TLN vs SO vs NRG Stock Comparison

Talen Energy, Southern and Nrg Energy Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TLN Talen Energy Corp
$337.78 +11.0% 1M -17.2% 1Y
Market cap
$15.83B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.44B
Div. yield
–
Independent Power Producers Utilities
1 win
SO Southern Co
$92.56 +11.7% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$104.77B
P/E
22.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
7 wins
NRG Nrg Energy, Inc.
$93.63 -6.7% 1M -45.0% 1Y
Market cap
$20.13B
P/E
25.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Southern leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Southern 7, Nrg Energy 4, Talen Energy 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTLNSONRGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.83B $104.77B $20.13B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -85.6x 22.5x 25.7x SO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.8x 19.1x 11.0x NRG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +60.8% +6.4% +12.8% TLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5.4% 15.4% 2.4% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.9% 5.1% 5.8% NRG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 19.3x 5.3x 6.2x SO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.02% SO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.2% -3.5% -45.0% SO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +8.1%/yr +18.2%/yr NRG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.2% 17.9% 50.0% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 43/100 65/100 NRG

Percentile Scorecard

TLNSONRG

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

AxisTLNSONRG
Valuation 26 #18 of 24 36 #43 of 67 65 #9 of 24
Growth 59 #10 of 23 53 #31 of 65 77 #6 of 23
Profitability 36 #15 of 23 78 #15 of 64 73 #7 of 23
Financial Health 9 #22 of 24 35 #42 of 64 17 #20 of 24
Shareholder Returns 84 #4 of 20 15 #57 of 67 95 #2 of 20
Overall 43 43 65
  • TLN ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NRG ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTLNSONRGSPY
1 month +11.0%+11.7%-6.7% -0.8%
3 months -2.7%-4.1%-31.4% +3.5%
6 months -8.6%-1.3%-41.5% +7.0%
Year to date -9.9%+6.1%-41.2% +12.2%
1 year -17.2%-3.5%-45.0% +13.0%
3 years +537.3%+39.1%+124.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +85.5%+11.6%+31.0% +23.1%
5 years —+47.8%+130.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+8.1%+18.2% +11.0%
10 years —+81.6%+789.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+6.1%+24.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureTLNSONRGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.2%17.9%50.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.7%17.5%55.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.03-0.231.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.30-0.19-0.90 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.7%-23.3%-49.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.9%-6.6%-49.1% -1.8%
52-week high $438.12$99.11$184.03 $779.14
52-week low $286.52$82.35$92.32 $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.

MultipleTLNSONRG
P/E now vs peer median -83.8xmedian 24.4x 22.6xmedian 20.8x 25.3xmedian 24.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.7x 3.5xmedian 2.9x 0.6xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 52.8xmedian 11.3x 13.1xmedian 13.1x 11.4xmedian 11.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.5xmedian 12.9x -32.6xmedian 36.7x 56.6xmedian 12.9x
P/B now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 2.1x 2.5xmedian 1.7x 4.1xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.59 0.71median 2.23 0.74median 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 monthsTLNSONRG
Revenue $3.44B $30.18B $33.13B
Gross profit – $25.14B $6.23B
Operating income $88.00M $7.31B $2.02B
Net income -$185.00M $4.66B $849.00M
Free cash flow $568.00M -$3.27B $348.00M
EPS (diluted) $-4.03 $4.08 $3.69
Cash & equivalents $231.00M $2.98B $162.00M
Total debt $9.57B $295.00B $23.44B
Shares (diluted) 45.90M 1.14B 212.00M
Enterprise value $13.39B $95.83B $14.35B

