XEL vs IX vs AEP Stock Comparison

Xcel Energy, Orix and American Electric Power Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (EXC) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$78.05 +10.5% 1M -2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$48.66B
P/E
21.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
2 wins
IX Orix Corp
$36.44 -6.8% 1M +44.8% 1Y
Market cap
$40.87B
P/E
10.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$55.33B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Finance Financial Services
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Orix leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Orix 5, American Electric Power 4, Xcel Energy 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionXELIXAEPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.66B $40.87B $70.33B AEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.8x 10.2x 25.5x IX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.2x 7.9x 21.7x IX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% +2.8% +10.3% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.3% 7.3% 12.1% XEL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.5% 3.0% 5.5% AEP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.4x — 6.0x AEP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.9% +44.8% +11.6% IX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.6%/yr +14.0%/yr +8.7%/yr IX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.2% 28.7% 19.4% XEL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 16/100 50/100 40/100 IX

Percentile Scorecard

XELIXAEP

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

AxisXELIXAEP
Valuation 5 #64 of 67 56 #75 of 170 23 #52 of 67
Growth 14 #56 of 65 74 #43 of 165 64 #24 of 65
Profitability 28 #47 of 65 58 #65 of 155 58 #28 of 65
Financial Health 32 #45 of 66 53 #77 of 163 26 #49 of 66
Shareholder Returns 0 #67 of 67 10 #124 of 137 27 #49 of 67
Overall 16 50 40
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • IX ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodXELIXAEPSPY
1 month +10.5%-6.8%+9.5% -1.0%
3 months -4.4%-9.6%-4.3% +2.9%
6 months -1.4%+19.9%-3.7% +6.4%
Year to date +5.7%+24.7%+12.5% +11.4%
1 year -2.9%+44.8%+11.6% +13.1%
3 years +32.1%+101.7%+73.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +9.7%+26.4%+20.2% +21.5%
5 years +19.1%+92.2%+51.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +3.6%+14.0%+8.7% +10.9%
10 years +95.4%+158.8%+107.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +6.9%+10.0%+7.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureXELIXAEPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.2%28.7%19.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.4%28.1%19.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.99-0.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.151.560.60 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.4%-39.0%-32.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.0%-11.8%-6.5% -2.5%
52-week high $83.91$41.31$138.69 $779.14
52-week low $69.39$24.22$113.70 $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.

MultipleXELIXAEP
P/E now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 20.8x 10.1xmedian 11.0x 25.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.8x 0.7xmedian 2.6x 3.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 13.1x —median 13.1x 14.0xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -6.3xmedian 36.7x —median 6.9x -12.3xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.7x 1.4xmedian 0.7x 2.1xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 5.11median 2.27 0.39median 0.31 2.77median 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 monthsXELIXAEP
Revenue $14.62B $55.33B $22.79B
Gross profit – $13.35B $15.43B
Operating income $2.79B $3.05B $5.24B
Net income $2.23B $4.10B $3.07B
Free cash flow -$7.69B – -$5.75B
EPS (diluted) $3.56 $3.58 $5.02
Cash & equivalents $2.01B $5.98B $375.00M
Total debt $39.46B $38.96B $52.84B
Shares (diluted) 627.00M 1.12B 550.63M
Enterprise value $43.57B $9.59B $67.50B

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
MetricXELIXAEP
P/E 21.8x 10.1x 25.6x
P/FCF -6.3x – -12.3x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x – 9.2x
P/S 3.3x 0.7x 3.1x
P/B 2.0x 1.4x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.4x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 14.8x – 14.0x
EV/EBIT 30.9x 24.2x 23.4x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 1.3x 5.4x
EV/FCF -11.2x – -21.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.1x – 16.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.11 0.39 2.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricXELIXAEP
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% 2.8% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.4% 7.3% 5.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 1,837% 8.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -24.8% 7.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.0% 24.1% 2.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 7.6% 19.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.7% 62.7% -17.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 23.4% 15.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.0% 64.4% 5.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 25.9% 9.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% – 17.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% – 22.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -97.2% – -63.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -112.8% – -19.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricXELIXAEP
Gross margin – 24.1% 67.7%
EBITDA margin 39.9% – 38.4%
Operating margin 19.1% 5.5% 23.0%
Pretax margin 13.7% 11.1% 15.4%
Net margin 15.3% 7.3% 12.1%
FCF margin -52.6% – -25.2%
Operating cash flow margin 32.6% – 33.8%
Return on equity 9.3% 14.1% 9.6%
Return on assets 2.6% 3.6% 2.7%
Return on invested capital 4.5% 3.0% 5.5%
Return on capital employed 3.6% – 5.0%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.5x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x – 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricXELIXAEP
Debt / assets 45.3% 34.6% 43.5%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.3x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.4x – 6.0x
Debt / FCF -5.1x – -9.2x
Liabilities / assets 72.4% 73.8% 72.6%
Equity / assets 27.6% 26.2% 27.4%
Interest coverage 1.7x 2.4x 2.4x
Current ratio 0.7x – 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x – 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 0.0x
Altman Z-score 0.86 – 0.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricXELIXAEP
Dividend yield 3.0% 1.1% 2.9%
Net buyback yield -4.5% – –
Shareholder yield -1.6% 1.1% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusXELIXAEP
Forward P/E 18.2xFY2026 7.9xFY2026 21.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.29FY2026 $4.59FY2026 $5.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.9%FY2026 +80.7%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.3% -27.7% +19.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.57BFY2026 $22.87BFY2026 $23.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.9%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 +5.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.7% -3.2% +3.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersXELIXAEP
Held by institutions 95.4% 3.3% 92.1%
Institutions holding 1,284 318 1,984
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.3% +9.5% +13.2%
Institutions buying 663 209 1,064
Institutions selling 386 57 584
Buyers to sellers 1.72 3.67 1.82

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.

XELIXAEP
XEL 1.00 0.09 0.74
IX 0.09 1.00 0.02
AEP 0.74 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, XEL, IX and AEP?

American Electric Power (AEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.66B, Orix (IX) $40.87B, American Electric Power (AEP) $70.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, XEL, IX and AEP?

Orix (IX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.8x, Orix (IX) 10.2x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Orix (IX) is cheapest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.2x, Orix (IX) 7.9x, American Electric Power (AEP) 21.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American Electric Power (AEP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%, Orix (IX) +2.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Xcel Energy (XEL) has the highest net margin (Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%, Orix (IX) 7.3%, American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%). On return on invested capital, American Electric Power (AEP) leads (Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%, Orix (IX) 3.0%, American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Orix (IX) returned the most: Xcel Energy (XEL) -2.9%, Orix (IX) +44.8%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.6%. Over five years, Orix (IX) compounded fastest (Xcel Energy (XEL) +3.6%/yr, Orix (IX) +14.0%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Xcel Energy (XEL) has been the steadiest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%, Orix (IX) 28.7%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, XEL, IX and AEP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Orix (IX) leads on 5. 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.