SO vs SU vs AEP Stock Comparison

Southern, Suncor Energy and American Electric Power Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SO Southern Co
$92.89 +11.3% 1M -3.4% 1Y
Market cap
$105.25B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
SU Suncor Energy Inc
$79.35 +16.8% 1M +100.3% 1Y
Market cap
$96.91B
P/E
7.1x
Revenue (TTM)
-$3.60B
Div. yield
-0.03%
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Suncor Energy leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Suncor Energy 6, Southern 3, American Electric Power 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSOSUAEPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $105.25B $96.91B $70.33B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.6x 7.1x 25.5x SU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 9.0x 21.7x SU
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.4% -108.8% +10.3% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% — 12.1% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.1% — 5.5% AEP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 0.5x 6.0x SU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% -0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.4% +100.3% +11.6% SU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.1%/yr +28.3%/yr +8.7%/yr SU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 17.9% 27.4% 19.4% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 64/100 40/100 SU

Percentile Scorecard

SOSUAEP

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

AxisSOSUAEP
Valuation 33 #45 of 67 76 #25 of 99 23 #52 of 67
Growth 55 #30 of 65 65 #35 of 97 64 #24 of 65
Profitability 75 #17 of 65 72 #28 of 96 58 #28 of 65
Financial Health 37 #42 of 66 74 #27 of 102 26 #49 of 66
Shareholder Returns 15 #57 of 67 35 #50 of 76 27 #49 of 67
Overall 43 64 40
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • SU ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSOSUAEPSPY
1 month +11.3%+16.8%+9.5% -1.0%
3 months -4.5%+20.6%-4.3% +2.9%
6 months -0.6%+24.0%-3.7% +6.4%
Year to date +6.5%+78.9%+12.5% +11.4%
1 year -3.4%+100.3%+11.6% +13.1%
3 years +39.8%+141.5%+73.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +11.8%+34.2%+20.2% +21.5%
5 years +47.6%+247.1%+51.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +8.1%+28.3%+8.7% +10.9%
10 years +83.8%+169.7%+107.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +6.3%+10.4%+7.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureSOSUAEPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 17.9%27.4%19.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 17.5%28.2%19.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.23-0.38-0.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.193.660.60 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.3%-37.3%-32.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.3%0.0%-6.5% -2.5%
52-week high $99.11$79.35$138.69 $779.14
52-week low $82.35$39.51$113.70 $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.

MultipleSOSUAEP
P/E now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 20.8x 7.1xmedian 13.1x 25.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.8x -26.3xmedian 2.0x 3.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 13.1x 11.4xmedian 5.7x 14.0xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -32.7xmedian 36.7x 4.8xmedian 11.1x -12.3xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.5x 2.1xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 2.27 0.19median 2.24 2.77median 2.27

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 monthsSOSUAEP
Revenue $30.18B -$3.60B $22.79B
Gross profit $25.14B – $15.43B
Operating income $7.31B $1.71B $5.24B
Net income $4.66B $8.93B $3.07B
Free cash flow -$3.27B $19.78B -$5.75B
EPS (diluted) $4.08 $11.22 $5.02
Cash & equivalents $2.98B $5.37B $375.00M
Total debt $295.00B $9.85B $52.84B
Shares (diluted) 1.14B 1.22B 550.63M
Enterprise value $96.30B $82.66B $67.50B

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
MetricSOSUAEP
P/E 22.7x 7.1x 25.6x
P/FCF -32.7x 4.8x -12.3x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 6.0x 9.2x
P/S 3.5x -26.3x 3.1x
P/B 2.5x 2.0x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 2.0x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 11.4x 14.0x
EV/EBIT 24.6x 58.1x 23.4x
EV/Revenue 5.9x -27.6x 5.4x
EV/FCF -54.9x 5.0x -21.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.8x 6.3x 16.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 0.19 2.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSOSUAEP
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.4% -108.8% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.0% -27.6% 5.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.3% – 8.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.6% – 7.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.5% 18.0% 2.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% – 19.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.7% 57.7% -17.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.2% 13.8% 15.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.6% 55.0% 5.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 36.9% 9.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 9.5% 17.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.7% 8.9% 22.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -152.2% 5.0% -63.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.1% 17.4% -19.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSOSUAEP
Gross margin 83.3% – 67.7%
EBITDA margin 45.2% – 38.4%
Operating margin 24.2% – 23.0%
Pretax margin 17.4% – 15.4%
Net margin 15.4% – 12.1%
FCF margin -10.8% – -25.2%
Operating cash flow margin 35.3% -438.8% 33.8%
Return on equity 9.2% 29.1% 9.6%
Return on assets 2.9% 14.6% 2.7%
Return on invested capital 5.1% – 5.5%
Return on capital employed 5.1% 2.1% 5.0%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.0x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.8x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue – -3.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSOSUAEP
Debt / assets 46.6% 10.4% 43.5%
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.2x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 0.5x 6.0x
Debt / FCF -23.1x 0.5x -9.2x
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 49.2% 72.6%
Equity / assets 26.1% 50.8% 27.4%
Interest coverage 2.3x – 2.4x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.7x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x 1.0x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – – 0.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSOSUAEP
Dividend yield 3.2% 3.0% 2.9%
Net buyback yield – -3.9% –
Shareholder yield 3.2% -0.8% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 66.6% 31.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) -94.8% 14.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.7% -0.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.2% -1.4% –

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.

ConsensusSOSUAEP
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 9.0xFY2026 21.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.84FY2026 $8.85FY2026 $5.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 +163.4%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -2.9% -17.9% +19.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $31.53BFY2026 $44.77BFY2026 $23.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026 +5.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.8% -11.0% +3.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSOSUAEP
Held by institutions 72.5% 65.2% 92.1%
Institutions holding 2,363 752 1,984
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% -5.1% +13.2%
Institutions buying 1,248 367 1,064
Institutions selling 724 252 584
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.46 1.82

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.

SOSUAEP
SO 1.00 0.11 0.72
SU 0.11 1.00 0.11
AEP 0.72 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SO, SU and AEP?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Southern (SO) $105.25B, Suncor Energy (SU) $96.91B, American Electric Power (AEP) $70.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, SO, SU and AEP?

Suncor Energy (SU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Southern (SO) 22.6x, Suncor Energy (SU) 7.1x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Suncor Energy (SU) is cheapest (Southern (SO) 19.2x, Suncor Energy (SU) 9.0x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American Electric Power (AEP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Southern (SO) +6.4%, Suncor Energy (SU) -108.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Southern (SO) 15.4%, American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%). On return on invested capital, American Electric Power (AEP) leads (Southern (SO) 5.1%, American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Suncor Energy (SU) returned the most: Southern (SO) -3.4%, Suncor Energy (SU) +100.3%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.6%. Over five years, Suncor Energy (SU) compounded fastest (Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr, Suncor Energy (SU) +28.3%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Southern (SO) 0.03%, Suncor Energy (SU) -0.03%, American Electric Power (AEP) 0.00%. Suncor Energy (SU) and American Electric Power (AEP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southern (SO) has been the steadiest (Southern (SO) 17.9%, Suncor Energy (SU) 27.4%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SO, SU and AEP?

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