TLN vs SO Stock Comparison

Talen Energy and Southern Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TLN Talen Energy Corp
$327.91 +9.2% 1M -14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$15.51B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.44B
Div. yield
–
Independent Power Producers Utilities
2 wins
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
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionTLNSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.51B $105.25B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -83.8x 22.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.0x 19.2x TLN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +60.8% +6.4% TLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5.4% 15.4% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.9% 5.1% SO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 19.3x 5.3x SO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -14.6% -3.4% SO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +8.1%/yr –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.4% 17.9% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 43/100 SO

Percentile Scorecard

TLNSO

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

AxisTLNSO
Valuation 26 #18 of 24 33 #45 of 67
Growth 59 #10 of 23 55 #30 of 65
Profitability 36 #15 of 23 75 #17 of 65
Financial Health 9 #22 of 24 37 #42 of 66
Shareholder Returns 84 #4 of 20 15 #57 of 67
Overall 43 43
  • TLN ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTLNSOSPY
1 month +9.2%+11.3% -1.0%
3 months -8.9%-4.5% +2.9%
6 months -10.0%-0.6% +6.4%
Year to date -12.5%+6.5% +11.4%
1 year -14.6%-3.4% +13.1%
3 years +516.5%+39.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +83.4%+11.8% +21.5%
5 years —+47.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year —+8.1% +10.9%
10 years —+83.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+6.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureTLNSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.4%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.4%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.03-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.25-0.19 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.7%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.2%-6.3% -2.5%
52-week high $438.12$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $286.52$82.35 $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.

MultipleTLNSO
P/E now vs peer median -81.4xmedian 24.1x 22.7xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.6x 3.5xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 51.9xmedian 11.3x 13.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.7xmedian 12.9x -32.7xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 2.1x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.59 0.71median 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 monthsTLNSO
Revenue $3.44B $30.18B
Gross profit – $25.14B
Operating income $88.00M $7.31B
Net income -$185.00M $4.66B
Free cash flow $568.00M -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $-4.03 $4.08
Cash & equivalents $231.00M $2.98B
Total debt $9.57B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 45.90M 1.14B
Enterprise value $13.07B $96.30B

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
MetricTLNSO
P/E -81.4x 22.7x
P/FCF 27.7x -32.7x
P/Operating cash flow 19.7x 10.0x
P/S 4.6x 3.5x
P/B 9.6x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 9.6x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 51.9x 13.1x
EV/EBIT 284.6x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 7.3x 5.9x
EV/FCF 44.1x -54.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.5x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTLNSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 60.8% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -206.9% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -203.2% 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1,121% 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 422.7% -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -3.1%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTLNSO
Debt / assets 63.5% 46.6%
Debt / equity 5.8x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 19.3x 5.3x
Debt / FCF 16.9x -23.1x
Liabilities / assets 89.1% 73.9%
Equity / assets 10.9% 26.1%
Interest coverage 0.2x 2.3x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.84 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTLNSO
Dividend yield – 3.2%
Net buyback yield 1.9% –
Shareholder yield 1.9% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 66.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -94.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.2%

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.

ConsensusTLNSO
Forward P/E 16.0xFY2026 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.49FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +60.7% -2.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.60BFY2026 $31.53BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +78.4%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.1% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTLNSO
Held by institutions 100.0% 72.5%
Institutions holding 637 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +5.7%
Institutions buying 379 1,248
Institutions selling 190 724
Buyers to sellers 1.99 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.

TLNSO
TLN 1.00 0.00
SO 0.00 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TLN and SO?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Talen Energy (TLN) $15.51B, Southern (SO) $105.25B.

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%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southern (SO) returned the most: Talen Energy (TLN) -14.6%, Southern (SO) -3.4%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Talen Energy (TLN) 0.00%, Southern (SO) 0.03%. 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) 57.4%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do TLN and SO move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of -0.00, a negative relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, TLN and SO?

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.