NRG vs VST vs XYL Stock Comparison

Nrg Energy, Vistra and Xylem Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NRG Nrg Energy, Inc.
$80.57 -22.2% 1M -53.5% 1Y
Market cap
$18.65B
P/E
23.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
3 wins
VST Vistra Corp.
$112.95 -29.6% 1M -40.4% 1Y
Market cap
$41.95B
P/E
20.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
4 wins
XYL Xylem Inc.
$100.02 -4.4% 1M -33.6% 1Y
Market cap
$22.78B
P/E
21.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.06B
Div. yield
0.02%
Water Treatment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Xylem leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Xylem 5, Vistra 4, Nrg Energy 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNRGVSTXYLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.65B $41.95B $22.78B VST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.8x 20.7x 21.1x VST
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.6x 12.8x 19.7x NRG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.8% +3.8% +1.9% NRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.4% 10.6% 11.9% XYL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.8% 11.3% 8.3% VST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 2.8x 1.1x XYL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.01% 0.02% NRG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -53.5% -40.4% -33.6% XYL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.3%/yr +40.7%/yr -5.3%/yr VST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.7% 52.8% 31.4% XYL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 65/100 80/100 XYL

Percentile Scorecard

NRGVSTXYL

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

AxisNRGVSTXYL
Valuation 70 #8 of 24 74 #7 of 24 95 #2 of 20
Growth 77 #6 of 23 50 #12 of 23 88 #3 of 18
Profitability 67 #8 of 22 100 #1 of 22 75 #5 of 17
Financial Health 17 #20 of 24 30 #17 of 24 50 #11 of 21
Shareholder Returns 88 #3 of 18 71 #6 of 18 91 #2 of 12
Overall 64 65 80
  • NRG ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • VST ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • XYL ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNRGVSTXYLSPY
1 month -22.2%-29.6%-4.4% -5.9%
3 months -32.3%-20.1%-17.2% -4.6%
6 months -43.2%-26.6%-13.5% +0.2%
Year to date -49.4%-30.0%-26.6% +7.5%
1 year -53.5%-40.4%-33.6% +8.2%
3 years +76.1%+219.7%+4.0% +68.3%
3 years, per year +20.8%+47.4%+1.3% +19.0%
5 years +122.1%+451.0%-23.7% +56.5%
5 years, per year +17.3%+40.7%-5.3% +9.4%
10 years +630.5%+706.8%+111.0% +251.5%
10 years, per year +22.0%+23.2%+7.8% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureNRGVSTXYLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.7%52.8%31.4% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 59.0%58.7%36.4% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.141.390.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.03-0.76-1.07 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -56.2%-48.9%-45.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.2%-40.9%-33.9% -5.9%
52-week high $184.03$191.00$151.31 $779.14
52-week low $80.57$112.95$88.24 $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.

MultipleNRGVSTXYL
P/E now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 21.7x 18.8xmedian 21.7x 21.5xmedian 36.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 2.5x 2.0xmedian 2.5x 2.5xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 10.9x 8.8xmedian 10.9x 13.0xmedian 22.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 48.7xmedian 12.3x 16.8xmedian 12.3x 24.9xmedian 25.4x
P/B now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.0x 6.9xmedian 2.0x 2.2xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.64median 0.64 1.18median 0.64 0.68median 2.08

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 monthsNRGVSTXYL
Revenue $33.13B $19.21B $9.06B
Gross profit $6.23B – $3.61B
Operating income $2.02B $3.56B $1.37B
Net income $849.00M $2.22B $1.08B
Free cash flow $348.00M $2.26B $921.00M
R&D – – $231.00M
EPS (diluted) $3.69 $5.98 $4.64
Cash & equivalents $162.00M $435.00M $708.00M
Total debt $23.44B $19.60B $2.90B
Shares (diluted) 212.00M 339.23M 233.04M
Enterprise value $12.87B $35.14B $18.51B

