XEL vs ETR Stock Comparison

Xcel Energy and Entergy Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$77.86 +11.5% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$48.62B
P/E
21.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
3.01%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins
ETR Entergy Corp /De/
$107.51 +9.1% 1M +11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$50.17B
P/E
27.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.48B
Div. yield
2.38%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Entergy leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Entergy 7, Xcel Energy 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionXELETRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.62B $50.17B ETR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.8x 27.4x XEL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.1x 23.4x XEL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% +9.5% ETR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.3% 13.3% XEL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.5% 4.7% ETR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.4x 5.4x ETR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.01% 2.38% XEL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.1% +11.3% ETR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.2%/yr +15.8%/yr ETR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.2% 20.5% XEL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 16/100 39/100 ETR

Percentile Scorecard

XELETR

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

AxisXELETR
Valuation 8 #34 of 37 14 #32 of 37
Growth 9 #32 of 35 38 #22 of 35
Profitability 21 #28 of 35 53 #17 of 35
Financial Health 37 #23 of 36 60 #15 of 36
Shareholder Returns 3 #36 of 37 28 #27 of 37
Overall 16 39
  • XEL ranked among 37 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • ETR ranked among 37 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodXELETRSPY
1 month +11.5%+9.1% -0.8%
3 months -3.5%-5.5% +3.5%
6 months -2.0%-5.2% +7.0%
Year to date +5.4%+16.3% +12.2%
1 year -3.1%+11.3% +13.0%
3 years +33.5%+135.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year +10.1%+33.0% +23.1%
5 years +22.8%+108.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +4.2%+15.8% +11.0%
10 years +91.8%+197.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.7%+11.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureXELETRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.2%20.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.4%21.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.160.55 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.4%-29.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.2%-8.8% -1.8%
52-week high $83.91$117.91 $779.14
52-week low $69.39$91.19 $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.

MultipleXELETR
P/E now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 21.0x 27.4xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 3.0x 3.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 12.8x 14.2xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median -6.3xmedian 31.2x -16.9xmedian 31.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.9x 2.7xmedian 1.9x
PEG now vs peer median 5.10median 2.27 4.50median 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 monthsXELETR
Revenue $14.62B $13.48B
Operating income $2.79B $3.09B
Net income $2.23B $1.82B
Free cash flow -$7.69B -$2.97B
EPS (diluted) $3.56 $3.85
Cash & equivalents $2.01B $3.85B
Total debt $39.46B $34.63B
Shares (diluted) 627.00M 466.31M
Enterprise value $43.52B $39.35B

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
MetricXELETR
P/E 21.8x 27.4x
P/FCF -6.3x -16.9x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x 8.3x
P/S 3.3x 3.7x
P/B 2.0x 2.7x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 14.7x 14.2x
EV/EBIT 30.9x 26.2x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 6.0x
EV/FCF -11.2x -27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.0x 13.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.10 4.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricXELETR
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% 9.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.4% 0.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.0% -7.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 5.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.7% 2.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 10.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.0% -2.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 6.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% 28.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 19.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -97.2% -29.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -112.8% -39.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricXELETR
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin 39.9% 42.2%
Operating margin 19.1% 22.9%
Pretax margin 13.7% 17.0%
Net margin 15.3% 13.3%
FCF margin -52.6% -22.1%
Operating cash flow margin 32.6% 45.1%
Return on equity 9.3% 10.2%
Return on assets 2.6% 2.3%
Return on invested capital 4.5% 4.7%
Return on capital employed 3.6% 4.5%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 3.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricXELETR
Debt / assets 45.3% 43.8%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.4x 5.4x
Debt / FCF -5.1x -11.6x
Liabilities / assets 72.4% 76.8%
Equity / assets 27.6% 23.2%
Interest coverage 1.7x 2.0x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 0.85 1.01

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricXELETR
Dividend yield 3.0% 2.4%
Net buyback yield -4.6% -2.7%
Shareholder yield -1.6% -0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 62.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -38.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 12.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 9.0%

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.

ConsensusXELETR
Forward P/E 18.1xFY2026 23.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.29FY2026 $4.59FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.9%FY2026 +17.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.3% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.60BFY2026 $13.47BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.5% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersXELETR
Held by institutions 95.4% 97.8%
Institutions holding 1,284 1,330
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.3% +6.1%
Institutions buying 663 694
Institutions selling 386 411
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.69

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.

XELETR
XEL 1.00 0.74
ETR 0.74 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, XEL and ETR?

Entergy (ETR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.62B, Entergy (ETR) $50.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, XEL and ETR?

Xcel Energy (XEL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.8x, Entergy (ETR) 27.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Xcel Energy (XEL) is cheapest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.1x, Entergy (ETR) 23.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Entergy (ETR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%, Entergy (ETR) +9.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Xcel Energy (XEL) has the highest net margin (Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%, Entergy (ETR) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Entergy (ETR) leads (Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%, Entergy (ETR) 4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Entergy (ETR) returned the most: Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.1%, Entergy (ETR) +11.3%. Over five years, Entergy (ETR) compounded fastest (Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.2%/yr, Entergy (ETR) +15.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Xcel Energy (XEL) has the highest dividend yield: Xcel Energy (XEL) 3.01%, Entergy (ETR) 2.38%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Xcel Energy (XEL) has been the steadiest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%, Entergy (ETR) 20.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do XEL and ETR move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.74, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, XEL and ETR?

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