SO vs XEL vs WEC Stock Comparison

Southern, Xcel Energy and Wec Energy Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SO Southern Co
$92.56 +11.7% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$105.29B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$77.86 +11.5% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$48.83B
P/E
21.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
2 wins
WEC Wec Energy Group, Inc.
$111.14 +9.6% 1M -4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$36.35B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.14B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionSOXELWECLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $105.29B $48.83B $36.35B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.6x 21.9x 21.5x WEC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.1x 18.1x 20.8x XEL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.4% +4.7% +8.9% WEC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% 15.3% 16.7% WEC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.1% 4.5% 5.9% WEC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 6.4x 5.9x SO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.03% WEC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.5% -3.1% -4.0% XEL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.1%/yr +4.2%/yr +4.3%/yr SO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 17.9% 19.2% 16.5% WEC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 16/100 46/100 WEC

Percentile Scorecard

SOXELWEC

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

AxisSOXELWEC
Valuation 36 #43 of 67 5 #64 of 67 27 #49 of 67
Growth 53 #31 of 65 16 #55 of 65 33 #44 of 65
Profitability 78 #15 of 64 29 #46 of 64 79 #14 of 64
Financial Health 35 #42 of 64 32 #44 of 64 33 #43 of 64
Shareholder Returns 15 #57 of 67 0 #67 of 67 59 #28 of 67
Overall 43 16 46
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • WEC ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSOXELWECSPY
1 month +11.7%+11.5%+9.6% -0.8%
3 months -4.1%-3.5%-2.4% +3.5%
6 months -1.3%-2.0%-3.5% +7.0%
Year to date +6.1%+5.4%+5.4% +12.2%
1 year -3.5%-3.1%-4.0% +13.0%
3 years +39.1%+33.5%+36.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.6%+10.1%+10.8% +23.1%
5 years +47.8%+22.8%+23.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +8.1%+4.2%+4.3% +11.0%
10 years +81.6%+91.8%+88.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.1%+6.7%+6.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSOXELWECSPY
Volatility, 1Y 17.9%19.2%16.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 17.5%19.4%15.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.23-0.02-0.14 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.19-0.16-0.25 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.3%-37.4%-29.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.6%-7.2%-6.5% -1.8%
52-week high $99.11$83.91$118.85 $779.14
52-week low $82.35$69.39$100.79 $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.

MultipleSOXELWEC
P/E now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 20.8x 21.8xmedian 20.8x 21.4xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.9x 3.3xmedian 2.9x 3.6xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 13.1x 14.7xmedian 13.1x 15.3xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -32.6xmedian 36.7x -6.3xmedian 36.7x -37.3xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x 2.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 2.23 5.10median 2.23 3.39median 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 monthsSOXELWEC
Revenue $30.18B $14.62B $10.14B
Gross profit $25.14B – $6.66B
Operating income $7.31B $2.79B $2.32B
Net income $4.66B $2.23B $1.69B
Free cash flow -$3.27B -$7.69B -$970.20M
EPS (diluted) $4.08 $3.56 $5.14
Cash & equivalents $2.98B $2.01B $50.00M
Total debt $295.00B $39.46B $22.56B
Shares (diluted) 1.14B 627.00M 328.90M
Enterprise value $96.35B $43.74B $36.17B

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
MetricSOXELWEC
P/E 22.6x 21.8x 21.4x
P/FCF -32.6x -6.3x -37.3x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 10.2x 10.1x
P/S 3.5x 3.3x 3.6x
P/B 2.5x 2.0x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 2.0x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 14.7x 15.3x
EV/EBIT 24.5x 30.9x 25.4x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 5.9x 5.8x
EV/FCF -54.8x -11.2x -60.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.8x 18.0x 16.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 5.10 3.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSOXELWEC
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.4% 4.7% 8.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.0% -1.4% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.3% – 5.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.6% – 7.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.5% 11.0% -0.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 4.6% 7.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.7% 7.7% 2.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.2% 8.8% 7.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.6% 1.0% -0.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 4.3% 6.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 5.8% 7.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.7% 2.7% 20.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -152.2% -97.2% -284.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.1% -112.8% -9.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSOXELWEC
Gross margin 83.3% – 65.7%
EBITDA margin 45.2% 39.9% 37.8%
Operating margin 24.2% 19.1% 22.8%
Pretax margin 17.4% 13.7% 17.9%
Net margin 15.4% 15.3% 16.7%
FCF margin -10.8% -52.6% -9.6%
Operating cash flow margin 35.3% 32.6% 35.3%
Return on equity 9.2% 9.3% 11.8%
Return on assets 2.9% 2.6% 3.2%
Return on invested capital 5.1% 4.5% 5.9%
Return on capital employed 5.1% 3.6% 4.9%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.1x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSOXELWEC
Debt / assets 46.6% 45.3% 42.8%
Debt / equity 1.8x 1.6x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 6.4x 5.9x
Debt / FCF -23.1x -5.1x -23.3x
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 72.4% 73.2%
Equity / assets 26.1% 27.6% 26.8%
Interest coverage 2.3x 1.7x 2.5x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.7x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 0.85 1.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSOXELWEC
Dividend yield 3.2% 3.0% 3.4%
Net buyback yield – -4.6% -1.1%
Shareholder yield 3.2% -1.6% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 66.6% – 70.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) -94.8% – -123.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.7% – 9.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.2% – 8.0%

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.

ConsensusSOXELWEC
Forward P/E 19.1xFY2026 18.1xFY2026 20.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.84FY2026 $4.30FY2026 $5.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026 +1.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.1% +2.1% +17.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $31.54BFY2026 $16.60BFY2026 $9.89BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 +0.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.8% +8.4% +3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSOXELWEC
Held by institutions 72.5% 95.4% 85.3%
Institutions holding 2,363 1,284 1,394
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% +7.3% +1.1%
Institutions buying 1,248 663 704
Institutions selling 724 386 401
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.72 1.76

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.

SOXELWEC
SO 1.00 0.78 0.79
XEL 0.78 1.00 0.79
WEC 0.79 0.79 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SO, XEL and WEC?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Southern (SO) $105.29B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.83B, Wec Energy (WEC) $36.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, SO, XEL and WEC?

Wec Energy (WEC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Southern (SO) 22.6x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.9x, Wec Energy (WEC) 21.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Xcel Energy (XEL) is cheapest (Southern (SO) 19.1x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.1x, Wec Energy (WEC) 20.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Wec Energy (WEC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Southern (SO) +6.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%, Wec Energy (WEC) +8.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Wec Energy (WEC) has the highest net margin (Southern (SO) 15.4%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%, Wec Energy (WEC) 16.7%). On return on invested capital, Wec Energy (WEC) leads (Southern (SO) 5.1%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%, Wec Energy (WEC) 5.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Xcel Energy (XEL) returned the most: Southern (SO) -3.5%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.1%, Wec Energy (WEC) -4.0%. Over five years, Southern (SO) compounded fastest (Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.2%/yr, Wec Energy (WEC) +4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Wec Energy (WEC) has the highest dividend yield: Southern (SO) 0.03%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 0.00%, Wec Energy (WEC) 0.03%. Xcel Energy (XEL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Wec Energy (WEC) has been the steadiest (Southern (SO) 17.9%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%, Wec Energy (WEC) 16.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SO, XEL and WEC?

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