XEL vs D vs SO Stock Comparison

Xcel Energy, Dominion Energy and Southern Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$77.86 +11.5% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$48.57B
P/E
21.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
2 wins
D Dominion Energy, Inc
$65.12 +7.3% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$57.33B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.12B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
3 wins
SO Southern Co
$92.56 +11.7% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$104.75B
P/E
22.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionXELDSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.57B $57.33B $104.75B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.8x 22.6x 22.5x XEL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.1x 18.6x 19.1x XEL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% +19.0% +6.4% D
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.3% 14.0% 15.4% SO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.5% 3.5% 5.1% SO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.4x 8.1x 5.3x SO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.04% 0.03% D
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.1% +6.6% -3.5% D
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.2%/yr -3.0%/yr +8.1%/yr SO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.2% 20.9% 17.9% SO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 16/100 16/100 43/100 SO

Percentile Scorecard

XELDSO

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

AxisXELDSO
Valuation 5 #64 of 67 6 #63 of 67 36 #43 of 67
Growth 16 #55 of 65 44 #37 of 65 53 #31 of 65
Profitability 29 #46 of 64 6 #60 of 64 78 #15 of 64
Financial Health 32 #44 of 64 13 #56 of 64 35 #42 of 64
Shareholder Returns 0 #67 of 67 12 #59 of 67 15 #57 of 67
Overall 16 16 43
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • D ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • 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

PeriodXELDSOSPY
1 month +11.5%+7.3%+11.7% -0.8%
3 months -3.5%-7.3%-4.1% +3.5%
6 months -2.0%+4.2%-1.3% +7.0%
Year to date +5.4%+11.1%+6.1% +12.2%
1 year -3.1%+6.6%-3.5% +13.0%
3 years +33.5%+62.5%+39.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +10.1%+17.6%+11.6% +23.1%
5 years +22.8%-14.3%+47.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +4.2%-3.0%+8.1% +11.0%
10 years +91.8%-11.8%+81.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.7%-1.2%+6.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureXELDSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.2%20.9%17.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.4%18.7%17.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.02-0.13-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.160.32-0.19 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.4%-55.3%-23.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.2%-9.1%-6.6% -1.8%
52-week high $83.91$71.67$99.11 $779.14
52-week low $69.39$57.08$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.

MultipleXELDSO
P/E now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 20.8x 22.6xmedian 20.8x 22.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.9x 3.2xmedian 2.9x 3.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 13.1x 16.8xmedian 13.1x 13.1xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -6.3xmedian 36.7x -8.4xmedian 36.7x -32.6xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 5.10median 2.23 3.86median 2.23 0.71median 2.23

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 monthsXELDSO
Revenue $14.62B $18.12B $30.18B
Gross profit – – $25.14B
Operating income $2.79B $3.82B $7.31B
Net income $2.23B $2.65B $4.66B
Free cash flow -$7.69B -$6.85B -$3.27B
EPS (diluted) $3.56 $2.87 $4.08
Cash & equivalents $2.01B $296.00M $2.98B
Total debt $39.46B $53.42B $295.00B
Shares (diluted) 627.00M 882.10M 1.14B
Enterprise value $43.47B $55.32B $95.81B

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
MetricXELDSO
P/E 21.8x 22.6x 22.6x
P/FCF -6.3x -8.4x -32.6x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x 10.6x 10.0x
P/S 3.3x 3.2x 3.5x
P/B 2.0x 1.7x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.7x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 14.7x 16.8x 13.1x
EV/EBIT 30.9x 28.9x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 6.1x 5.9x
EV/FCF -11.2x -16.1x -54.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.0x 20.5x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.10 3.86 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricXELDSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% 19.0% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.4% 6.9% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 5.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.0% -2.9% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 9.3% 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.7% 4.5% 8.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 0.4% 16.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.0% -2.4% 5.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 5.9% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% 16.9% 15.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% -0.9% 23.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -97.2% 15.7% -152.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -112.8% -22.2% -3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricXELDSO
Gross margin – – 83.3%
EBITDA margin 39.9% 36.3% 45.2%
Operating margin 19.1% 21.1% 24.2%
Pretax margin 13.7% 16.4% 17.4%
Net margin 15.3% 14.0% 15.4%
FCF margin -52.6% -37.8% -10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 32.6% 29.7% 35.3%
Return on equity 9.3% 7.4% 9.2%
Return on assets 2.6% 2.1% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 4.5% 3.5% 5.1%
Return on capital employed 3.6% 3.5% 5.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 2.0x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricXELDSO
Debt / assets 45.3% 43.8% 46.6%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.6x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.4x 8.1x 5.3x
Debt / FCF -5.1x -7.8x -23.1x
Liabilities / assets 72.4% 72.4% 73.9%
Equity / assets 27.6% 27.6% 26.1%
Interest coverage 1.7x 1.8x 2.3x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.85 0.64 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricXELDSO
Dividend yield 3.0% 4.1% 3.2%
Net buyback yield -4.6% -2.5% –
Shareholder yield -1.6% 1.6% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 87.2% 66.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -33.8% -94.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 2.5% 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.3% 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.

ConsensusXELDSO
Forward P/E 18.1xFY2026 18.6xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.30FY2026 $3.50FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.2%FY2026 +2.3%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.1% +5.7% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.60BFY2026 $17.55BFY2026 $31.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +6.3%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.4% +14.6% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersXELDSO
Held by institutions 95.4% 80.9% 72.5%
Institutions holding 1,284 1,540 2,363
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.3% +2.4% +5.7%
Institutions buying 663 780 1,248
Institutions selling 386 516 724
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.51 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.

XELDSO
XEL 1.00 0.60 0.78
D 0.60 1.00 0.68
SO 0.78 0.68 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, XEL, D and SO?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.57B, Dominion Energy (D) $57.33B, Southern (SO) $104.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, XEL, D and SO?

Xcel Energy (XEL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.8x, Dominion Energy (D) 22.6x, Southern (SO) 22.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Xcel Energy (XEL) is cheapest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.1x, Dominion Energy (D) 18.6x, Southern (SO) 19.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Dominion Energy (D) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%, Dominion Energy (D) +19.0%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Southern (SO) has the highest net margin (Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%, Dominion Energy (D) 14.0%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Southern (SO) leads (Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%, Dominion Energy (D) 3.5%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Dominion Energy (D) returned the most: Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.1%, Dominion Energy (D) +6.6%, Southern (SO) -3.5%. Over five years, Southern (SO) compounded fastest (Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.2%/yr, Dominion Energy (D) -3.0%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dominion Energy (D) has the highest dividend yield: Xcel Energy (XEL) 0.00%, Dominion Energy (D) 0.04%, Southern (SO) 0.03%. Xcel Energy (XEL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Southern (SO) has been the steadiest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%, Dominion Energy (D) 20.9%, Southern (SO) 17.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, XEL, D 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.