TLN vs VST vs XYL Stock Comparison

Talen Energy, Vistra and Xylem Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TLN Talen Energy Corp
$347.75 +14.6% 1M -11.7% 1Y
Market cap
$16.66B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.44B
Div. yield
–
Independent Power Producers Utilities
2 wins
VST Vistra Corp.
$142.63 +3.3% 1M -25.2% 1Y
Market cap
$47.92B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.21B
Div. yield
0.64%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
4 wins
XYL Xylem Inc.
$88.24 -12.6% 1M -41.4% 1Y
Market cap
$20.24B
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.06B
Div. yield
1.92%
Water Treatment Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Xylem leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Xylem 6, Vistra 4, Talen Energy 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTLNVSTXYLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.66B $47.92B $20.24B VST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -86.3x 23.7x 19.0x XYL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.3x 16.2x 16.8x VST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +60.8% +3.8% +1.9% TLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5.4% 10.6% 11.9% XYL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.9% 11.3% 8.3% VST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 19.3x 2.8x 1.1x XYL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.64% 1.92% XYL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.7% -25.2% -41.4% TLN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +48.8%/yr -7.5%/yr VST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.1% 50.8% 30.4% XYL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 68/100 79/100 XYL

Percentile Scorecard

TLNVSTXYL

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

AxisTLNVSTXYL
Valuation 26 #18 of 24 74 #7 of 24 95 #2 of 21
Growth 59 #10 of 23 55 #11 of 23 89 #3 of 19
Profitability 36 #15 of 23 100 #1 of 23 69 #6 of 17
Financial Health 9 #22 of 24 39 #15 of 24 52 #11 of 22
Shareholder Returns 83 #4 of 19 72 #6 of 19 88 #2 of 9
Overall 43 68 79
  • TLN ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • VST ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • XYL ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTLNVSTXYLSPY
1 month +14.6%+3.3%-12.6% +0.9%
3 months +10.0%-0.1%-27.8% +5.9%
6 months -1.2%-7.3%-23.5% +8.5%
Year to date -7.2%-11.6%-35.2% +13.3%
1 year -11.7%-25.2%-41.4% +12.4%
3 years +556.1%+345.4%+0.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +87.3%+64.6%+0.0% +23.5%
5 years —+628.1%-32.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year —+48.8%-7.5% +11.0%
10 years —+838.4%+81.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+25.1%+6.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureTLNVSTXYLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.1%50.8%30.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.7%54.9%36.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.041.600.67 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.21-0.50-1.36 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.7%-48.9%-45.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.6%-28.5%-42.3% -0.9%
52-week high $438.12$199.37$152.95 $779.14
52-week low $286.52$134.71$88.24 $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.

MultipleTLNVSTXYL
P/E now vs peer median -86.3xmedian 24.9x 23.7xmedian 24.9x 19.0xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 2.7x 2.5xmedian 2.7x 2.2xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 11.6x 10.4xmedian 11.6x 11.6xmedian 19.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 13.8x 21.2xmedian 13.8x 22.0xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 2.1x 8.7xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.61 1.49median 0.61 0.60median 1.69

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 monthsTLNVSTXYL
Revenue $3.44B $19.21B $9.06B
Gross profit – – $3.61B
Operating income $88.00M $3.56B $1.37B
Net income -$185.00M $2.22B $1.08B
Free cash flow $568.00M $2.26B $921.00M
R&D – – $231.00M
EPS (diluted) $-4.03 $5.98 $4.64
Cash & equivalents $231.00M $435.00M $708.00M
Total debt $9.57B $19.60B $2.90B
Shares (diluted) 45.90M 339.23M 233.04M
Enterprise value $14.24B $41.11B $16.20B

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
MetricTLNVSTXYL
P/E -86.3x 23.7x 19.0x
P/FCF 29.3x 21.2x 22.0x
P/Operating cash flow 20.9x 9.4x 15.9x
P/S 4.8x 2.5x 2.2x
P/B 10.2x 8.7x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 10.2x 14.9x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 53.8x 10.4x 11.6x
EV/EBIT 295.4x 18.4x 16.3x
EV/Revenue 7.6x 3.4x 2.5x
EV/FCF 45.8x 29.1x 24.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.7x 12.8x 17.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 1.49 0.60

