EBIT 21.7x 32.5x 295.4x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 4.0x 7.6x
EV/FCF 125.5x 23.3x 45.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.1x 13.6x 32.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.77 2.24 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNRGTACTLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.8% -8.8% 60.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% -14.4% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 22.9% -4.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 348.5% -12.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 57.9% 44.6% -34.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 43.0% -29.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) 62.6% 81.0% -206.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 34.1% -27.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) 58.9% 60.3% -203.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 34.1% -31.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -32.1% 9.7% 1,121%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.9% -14.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -75.0% 38.4% 422.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.6% -2.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNRGTACTLN
Gross margin 18.8% 63.9% –
EBITDA margin 11.4% 34.0% 14.1%
Operating margin 6.1% 12.3% 2.6%
Pretax margin 3.2% 0.4% -3.6%
Net margin 2.4% -3.3% -5.4%
FCF margin 1.1% 17.2% 16.5%
Operating cash flow margin 4.7% 29.4% 23.2%
Return on equity 17.5% -1.5% -13.6%
Return on assets 2.1% -0.3% -1.4%
Return on invested capital 5.8% 0.0% 0.9%
Return on capital employed 6.7% – 0.8%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x -26.9x -4.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% – 2.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNRGTACTLN
Debt / assets 58.7% 47.9% 63.5%
Debt / equity 4.8x 2.3x 5.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 4.8x 19.3x
Debt / FCF 67.3x 10.6x 16.9x
Liabilities / assets 87.8% 79.1% 89.1%
Equity / assets 12.2% 20.9% 10.9%
Interest coverage 2.0x 0.8x 0.2x
Current ratio 1.0x – 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x – 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.42 – 0.88

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNRGTACTLN
Dividend yield 1.9% 2.1% –
Net buyback yield 8.0% -5.9% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 9.9% -3.7% 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 51.7% -193.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 126.1% 12.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.6% -5.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 3.6% –

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.

ConsensusNRGTACTLN
Forward P/E 11.4xFY2026 54.5xFY2026 17.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.49FY2026 $0.24FY2026 $20.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +71.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +28.7% +54.2% +60.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $36.07BFY2026 $1.40BFY2026 $4.61BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.5%FY2026 -20.0%FY2026 +78.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.9% +23.2% +4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNRGTACTLN
Held by institutions 93.7% – 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,023 – 637
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.7% – +5.4%
Institutions buying 508 – 379
Institutions selling 385 – 190
Buyers to sellers 1.32 – 1.99

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.

NRGTACTLN
NRG 1.00 0.40 0.69
TAC 0.40 1.00 0.42
TLN 0.69 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NRG, TAC and TLN?

Nrg Energy (NRG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nrg Energy (NRG) $20.50B, Transalta (TAC) $3.92B, Talen Energy (TLN) $16.00B.

Which company is growing faster?

Talen Energy (TLN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nrg Energy (NRG) +12.8%, Transalta (TAC) -8.8%, Talen Energy (TLN) +60.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nrg Energy (NRG) has the highest net margin (Nrg Energy (NRG) 2.4%, Transalta (TAC) -3.3%, Talen Energy (TLN) -5.4%). On return on invested capital, Nrg Energy (NRG) leads (Nrg Energy (NRG) 5.8%, Transalta (TAC) 0.0%, Talen Energy (TLN) 0.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Talen Energy (TLN) returned the most: Nrg Energy (NRG) -43.9%, Transalta (TAC) -23.7%, Talen Energy (TLN) -11.7%. Over five years, Nrg Energy (NRG) compounded fastest (Nrg Energy (NRG) +19.5%/yr, Transalta (TAC) +3.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nrg Energy (NRG) has the highest dividend yield: Nrg Energy (NRG) 0.02%, Transalta (TAC) 0.01%, Talen Energy (TLN) 0.00%. Talen Energy (TLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Transalta (TAC) has been the steadiest (Nrg Energy (NRG) 50.0%, Transalta (TAC) 40.9%, Talen Energy (TLN) 57.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NRG, TAC and TLN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nrg Energy (NRG) leads on 7. 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.