NRG vs TLN vs VST Stock Comparison

Nrg Energy, Talen Energy and Vistra Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NRG Nrg Energy, Inc.
$92.32 -8.3% 1M -43.6% 1Y
Market cap
$19.73B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
3 wins
TLN Talen Energy Corp
$327.91 +9.2% 1M -14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$15.51B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.44B
Div. yield
–
Independent Power Producers Utilities
2 wins
VST Vistra Corp.
$140.15 +1.6% 1M -26.8% 1Y
Market cap
$47.77B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Vistra leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Vistra 7, Nrg Energy 3, Talen Energy 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNRGTLNVSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $19.73B $15.51B $47.77B VST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.2x -83.8x 23.6x VST
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.8x 16.0x 15.9x NRG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.8% +60.8% +3.8% TLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.4% -5.4% 10.6% VST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.8% 0.9% 11.3% VST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 19.3x 2.8x VST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.01% NRG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -43.6% -14.6% -26.8% TLN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.5%/yr — +49.0%/yr VST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.0% 57.4% 51.0% NRG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 43/100 68/100 VST

Percentile Scorecard

NRGTLNVST

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

AxisNRGTLNVST
Valuation 65 #9 of 24 26 #18 of 24 74 #7 of 24
Growth 77 #6 of 23 59 #10 of 23 55 #11 of 23
Profitability 73 #7 of 23 36 #15 of 23 100 #1 of 23
Financial Health 17 #20 of 24 9 #22 of 24 39 #15 of 24
Shareholder Returns 90 #3 of 20 84 #4 of 20 74 #6 of 20
Overall 64 43 68
  • NRG ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • TLN ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • VST ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNRGTLNVSTSPY
1 month -8.3%+9.2%+1.6% -1.0%
3 months -34.5%-8.9%-14.2% +2.9%
6 months -42.2%-10.0%-14.7% +6.4%
Year to date -42.0%-12.5%-13.1% +11.4%
1 year -43.6%-14.6%-26.8% +13.1%
3 years +119.4%+516.5%+328.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +30.0%+83.4%+62.5% +21.5%
5 years +123.9%—+633.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +17.5%—+49.0% +10.9%
10 years +701.4%—+792.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +23.1%—+24.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNRGTLNVSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.0%57.4%51.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.6%61.4%55.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.412.031.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.87-0.25-0.52 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.8%-35.7%-48.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -49.8%-25.2%-30.4% -2.5%
52-week high $184.03$438.12$201.47 $779.14
52-week low $92.32$286.52$134.71 $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.

MultipleNRGTLNVST
P/E now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 24.1x -81.4xmedian 24.1x 23.3xmedian 24.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 2.6x 4.6xmedian 2.6x 2.5xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.3xmedian 11.3x 51.9xmedian 11.3x 10.2xmedian 11.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 55.8xmedian 12.9x 27.7xmedian 12.9x 20.9xmedian 12.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 2.1x 9.6xmedian 2.1x 8.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.73median 0.59 —median 0.59 1.47median 0.59

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 monthsNRGTLNVST
Revenue $33.13B $3.44B $19.21B
Gross profit $6.23B – –
Operating income $2.02B $88.00M $3.56B
Net income $849.00M -$185.00M $2.22B
Free cash flow $348.00M $568.00M $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $3.69 $-4.03 $5.98
Cash & equivalents $162.00M $231.00M $435.00M
Total debt $23.44B $9.57B $19.60B
Shares (diluted) 212.00M 45.90M 339.23M
Enterprise value $13.95B $13.07B $40.96B