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTLNVSTXYL
Revenue growth (1Y) 60.8% 3.8% 1.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.9% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 6.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 12.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% -0.5% 20.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 12.3% 29.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -206.9% -8.9% 14.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 11.4% 30.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -203.2% -6.0% 19.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 15.9% 31.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1,121% 21.2% -0.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 6.7% 19.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 422.7% 36.4% -0.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -4.7% 21.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTLNVSTXYL
Gross margin – – 39.8%
EBITDA margin 14.1% 33.0% 21.3%
Operating margin 2.6% 18.5% 15.1%
Pretax margin -3.6% 14.6% 14.8%
Net margin -5.4% 10.6% 11.9%
FCF margin 16.5% 11.7% 10.2%
Operating cash flow margin 23.2% 26.7% 14.0%
Return on equity -13.6% 40.0% 10.3%
Return on assets -1.4% 5.3% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 0.9% 11.3% 8.3%
Return on capital employed 0.8% 11.3% 9.5%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.3x 2.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.8% 0.7% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTLNVSTXYL
Debt / assets 63.5% 46.0% 16.7%
Debt / equity 5.8x 3.6x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 19.3x 2.8x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 16.9x 8.7x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 89.1% 87.1% 40.7%
Equity / assets 10.9% 12.9% 59.3%
Interest coverage 0.2x 3.1x 36.1x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.0x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.88 1.53 2.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTLNVSTXYL
Dividend yield – 0.6% 1.9%
Net buyback yield 1.8% 2.4% 7.8%
Shareholder yield 1.8% 3.0% 9.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 13.9% 37.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 13.7% 44.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 0.3% 6.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 0.5% 14.1%

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.

ConsensusTLNVSTXYL
Forward P/E 17.3xFY2026 16.2xFY2026 16.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.11FY2026 $8.83FY2026 $5.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +305.0%FY2026 +3.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +60.6% +21.0% +13.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.61BFY2026 $21.29BFY2026 $9.81BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +78.8%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +20.7% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTLNVSTXYL
Held by institutions 100.0% 84.4% 92.0%
Institutions holding 637 1,403 1,092
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +2.7% +0.2%
Institutions buying 379 852 488
Institutions selling 190 415 447
Buyers to sellers 1.99 2.05 1.09

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.

TLNVSTXYL
TLN 1.00 0.82 0.13
VST 0.82 1.00 0.08
XYL 0.13 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TLN, VST and XYL?

Vistra (VST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Talen Energy (TLN) $16.66B, Vistra (VST) $47.92B, Xylem (XYL) $20.24B.

Which stock is cheaper, TLN, VST and XYL?

Xylem (XYL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Talen Energy (TLN) -86.3x, Vistra (VST) 23.7x, Xylem (XYL) 19.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Vistra (VST) is cheapest (Talen Energy (TLN) 17.3x, Vistra (VST) 16.2x, Xylem (XYL) 16.8x). 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%, Vistra (VST) +3.8%, Xylem (XYL) +1.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Xylem (XYL) has the highest net margin (Talen Energy (TLN) -5.4%, Vistra (VST) 10.6%, Xylem (XYL) 11.9%). On return on invested capital, Vistra (VST) leads (Talen Energy (TLN) 0.9%, Vistra (VST) 11.3%, Xylem (XYL) 8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Talen Energy (TLN) returned the most: Talen Energy (TLN) -11.7%, Vistra (VST) -25.2%, Xylem (XYL) -41.4%. Over five years, Vistra (VST) compounded fastest (Vistra (VST) +48.8%/yr, Xylem (XYL) -7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Xylem (XYL) has the highest dividend yield: Vistra (VST) 0.64%, Xylem (XYL) 1.92%. Talen Energy (TLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Xylem (XYL) has been the steadiest (Talen Energy (TLN) 57.1%, Vistra (VST) 50.8%, Xylem (XYL) 30.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TLN, VST and XYL?

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