SO vs EXC vs AEE Stock Comparison

Southern, Exelon and Ameren Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SO Southern Co
$92.56 +11.7% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$104.84B
P/E
22.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
EXC Exelon Corp
$44.54 +10.4% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$45.46B
P/E
16.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.33B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins
AEE Ameren Corp
$108.10 +8.8% 1M +3.7% 1Y
Market cap
$29.87B
P/E
19.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.75B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionSOEXCAEELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $104.84B $45.46B $29.87B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.5x 16.3x 19.1x EXC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.1x 14.8x 19.5x EXC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.4% +6.6% +3.8% EXC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% 11.0% 17.9% AEE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.1% 5.4% 5.6% AEE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 5.6x 5.5x SO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.04% 0.03% EXC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.5% -7.3% +3.7% AEE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.1%/yr +3.7%/yr +5.1%/yr SO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 17.9% 20.1% 17.7% AEE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 63/100 54/100 EXC

Percentile Scorecard

SOEXCAEE

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

AxisSOEXCAEE
Valuation 36 #43 of 67 82 #13 of 67 41 #40 of 67
Growth 53 #31 of 65 80 #14 of 65 72 #19 of 65
Profitability 78 #15 of 64 43 #37 of 64 81 #13 of 64
Financial Health 35 #42 of 64 43 #37 of 64 25 #48 of 64
Shareholder Returns 15 #57 of 67 68 #22 of 67 53 #32 of 67
Overall 43 63 54
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • EXC ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • AEE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSOEXCAEESPY
1 month +11.7%+10.4%+8.8% -0.8%
3 months -4.1%-5.5%-3.6% +3.5%
6 months -1.3%-4.4%-3.4% +7.0%
Year to date +6.1%+2.2%+8.3% +12.2%
1 year -3.5%-7.3%+3.7% +13.0%
3 years +39.1%+15.9%+43.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.6%+5.0%+12.8% +23.1%
5 years +47.8%+20.1%+28.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +8.1%+3.7%+5.1% +11.0%
10 years +81.6%+87.8%+120.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.1%+6.5%+8.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSOEXCAEESPY
Volatility, 1Y 17.9%20.1%17.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 17.5%20.2%18.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.23-0.27-0.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.19-0.360.21 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.3%-33.1%-31.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.6%-11.4%-8.6% -1.8%
52-week high $99.11$50.29$118.32 $779.14
52-week low $82.35$40.20$97.25 $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.

MultipleSOEXCAEE
P/E now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 20.8x 16.4xmedian 20.8x 19.1xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 13.1x 10.7xmedian 13.1x 13.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -32.6xmedian 36.7x -24.0xmedian 36.7x -21.4xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.7x 1.5xmedian 1.7x 2.2xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 2.23 1.96median 2.23 1.96median 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 monthsSOEXCAEE
Revenue $30.18B $25.33B $8.75B
Gross profit $25.14B – –
Operating income $7.31B $5.27B $2.18B
Net income $4.66B $2.78B $1.57B
Free cash flow -$3.27B -$1.92B -$1.40B
EPS (diluted) $4.08 $2.71 $5.61
Cash & equivalents $2.98B $1.81B $12.00M
Total debt $295.00B $201.12B $83.20B
Shares (diluted) 1.14B 1.03B 278.70M
Enterprise value $95.89B $40.77B $29.82B

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
MetricSOEXCAEE
P/E 22.6x 16.4x 19.1x
P/FCF -32.6x -24.0x -21.4x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 6.4x 9.2x
P/S 3.5x 1.8x 3.4x
P/B 2.5x 1.5x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 1.5x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 10.7x 13.1x
EV/EBIT 24.5x 18.3x 23.8x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 3.8x 5.9x
EV/FCF -54.8x -50.3x -36.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.8x 13.4x 15.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 1.96 1.96

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSOEXCAEE
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.4% 6.6% 3.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.0% 8.4% 2.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.3% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.6% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.5% 10.8% 33.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 14.3% 11.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.7% 4.9% 27.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.2% 9.5% 11.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.6% 3.3% 24.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 8.4% 9.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 23.8% 8.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.7% 28.6% 9.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -152.2% -8.6% 9.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.1% 21.3% -7.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSOEXCAEE
Gross margin 83.3% – –
EBITDA margin 45.2% 35.6% 45.0%
Operating margin 24.2% 20.8% 24.9%
Pretax margin 17.4% 13.3% 19.7%
Net margin 15.4% 11.0% 17.9%
FCF margin -10.8% -7.6% -16.0%
Operating cash flow margin 35.3% 28.5% 37.2%
Return on equity 9.2% 9.4% 11.4%
Return on assets 2.9% 2.3% 3.1%
Return on invested capital 5.1% 5.4% 5.6%
Return on capital employed 5.1% 4.8% 4.8%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.6x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSOEXCAEE
Debt / assets 46.6% 43.4% 42.6%
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.8x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 5.6x 5.5x
Debt / FCF -23.1x -27.3x -15.6x
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 75.4% 73.0%
Equity / assets 26.1% 24.6% 27.0%
Interest coverage 2.3x – 2.6x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.1x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.7x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 0.76 0.89

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSOEXCAEE
Dividend yield 3.2% 3.7% 2.7%
Net buyback yield – – -1.9%
Shareholder yield 3.2% 3.7% 0.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 66.6% 59.9% 50.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) -94.8% -87.1% -57.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.7% 6.2% 7.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.2% 6.3% 7.9%

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.

ConsensusSOEXCAEE
Forward P/E 19.1xFY2026 14.8xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.85FY2026 $3.01FY2026 $5.55FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.8%FY2026 +8.7%FY2026 +10.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.1% +7.6% -2.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $31.53BFY2026 $26.88BFY2026 $9.59BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.8% -8.8% -3.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSOEXCAEE
Held by institutions 72.5% 92.0% 88.5%
Institutions holding 2,363 1,282 950
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% +5.8% +4.7%
Institutions buying 1,248 699 518
Institutions selling 724 372 244
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.88 2.12

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.

SOEXCAEE
SO 1.00 0.72 0.81
EXC 0.72 1.00 0.76
AEE 0.81 0.76 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SO, EXC and AEE?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Southern (SO) $104.84B, Exelon (EXC) $45.46B, Ameren (AEE) $29.87B.

Which stock is cheaper, SO, EXC and AEE?

Exelon (EXC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Southern (SO) 22.5x, Exelon (EXC) 16.3x, Ameren (AEE) 19.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Exelon (EXC) is cheapest (Southern (SO) 19.1x, Exelon (EXC) 14.8x, Ameren (AEE) 19.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Exelon (EXC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Southern (SO) +6.4%, Exelon (EXC) +6.6%, Ameren (AEE) +3.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ameren (AEE) has the highest net margin (Southern (SO) 15.4%, Exelon (EXC) 11.0%, Ameren (AEE) 17.9%). On return on invested capital, Ameren (AEE) leads (Southern (SO) 5.1%, Exelon (EXC) 5.4%, Ameren (AEE) 5.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ameren (AEE) returned the most: Southern (SO) -3.5%, Exelon (EXC) -7.3%, Ameren (AEE) +3.7%. Over five years, Southern (SO) compounded fastest (Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr, Exelon (EXC) +3.7%/yr, Ameren (AEE) +5.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Exelon (EXC) has the highest dividend yield: Southern (SO) 0.03%, Exelon (EXC) 0.04%, Ameren (AEE) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ameren (AEE) has been the steadiest (Southern (SO) 17.9%, Exelon (EXC) 20.1%, Ameren (AEE) 17.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SO, EXC and AEE?

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