VST vs NRG vs TLN Stock Comparison

Vistra, Nrg Energy and Talen Energy Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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VST Vistra Corp.
$140.15 +1.6% 1M -26.8% 1Y
Market cap
$48.06B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
7 wins
NRG Nrg Energy, Inc.
$92.32 -8.3% 1M -43.6% 1Y
Market cap
$19.60B
P/E
25.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$33.13B
Div. yield
0.02%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
3 wins
TLN Talen Energy Corp
$327.91 +9.2% 1M -14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$15.62B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.44B
Div. yield
–
Independent Power Producers Utilities
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionVSTNRGTLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.06B $19.60B $15.62B VST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.7x 25.1x -84.4x VST
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.9x 10.8x 16.0x NRG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.8% +12.8% +60.8% TLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.6% 2.4% -5.4% VST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.3% 5.8% 0.9% VST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 6.2x 19.3x VST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.02% 0.00% NRG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -26.8% -43.6% -14.6% TLN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +49.0%/yr +17.5%/yr — VST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.0% 50.0% 57.4% NRG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 64/100 43/100 VST

Percentile Scorecard

VSTNRGTLN

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

AxisVSTNRGTLN
Valuation 74 #7 of 24 65 #9 of 24 26 #18 of 24
Growth 55 #11 of 23 77 #6 of 23 59 #10 of 23
Profitability 100 #1 of 23 73 #7 of 23 36 #15 of 23
Financial Health 39 #15 of 24 17 #20 of 24 9 #22 of 24
Shareholder Returns 74 #6 of 20 90 #3 of 20 84 #4 of 20
Overall 68 64 43
  • VST ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • NRG ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • TLN ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodVSTNRGTLNSPY
1 month +1.6%-8.3%+9.2% -1.0%
3 months -14.2%-34.5%-8.9% +2.9%
6 months -14.7%-42.2%-10.0% +6.4%
Year to date -13.1%-42.0%-12.5% +11.4%
1 year -26.8%-43.6%-14.6% +13.1%
3 years +328.6%+119.4%+516.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +62.5%+30.0%+83.4% +21.5%
5 years +633.4%+123.9%— +67.7%
5 years, per year +49.0%+17.5%— +10.9%
10 years +792.7%+701.4%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +24.5%+23.1%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureVSTNRGTLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.0%50.0%57.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.0%55.6%61.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.591.412.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.52-0.87-0.25 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.9%-49.8%-35.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.4%-49.8%-25.2% -2.5%
52-week high $201.47$184.03$438.12 $779.14
52-week low $134.71$92.32$286.52 $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.

MultipleVSTNRGTLN
P/E now vs peer median 23.3xmedian 24.1x 24.9xmedian 24.1x -81.4xmedian 24.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.6x 0.6xmedian 2.6x 4.6xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 11.3x 11.3xmedian 11.3x 51.9xmedian 11.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.9xmedian 12.9x 55.8xmedian 12.9x 27.7xmedian 12.9x
P/B now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 2.1x 4.0xmedian 2.1x 9.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.47median 0.59 0.73median 0.59 —median 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 monthsVSTNRGTLN
Revenue $19.21B $33.13B $3.44B
Gross profit – $6.23B –
Operating income $3.56B $2.02B $88.00M
Net income $2.22B $849.00M -$185.00M
Free cash flow $2.26B $348.00M $568.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.98 $3.69 $-4.03
Cash & equivalents $435.00M $162.00M $231.00M
Total debt $19.60B $23.44B $9.57B
Shares (diluted) 339.23M 212.00M 45.90M
Enterprise value $41.24B $13.82B $13.18B