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
MetricNRGTLNVST
P/E 24.9x -81.4x 23.3x
P/FCF 55.8x 27.7x 20.9x
P/Operating cash flow 12.5x 19.7x 9.2x
P/S 0.6x 4.6x 2.5x
P/B 4.0x 9.6x 8.6x
P/Tangible book 7.2x 9.6x 14.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.3x 51.9x 10.2x
EV/EBIT 21.2x 284.6x 18.2x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 7.3x 3.4x
EV/FCF 122.7x 44.1x 28.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.5x 31.5x 12.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.73 – 1.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNRGTLNVST
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.8% 60.8% 3.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% – 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 22.9% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 348.5% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 57.9% -34.3% -0.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 43.0% – 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 62.6% -206.9% -8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 34.1% – 11.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 58.9% -203.2% -6.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 34.1% – 15.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -32.1% 1,121% 21.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.9% – 6.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -75.0% 422.7% 36.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.6% – -4.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNRGTLNVST
Gross margin 18.8% – –
EBITDA margin 11.4% 14.1% 33.0%
Operating margin 6.1% 2.6% 18.5%
Pretax margin 3.2% -3.6% 14.6%
Net margin 2.4% -5.4% 10.6%
FCF margin 1.1% 16.5% 11.7%
Operating cash flow margin 4.7% 23.2% 26.7%
Return on equity 17.5% -13.6% 40.0%
Return on assets 2.1% -1.4% 5.3%
Return on invested capital 5.8% 0.9% 11.3%
Return on capital employed 6.7% 0.8% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x -4.3x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 2.8% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNRGTLNVST
Debt / assets 58.7% 63.5% 46.0%
Debt / equity 4.8x 5.8x 3.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 19.3x 2.8x
Debt / FCF 67.3x 16.9x 8.7x
Liabilities / assets 87.8% 89.1% 87.1%
Equity / assets 12.2% 10.9% 12.9%
Interest coverage 2.0x 0.2x 3.1x
Current ratio 1.0x 0.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.40 0.84 1.52

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNRGTLNVST
Dividend yield 2.0% – 0.7%
Net buyback yield 8.4% 1.9% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 10.5% 1.9% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 51.7% – 13.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 126.1% – 13.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.6% – 0.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.1% – 0.5%

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.

ConsensusNRGTLNVST
Forward P/E 10.8xFY2026 16.0xFY2026 15.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.55FY2026 $20.49FY2026 $8.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 – +305.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +32.5% +60.7% +21.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $36.32BFY2026 $4.60BFY2026 $21.35BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.3%FY2026 +78.4%FY2026 +20.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.9% +5.1% +21.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNRGTLNVST
Held by institutions 93.7% 100.0% 84.4%
Institutions holding 1,023 637 1,403
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.7% +5.4% +2.7%
Institutions buying 508 379 852
Institutions selling 385 190 415
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.99 2.05

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.

NRGTLNVST
NRG 1.00 0.68 0.78
TLN 0.68 1.00 0.82
VST 0.78 0.82 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NRG, TLN and VST?

Vistra (VST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nrg Energy (NRG) $19.73B, Talen Energy (TLN) $15.51B, Vistra (VST) $47.77B.

Which stock is cheaper, NRG, TLN and VST?

Vistra (VST) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nrg Energy (NRG) 25.2x, Talen Energy (TLN) -83.8x, Vistra (VST) 23.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nrg Energy (NRG) is cheapest (Nrg Energy (NRG) 10.8x, Talen Energy (TLN) 16.0x, Vistra (VST) 15.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Talen Energy (TLN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nrg Energy (NRG) +12.8%, Talen Energy (TLN) +60.8%, Vistra (VST) +3.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vistra (VST) has the highest net margin (Nrg Energy (NRG) 2.4%, Talen Energy (TLN) -5.4%, Vistra (VST) 10.6%). On return on invested capital, Vistra (VST) leads (Nrg Energy (NRG) 5.8%, Talen Energy (TLN) 0.9%, Vistra (VST) 11.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Talen Energy (TLN) returned the most: Nrg Energy (NRG) -43.6%, Talen Energy (TLN) -14.6%, Vistra (VST) -26.8%. Over five years, Vistra (VST) compounded fastest (Nrg Energy (NRG) +17.5%/yr, Vistra (VST) +49.0%/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%, Talen Energy (TLN) 0.00%, Vistra (VST) 0.01%. Talen Energy (TLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nrg Energy (NRG) has been the steadiest (Nrg Energy (NRG) 50.0%, Talen Energy (TLN) 57.4%, Vistra (VST) 51.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Vistra (VST) 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.