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
MetricTLNSONRG
P/E -83.8x 22.6x 25.3x
P/FCF 28.5x -32.6x 56.6x
P/Operating cash flow 20.3x 10.0x 12.7x
P/S 4.7x 3.5x 0.6x
P/B 9.9x 2.5x 4.1x
P/Tangible book 9.9x 2.5x 7.3x
EV/EBITDA 52.8x 13.1x 11.4x
EV/EBIT 290.0x 24.5x 21.3x
EV/Revenue 7.4x 5.9x 1.3x
EV/FCF 44.9x -54.8x 123.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.1x 16.8x 27.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.71 0.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTLNSONRG
Revenue growth (1Y) 60.8% 6.4% 12.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 3.0% 2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.3% 22.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 1.6% 348.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% 1.5% 57.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 14.7% 43.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -206.9% 8.7% 62.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 16.2% 34.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -203.2% 5.6% 58.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 31.9% 34.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1,121% 15.5% -32.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 23.7% 33.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 422.7% -152.2% -75.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -3.1% 27.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTLNSONRG
Gross margin – 83.3% 18.8%
EBITDA margin 14.1% 45.2% 11.4%
Operating margin 2.6% 24.2% 6.1%
Pretax margin -3.6% 17.4% 3.2%
Net margin -5.4% 15.4% 2.4%
FCF margin 16.5% -10.8% 1.1%
Operating cash flow margin 23.2% 35.3% 4.7%
Return on equity -13.6% 9.2% 17.5%
Return on assets -1.4% 2.9% 2.1%
Return on invested capital 0.9% 5.1% 5.8%
Return on capital employed 0.8% 5.1% 6.7%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.2x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.3x 2.3x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 2.8% – 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTLNSONRG
Debt / assets 63.5% 46.6% 58.7%
Debt / equity 5.8x 1.8x 4.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 19.3x 5.3x 6.2x
Debt / FCF 16.9x -23.1x 67.3x
Liabilities / assets 89.1% 73.9% 87.8%
Equity / assets 10.9% 26.1% 12.2%
Interest coverage 0.2x 2.3x 2.0x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 0.86 – 1.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTLNSONRG
Dividend yield – 3.2% 2.0%
Net buyback yield 1.8% – 8.3%
Shareholder yield 1.8% 3.2% 10.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 66.6% 51.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -94.8% 126.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.7% 7.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.2% 9.1%

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.

ConsensusTLNSONRG
Forward P/E 16.8xFY2026 19.1xFY2026 11.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.11FY2026 $4.84FY2026 $8.49FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +12.6%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +60.6% -3.1% +28.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.61BFY2026 $31.54BFY2026 $36.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +78.8%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +8.8% -0.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTLNSONRG
Held by institutions 100.0% 72.5% 93.7%
Institutions holding 637 2,363 1,023
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +5.7% +0.7%
Institutions buying 379 1,248 508
Institutions selling 190 724 385
Buyers to sellers 1.99 1.72 1.32

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.

TLNSONRG
TLN 1.00 0.00 0.69
SO 0.00 1.00 0.14
NRG 0.69 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TLN, SO and NRG?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Talen Energy (TLN) $15.83B, Southern (SO) $104.77B, Nrg Energy (NRG) $20.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, TLN, SO and NRG?

Southern (SO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Talen Energy (TLN) -85.6x, Southern (SO) 22.5x, Nrg Energy (NRG) 25.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nrg Energy (NRG) is cheapest (Talen Energy (TLN) 16.8x, Southern (SO) 19.1x, Nrg Energy (NRG) 11.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Talen Energy (TLN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Talen Energy (TLN) +60.8%, Southern (SO) +6.4%, Nrg Energy (NRG) +12.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Talen Energy (TLN) -5.4%, Southern (SO) 15.4%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 2.4%). On return on invested capital, Nrg Energy (NRG) leads (Talen Energy (TLN) 0.9%, Southern (SO) 5.1%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southern (SO) returned the most: Talen Energy (TLN) -17.2%, Southern (SO) -3.5%, Nrg Energy (NRG) -45.0%. Over five years, Nrg Energy (NRG) compounded fastest (Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr, Nrg Energy (NRG) +18.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Southern (SO) has the highest dividend yield: Talen Energy (TLN) 0.00%, Southern (SO) 0.03%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 0.02%. Talen Energy (TLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southern (SO) has been the steadiest (Talen Energy (TLN) 57.2%, Southern (SO) 17.9%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 50.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TLN, SO and NRG?

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 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.