SRE vs DUK vs XEL Stock Comparison

Sempra, Duke Energy and Xcel Energy Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SRE Sempra
$85.04 +9.1% 1M -8.7% 1Y
Market cap
$55.70B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.55B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
DUK Duke Energy CORP
$124.79 +10.1% 1M -2.1% 1Y
Market cap
$97.16B
P/E
18.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.25B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
6 wins
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$78.14 +11.9% 1M -3.2% 1Y
Market cap
$48.83B
P/E
21.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionSREDUKXELLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $55.70B $97.16B $48.83B DUK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.6x 18.7x 21.9x DUK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.0x 19.0x 18.2x SRE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.6% +6.3% +4.7% DUK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.7% — 15.3% SRE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.8% — 4.5% XEL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x — 6.4x XEL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.7% -2.1% -3.2% DUK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.6%/yr +4.0%/yr +4.0%/yr SRE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 16.6% 19.2% DUK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 26/100 73/100 16/100 DUK

Percentile Scorecard

SREDUKXEL

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

AxisSREDUKXEL
Valuation 11 #60 of 67 83 #12 of 67 5 #64 of 67
Growth 19 #53 of 65 83 #12 of 65 17 #54 of 65
Profitability 13 #55 of 63 55 #29 of 63 27 #46 of 63
Financial Health 45 #35 of 63 – 31 #44 of 63
Shareholder Returns 42 #39 of 67 73 #19 of 67 0 #67 of 67
Overall 26 73 16
  • SRE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • DUK ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSREDUKXELSPY
1 month +9.1%+10.1%+11.9% -0.2%
3 months -6.1%-3.5%-2.7% +3.9%
6 months -8.5%-2.4%-1.7% +8.2%
Year to date -3.7%+6.5%+5.8% +12.9%
1 year -8.7%-2.1%-3.2% +12.3%
3 years +22.0%+42.6%+34.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +6.9%+12.6%+10.3% +23.3%
5 years +31.1%+21.8%+21.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +5.6%+4.0%+4.0% +10.9%
10 years +62.6%+59.1%+93.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +5.0%+4.8%+6.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSREDUKXELSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%16.6%19.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.0%16.9%19.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.07-0.32-0.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.43-0.13-0.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.7%-26.0%-37.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.7%-6.5%-6.9% -1.2%
52-week high $99.75$133.46$83.91 $779.14
52-week low $76.89$113.24$69.39 $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.

MultipleSREDUKXEL
P/E now vs peer median 24.6xmedian 20.9x 18.7xmedian 20.9x 21.9xmedian 20.9x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.9x 2.9xmedian 2.9x 3.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 13.2x —median 13.2x 14.8xmedian 13.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -10.6xmedian 36.9x —median 36.9x -6.3xmedian 36.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -5.59median 2.31 0.31median 2.31 5.12median 2.31

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 monthsSREDUKXEL
Revenue $13.55B $33.25B $14.62B
Gross profit $11.94B – –
Operating income $2.43B $9.23B $2.79B
Net income $2.73B $5.38B $2.23B
Free cash flow -$5.24B – -$7.69B
EPS (diluted) $3.45 $6.66 $3.56
Cash & equivalents $48.00M $673.00M $2.01B
Total debt $36.66B – $39.46B
Shares (diluted) 655.95M 779.00M 627.00M
Enterprise value $54.83B $97.16B $43.73B

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
MetricSREDUKXEL
P/E 24.6x 18.7x 21.9x
P/FCF -10.6x – -6.3x
P/Operating cash flow 10.3x 8.4x 10.2x
P/S 4.1x 2.9x 3.3x
P/B 1.4x 1.7x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 1.7x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 19.1x – 14.8x
EV/EBIT 39.5x – 30.9x
EV/Revenue 6.8x 2.9x 5.9x
EV/FCF -17.6x – -11.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.0x 8.4x 18.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.59 0.31 5.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSREDUKXEL
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.6% 6.3% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -7.2% 4.6% -1.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.5% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.1% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.4% 9.5% 11.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 45.4% 13.2% 4.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.4% 8.7% 7.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.8% 59.0% 8.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -15.6% 8.9% 1.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -4.4% 59.6% 4.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 16.4% -3.2% 5.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 26.8% 2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -19.9% – -97.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.3% – -112.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSREDUKXEL
Gross margin 88.1% – –
EBITDA margin 35.7% – 39.9%
Operating margin 17.9% – 19.1%
Pretax margin 11.6% – 13.7%
Net margin 16.7% – 15.3%
FCF margin -38.7% – -52.6%
Operating cash flow margin 40.0% 34.8% 32.6%
Return on equity 6.9% 9.5% 9.3%
Return on assets 2.4% 2.7% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 1.8% – 4.5%
Return on capital employed 2.5% – 3.6%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 2.1x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSREDUKXEL
Debt / assets 31.8% – 45.3%
Debt / equity 0.9x – 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x – 6.4x
Debt / FCF -7.0x – -5.1x
Liabilities / assets 65.3% – 72.4%
Equity / assets 34.7% 28.3% 27.6%
Interest coverage 1.5x – 1.7x
Current ratio 1.6x 0.7x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.1x – 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.99 – 0.86

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSREDUKXEL
Dividend yield 3.1% 3.4% 3.0%
Net buyback yield – – -4.5%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 3.4% -1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusSREDUKXEL
Forward P/E 16.0xFY2026 19.0xFY2026 18.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.30FY2026 $6.56FY2026 $4.30FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.0%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.7% +15.4% +2.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $14.05BFY2026 $32.42BFY2026 $16.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +0.6%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -11.1% +4.1% +8.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSREDUKXEL
Held by institutions 92.1% 69.7% 95.4%
Institutions holding 1,287 2,458 1,284
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.2% +0.5% +7.3%
Institutions buying 629 1,297 663
Institutions selling 433 801 386
Buyers to sellers 1.45 1.62 1.72

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.

SREDUKXEL
SRE 1.00 0.60 0.66
DUK 0.60 1.00 0.79
XEL 0.66 0.79 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SRE, DUK and XEL?

Duke Energy (DUK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sempra (SRE) $55.70B, Duke Energy (DUK) $97.16B, Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, SRE, DUK and XEL?

Duke Energy (DUK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Sempra (SRE) 24.6x, Duke Energy (DUK) 18.7x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sempra (SRE) is cheapest (Sempra (SRE) 16.0x, Duke Energy (DUK) 19.0x, Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Duke Energy (DUK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Sempra (SRE) +1.6%, Duke Energy (DUK) +6.3%, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sempra (SRE) has the highest net margin (Sempra (SRE) 16.7%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%). On return on invested capital, Xcel Energy (XEL) leads (Sempra (SRE) 1.8%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Duke Energy (DUK) returned the most: Sempra (SRE) -8.7%, Duke Energy (DUK) -2.1%, Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.2%. Over five years, Sempra (SRE) compounded fastest (Sempra (SRE) +5.6%/yr, Duke Energy (DUK) +4.0%/yr, Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Duke Energy (DUK) has been the steadiest (Sempra (SRE) 20.3%, Duke Energy (DUK) 16.6%, Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SRE, DUK and XEL?

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