XEL vs NEE Stock Comparison

Xcel Energy and Nextera Energy Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
4 wins
NEE Nextera Energy Inc
$82.11 +6.6% 1M -1.4% 1Y
Market cap
$171.30B
P/E
14.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.83B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nextera Energy leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nextera Energy 7, Xcel Energy 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionXELNEELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.66B $171.30B NEE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.8x 14.7x NEE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.2x 21.1x XEL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% +9.6% NEE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.3% 40.4% NEE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.5% 4.7% NEE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.4x 7.0x XEL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.9% -1.4% NEE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.6%/yr -0.6%/yr XEL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.2% 21.2% XEL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 16/100 61/100 NEE

Percentile Scorecard

XELNEE

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

AxisXELNEE
Valuation 5 #64 of 67 24 #51 of 67
Growth 14 #56 of 65 94 #5 of 65
Profitability 28 #47 of 65 89 #8 of 65
Financial Health 32 #45 of 66 49 #34 of 66
Shareholder Returns 0 #67 of 67 49 #35 of 67
Overall 16 61
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NEE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodXELNEESPY
1 month +10.5%+6.6% -1.0%
3 months -4.4%-8.6% +2.9%
6 months -1.4%-13.8% +6.4%
Year to date +5.7%+2.3% +11.4%
1 year -2.9%-1.4% +13.1%
3 years +32.1%+49.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +9.7%+14.2% +21.5%
5 years +19.1%-2.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +3.6%-0.6% +10.9%
10 years +95.4%+165.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +6.9%+10.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureXELNEESPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.2%21.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.4%22.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.15-0.06 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.4%-47.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.0%-16.1% -2.5%
52-week high $83.91$97.88 $779.14
52-week low $69.39$75.50 $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.

MultipleXELNEE
P/E now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 20.8x 14.7xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.8x 6.0xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 13.1x 18.4xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -6.3xmedian 36.7x 36.8xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.7x 2.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 5.11median 2.27 1.05median 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 monthsXELNEE
Revenue $14.62B $28.83B
Operating income $2.79B $8.66B
Net income $2.23B $11.64B
Free cash flow -$7.69B $4.67B
EPS (diluted) $3.56 $5.55
Cash & equivalents $2.01B $5.58B
Total debt $39.46B $413.84B
Shares (diluted) 627.00M 2.10B
Enterprise value $43.57B $158.05B

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
MetricXELNEE
P/E 21.8x 14.7x
P/FCF -6.3x 36.8x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x 11.6x
P/S 3.3x 6.0x
P/B 2.0x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 14.8x 18.4x
EV/EBIT 30.9x 32.0x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 9.6x
EV/FCF -11.2x 59.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.1x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.11 1.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricXELNEE
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% 9.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.4% 1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.0% 13.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.6% -3.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.7% 79.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 15.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.0% 76.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 14.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% 23.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 16.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -97.2% 30.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -112.8% 124.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricXELNEE
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin 39.9% 52.2%
Operating margin 19.1% 30.0%
Pretax margin 13.7% 35.0%
Net margin 15.3% 40.4%
FCF margin -52.6% 16.2%
Operating cash flow margin 32.6% 51.4%
Return on equity 9.3% 13.9%
Return on assets 2.6% 4.1%
Return on invested capital 4.5% 4.7%
Return on capital employed 3.6% 4.2%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricXELNEE
Debt / assets 45.3% 45.0%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.4x 7.0x
Debt / FCF -5.1x 23.6x
Liabilities / assets 72.4% 70.3%
Equity / assets 27.6% 29.7%
Interest coverage 1.7x 2,164x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.86 0.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricXELNEE
Dividend yield 3.0% 3.0%
Net buyback yield -4.5% -0.6%
Shareholder yield -1.6% 2.4%
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.

ConsensusXELNEE
Forward P/E 18.2xFY2026 21.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.29FY2026 $3.89FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.9%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.3% +18.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.57BFY2026 $32.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.9%FY2026 +17.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.7% +9.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersXELNEE
Held by institutions 95.4% 84.3%
Institutions holding 1,284 3,019
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.3% +2.3%
Institutions buying 663 1,588
Institutions selling 386 1,054
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.51

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.

XELNEE
XEL 1.00 0.65
NEE 0.65 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, XEL and NEE?

Nextera Energy (NEE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.66B, Nextera Energy (NEE) $171.30B.

Which stock is cheaper, XEL and NEE?

Nextera Energy (NEE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.8x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 14.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Xcel Energy (XEL) is cheapest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 18.2x, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nextera Energy (NEE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%, Nextera Energy (NEE) +9.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nextera Energy (NEE) has the highest net margin (Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 40.4%). On return on invested capital, Nextera Energy (NEE) leads (Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nextera Energy (NEE) returned the most: Xcel Energy (XEL) -2.9%, Nextera Energy (NEE) -1.4%. Over five years, Xcel Energy (XEL) compounded fastest (Xcel Energy (XEL) +3.6%/yr, Nextera Energy (NEE) -0.6%/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%, Nextera Energy (NEE) 21.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do XEL and NEE move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.65, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, XEL and NEE?

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