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
MetricVSTNRGTLN
P/E 23.3x 24.9x -81.4x
P/FCF 20.9x 55.8x 27.7x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 12.5x 19.7x
P/S 2.5x 0.6x 4.6x
P/B 8.6x 4.0x 9.6x
P/Tangible book 14.7x 7.2x 9.6x
EV/EBITDA 10.2x 11.3x 51.9x
EV/EBIT 18.2x 21.2x 284.6x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 1.3x 7.3x
EV/FCF 28.7x 122.7x 44.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.7x 27.5x 31.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.47 0.73 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVSTNRGTLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.8% 12.8% 60.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 2.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 22.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 348.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.5% 57.9% -34.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 43.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) -8.9% 62.6% -206.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 11.4% 34.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) -6.0% 58.9% -203.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.9% 34.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.2% -32.1% 1,121%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 33.9% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 36.4% -75.0% 422.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.7% 27.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVSTNRGTLN
Gross margin – 18.8% –
EBITDA margin 33.0% 11.4% 14.1%
Operating margin 18.5% 6.1% 2.6%
Pretax margin 14.6% 3.2% -3.6%
Net margin 10.6% 2.4% -5.4%
FCF margin 11.7% 1.1% 16.5%
Operating cash flow margin 26.7% 4.7% 23.2%
Return on equity 40.0% 17.5% -13.6%
Return on assets 5.3% 2.1% -1.4%
Return on invested capital 11.3% 5.8% 0.9%
Return on capital employed 11.3% 6.7% 0.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.8x -4.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.4% 2.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVSTNRGTLN
Debt / assets 46.0% 58.7% 63.5%
Debt / equity 3.6x 4.8x 5.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 6.2x 19.3x
Debt / FCF 8.7x 67.3x 16.9x
Liabilities / assets 87.1% 87.8% 89.1%
Equity / assets 12.9% 12.2% 10.9%
Interest coverage 3.1x 2.0x 0.2x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.0x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.52 1.40 0.84

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVSTNRGTLN
Dividend yield 0.7% 2.0% –
Net buyback yield 2.4% 8.4% 1.9%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 10.5% 1.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 13.9% 51.7% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 13.7% 126.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.3% 7.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.5% 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.

ConsensusVSTNRGTLN
Forward P/E 15.9xFY2026 10.8xFY2026 16.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.84FY2026 $8.55FY2026 $20.49FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +305.5%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +21.3% +32.5% +60.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $21.35BFY2026 $36.32BFY2026 $4.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.4%FY2026 +18.3%FY2026 +78.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.0% -0.9% +5.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVSTNRGTLN
Held by institutions 84.4% 93.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,403 1,023 637
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.7% +0.7% +5.4%
Institutions buying 852 508 379
Institutions selling 415 385 190
Buyers to sellers 2.05 1.32 1.99

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.

VSTNRGTLN
VST 1.00 0.78 0.82
NRG 0.78 1.00 0.68
TLN 0.82 0.68 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VST, NRG and TLN?

Vistra (VST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Vistra (VST) $48.06B, Nrg Energy (NRG) $19.60B, Talen Energy (TLN) $15.62B.

Which stock is cheaper, VST, NRG and TLN?

Vistra (VST) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Vistra (VST) 23.7x, Nrg Energy (NRG) 25.1x, Talen Energy (TLN) -84.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nrg Energy (NRG) is cheapest (Vistra (VST) 15.9x, Nrg Energy (NRG) 10.8x, Talen Energy (TLN) 16.0x). 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: Vistra (VST) +3.8%, Nrg Energy (NRG) +12.8%, Talen Energy (TLN) +60.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vistra (VST) has the highest net margin (Vistra (VST) 10.6%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 2.4%, Talen Energy (TLN) -5.4%). On return on invested capital, Vistra (VST) leads (Vistra (VST) 11.3%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 5.8%, Talen Energy (TLN) 0.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Talen Energy (TLN) returned the most: Vistra (VST) -26.8%, Nrg Energy (NRG) -43.6%, Talen Energy (TLN) -14.6%. Over five years, Vistra (VST) compounded fastest (Vistra (VST) +49.0%/yr, Nrg Energy (NRG) +17.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nrg Energy (NRG) has the highest dividend yield: Vistra (VST) 0.01%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 0.02%, Talen Energy (TLN) 0.00%. Talen Energy (TLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nrg Energy (NRG) has been the steadiest (Vistra (VST) 51.0%, Nrg Energy (NRG) 50.0%, Talen Energy (TLN) 57.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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