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
MetricNRGVSTXYL
P/E 21.7x 18.8x 21.5x
P/FCF 48.7x 16.8x 24.9x
P/Operating cash flow 10.9x 7.4x 18.0x
P/S 0.5x 2.0x 2.5x
P/B 3.5x 6.9x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 11.8x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 10.7x 8.8x 13.0x
EV/EBIT 20.0x 15.6x 18.3x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 2.9x 2.8x
EV/FCF 115.6x 24.7x 27.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.9x 10.9x 19.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.64 1.18 0.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNRGVSTXYL
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.8% 3.8% 1.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 4.9% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 22.9% – 6.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 348.5% – 12.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 57.9% -0.5% 20.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 43.0% 12.3% 29.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 62.6% -8.9% 14.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 34.1% 11.4% 30.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 58.9% -6.0% 19.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 34.1% 15.9% 31.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -32.1% 21.2% -0.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.9% 6.7% 19.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -75.0% 36.4% -0.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.6% -4.7% 21.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNRGVSTXYL
Gross margin 18.8% – 39.8%
EBITDA margin 11.4% 33.0% 21.3%
Operating margin 6.1% 18.5% 15.1%
Pretax margin 3.2% 14.6% 14.8%
Net margin 2.4% 10.6% 11.9%
FCF margin 1.1% 11.7% 10.2%
Operating cash flow margin 4.7% 26.7% 14.0%
Return on equity 17.5% 40.0% 10.3%
Return on assets 2.1% 5.3% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 5.8% 11.3% 8.3%
Return on capital employed 6.7% 11.3% 9.5%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 2.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.7% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNRGVSTXYL
Debt / assets 58.7% 46.0% 16.7%
Debt / equity 4.8x 3.6x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.2x 2.8x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 67.3x 8.7x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 87.8% 87.1% 40.7%
Equity / assets 12.2% 12.9% 59.3%
Interest coverage 2.0x 3.1x 36.1x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.36 1.37 3.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNRGVSTXYL
Dividend yield 2.3% 0.8% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 9.7% 3.0% 6.8%
Shareholder yield 12.0% 3.8% 8.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 51.7% 13.9% 37.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 126.1% 13.7% 44.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.6% 0.3% 6.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 0.5% 14.1%

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.

ConsensusNRGVSTXYL
Forward P/E 9.6xFY2026 12.8xFY2026 19.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.43FY2026 $8.79FY2026 $5.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.5%FY2026 +303.2%FY2026 -0.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +24.9% +19.7% +11.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $35.08BFY2026 $20.88BFY2026 $9.57BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.2%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.5% +19.1% -0.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNRGVSTXYL
Held by institutions 93.7% 84.4% 92.0%
Institutions holding 1,025 1,405 1,094
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.7% +2.7% +0.2%
Institutions buying 508 854 489
Institutions selling 387 415 448
Buyers to sellers 1.31 2.06 1.09

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.

NRGVSTXYL
NRG 1.00 0.79 0.07
VST 0.79 1.00 0.01
XYL 0.07 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NRG, VST and XYL?

Vistra (VST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nrg Energy (NRG) $18.65B, Vistra (VST) $41.95B, Xylem (XYL) $22.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, NRG, VST and XYL?

Vistra (VST) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nrg Energy (NRG) 23.8x, Vistra (VST) 20.7x, Xylem (XYL) 21.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nrg Energy (NRG) is cheapest (Nrg Energy (NRG) 9.6x, Vistra (VST) 12.8x, Xylem (XYL) 19.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nrg Energy (NRG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nrg Energy (NRG) +12.8%, Vistra (VST) +3.8%, Xylem (XYL) +1.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Xylem (XYL) has the highest net margin (Nrg Energy (NRG) 2.4%, Vistra (VST) 10.6%, Xylem (XYL) 11.9%). On return on invested capital, Vistra (VST) leads (Nrg Energy (NRG) 5.8%, Vistra (VST) 11.3%, Xylem (XYL) 8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Xylem (XYL) returned the most: Nrg Energy (NRG) -53.5%, Vistra (VST) -40.4%, Xylem (XYL) -33.6%. Over five years, Vistra (VST) compounded fastest (Nrg Energy (NRG) +17.3%/yr, Vistra (VST) +40.7%/yr, Xylem (XYL) -5.3%/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%, Vistra (VST) 0.01%, Xylem (XYL) 0.02%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Xylem (XYL) has been the steadiest (Nrg Energy (NRG) 51.7%, Vistra (VST) 52.8%, Xylem (XYL) 31.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Xylem (XYL) leads on 5. 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.