SO vs SU vs VST Stock Comparison

Southern, Suncor Energy and Vistra Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
5 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
4 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
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionSOSUVSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $105.25B $96.91B $47.77B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.6x 7.1x 23.6x SU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 9.0x 15.9x SU
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.4% -108.8% +3.8% SO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% — 10.6% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.1% — 11.3% VST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 0.5x 2.8x SU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% -0.03% 0.01% SO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.4% +100.3% -26.8% SU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.1%/yr +28.3%/yr +49.0%/yr VST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 17.9% 27.4% 51.0% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 64/100 68/100 VST

Percentile Scorecard

SOSUVST

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

AxisSOSUVST
Valuation 33 #45 of 67 76 #25 of 99 74 #7 of 24
Growth 55 #30 of 65 65 #35 of 97 55 #11 of 23
Profitability 75 #17 of 65 72 #28 of 96 100 #1 of 23
Financial Health 37 #42 of 66 74 #27 of 102 39 #15 of 24
Shareholder Returns 15 #57 of 67 35 #50 of 76 74 #6 of 20
Overall 43 64 68
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • SU ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream
  • 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

PeriodSOSUVSTSPY
1 month +11.3%+16.8%+1.6% -1.0%
3 months -4.5%+20.6%-14.2% +2.9%
6 months -0.6%+24.0%-14.7% +6.4%
Year to date +6.5%+78.9%-13.1% +11.4%
1 year -3.4%+100.3%-26.8% +13.1%
3 years +39.8%+141.5%+328.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +11.8%+34.2%+62.5% +21.5%
5 years +47.6%+247.1%+633.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +8.1%+28.3%+49.0% +10.9%
10 years +83.8%+169.7%+792.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +6.3%+10.4%+24.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureSOSUVSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 17.9%27.4%51.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 17.5%28.2%55.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.23-0.381.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.193.66-0.52 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.3%-37.3%-48.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.3%0.0%-30.4% -2.5%
52-week high $99.11$79.35$201.47 $779.14
52-week low $82.35$39.51$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.

MultipleSOSUVST
P/E now vs peer median 22.7xmedian 20.8x 7.1xmedian 13.1x 23.3xmedian 24.1x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.8x -26.3xmedian 2.0x 2.5xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 13.1x 11.4xmedian 5.7x 10.2xmedian 11.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -32.7xmedian 36.7x 4.8xmedian 11.1x 20.9xmedian 12.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.5x 8.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 2.27 0.19median 2.24 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 monthsSOSUVST
Revenue $30.18B -$3.60B $19.21B
Gross profit $25.14B – –
Operating income $7.31B $1.71B $3.56B
Net income $4.66B $8.93B $2.22B
Free cash flow -$3.27B $19.78B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $4.08 $11.22 $5.98
Cash & equivalents $2.98B $5.37B $435.00M
Total debt $295.00B $9.85B $19.60B
Shares (diluted) 1.14B 1.22B 339.23M
Enterprise value $96.30B $82.66B $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
MetricSOSUVST
P/E 22.7x 7.1x 23.3x
P/FCF -32.7x 4.8x 20.9x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 6.0x 9.2x
P/S 3.5x -26.3x 2.5x
P/B 2.5x 2.0x 8.6x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 2.0x 14.7x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 11.4x 10.2x
EV/EBIT 24.6x 58.1x 18.2x
EV/Revenue 5.9x -27.6x 3.4x
EV/FCF -54.9x 5.0x 28.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.8x 6.3x 12.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 0.19 1.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSOSUVST
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.4% -108.8% 3.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.0% -27.6% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.3% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.6% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.5% 18.0% -0.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% – 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.7% 57.7% -8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.2% 13.8% 11.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.6% 55.0% -6.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 36.9% 15.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 9.5% 21.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.7% 8.9% 6.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -152.2% 5.0% 36.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.1% 17.4% -4.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSOSUVST
Gross margin 83.3% – –
EBITDA margin 45.2% – 33.0%
Operating margin 24.2% – 18.5%
Pretax margin 17.4% – 14.6%
Net margin 15.4% – 10.6%
FCF margin -10.8% – 11.7%
Operating cash flow margin 35.3% -438.8% 26.7%
Return on equity 9.2% 29.1% 40.0%
Return on assets 2.9% 14.6% 5.3%
Return on invested capital 5.1% – 11.3%
Return on capital employed 5.1% 2.1% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.8x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – -3.5% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSOSUVST
Debt / assets 46.6% 10.4% 46.0%
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.2x 3.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 0.5x 2.8x
Debt / FCF -23.1x 0.5x 8.7x
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 49.2% 87.1%
Equity / assets 26.1% 50.8% 12.9%
Interest coverage 2.3x – 3.1x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.7x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.4x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – – 1.52

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSOSUVST
Dividend yield 3.2% 3.0% 0.7%
Net buyback yield – -3.9% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 3.2% -0.8% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 66.6% 31.6% 13.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) -94.8% 14.3% 13.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.7% -0.7% 0.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.2% -1.4% 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.

ConsensusSOSUVST
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 9.0xFY2026 15.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.84FY2026 $8.85FY2026 $8.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 +163.4%FY2026 +305.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -2.9% -17.9% +21.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $31.53BFY2026 $44.77BFY2026 $21.35BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026 +20.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.8% -11.0% +21.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSOSUVST
Held by institutions 72.5% 65.2% 84.4%
Institutions holding 2,363 752 1,403
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% -5.1% +2.7%
Institutions buying 1,248 367 852
Institutions selling 724 252 415
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.46 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.

SOSUVST
SO 1.00 0.11 0.05
SU 0.11 1.00 -0.01
VST 0.05 -0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SO, SU and VST?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Southern (SO) $105.25B, Suncor Energy (SU) $96.91B, Vistra (VST) $47.77B.

Which stock is cheaper, SO, SU and VST?

Suncor Energy (SU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Southern (SO) 22.6x, Suncor Energy (SU) 7.1x, Vistra (VST) 23.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Suncor Energy (SU) is cheapest (Southern (SO) 19.2x, Suncor Energy (SU) 9.0x, 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?

Southern (SO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Southern (SO) +6.4%, Suncor Energy (SU) -108.8%, Vistra (VST) +3.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Southern (SO) 15.4%, Vistra (VST) 10.6%). On return on invested capital, Vistra (VST) leads (Southern (SO) 5.1%, Vistra (VST) 11.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Suncor Energy (SU) returned the most: Southern (SO) -3.4%, Suncor Energy (SU) +100.3%, Vistra (VST) -26.8%. Over five years, Vistra (VST) compounded fastest (Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr, Suncor Energy (SU) +28.3%/yr, Vistra (VST) +49.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Southern (SO) has the highest dividend yield: Southern (SO) 0.03%, Suncor Energy (SU) -0.03%, Vistra (VST) 0.01%. Suncor Energy (SU) 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%, Vistra (VST) 51.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SO, SU 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, Southern (SO) 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.