A Business at a Glance
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SOUTHERN CO
SO
$107.7B
Mkt Cap
$97.25
+0.67%
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a current P/E ratio of 24.8, compared to its historical median P/E of 18.7. The stock is currently considered Fair based on its historical valuation range.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a 5-year average return on invested capital (ROIC) of 5.4%. This is below average and may indicate limited pricing power.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a market capitalization of $109.6B. It is classified as a large-cap stock.
Yes, SOUTHERN CO (SO) pays a dividend with a trailing twelve-month yield of 2.79%.
Based on historical P/E analysis, SOUTHERN CO (SO) appears fair. The current P/E of 24.8 is 32% above its historical median of 18.7. The estimated fair value CAGR (P/E method) is 4.5%.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) operates in the Electric Services industry, within the Utilities sector.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) reported annual revenue of $29.6 billion in its most recent fiscal year, based on SEC EDGAR filings.
Southern Company is a holding company that owns three vertically integrated traditional electric utilities—Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power—which generate, transmit, and distribute electricity to retail and wholesale customers across the Southeast, along with Southern Power Company, a wholesale power generator that develops, constructs, and operates generation assets including battery storage and sells electricity at market-based rates primarily through long-term power purchase agreements with utilities, municipalities, and commercial customers. The company also operates Southern Company Gas, which distributes natural gas through regulated utilities in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, and owns complementary businesses including Southern Linc (digital wireless communications and fiber optics), Southern Nuclear (nuclear plant operations), PowerSecure (distributed energy and microgrids), and SCS (system services). The traditional electric operating companies operate as an integrated power pool under centralized economic dispatch to optimize resource allocation and reliability, with each company retaining its lowest-cost resources for its own customers and sharing excess generation through the pool. Southern Power's business model relies on long-term, fixed-price capacity and energy power purchase agreements with unaffiliated wholesale purchasers, where natural gas facilities recover fixed and variable costs through capacity charges while renewable facilities depend on energy generation levels; the company manages fuel supply and transmission risks by contractually assigning them to counterparties. The regulated utilities generate revenues through state-approved rates that recover operating costs and provide returns on invested capital, while Southern Power operates under FERC authority without traditional state regulation. Southern Company's competitive advantages include its vertically integrated structure enabling coordinated planning and reliable service, established relationships with large load customers including data centers and manufacturers, and a diversified portfolio spanning regulated utilities and wholesale generation across multiple states and fuel types.
【Large load-driven growth acceleration】 Management expects retail electric sales to grow at least 3% in 2026, with average annual growth of 10% from 2026 through 2030, driven by strong momentum from large load customers including hyperscalers and manufacturers, with a prospective pipeline exceeding 75 GW and 26 signed contracts representing 10 GW of fully contracted service. The company is investing approximately $42 billion through 2030 in new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure to reliably serve projected growth, with state-regulated rate-based growth projected at approximately 9% annually, supported by a $81 billion five-year capital plan that represents a 30% increase from the prior year forecast. Management anticipates improved cash flows from large load customers and broad business growth will enhance credit metrics beyond 2027, with expectations to achieve approximately 17% FFO-to-debt by 2029, while maintaining disciplined equity financing of approximately 40% of incremental capital. The company sees potential for upside to its long-term outlook from continued momentum on growth above the base plan and success in repricing portions of Southern Power's capacity contracts through the next decade.
| Metric | Target | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted earnings per share | $4.50–$4.60 | FY2026 |
| Adjusted earnings per share | $4.85–$4.95 | FY2027 |
| Adjusted earnings per share | $5.25–$5.45 | FY2028 |
| Retail electric sales growth | at least 3% | FY2026 |
| Average annual retail electric sales growth | 10% | 2026–2030 |
| Five-year base capital investment | $81 billion | 2026–2030 |
| Capital investment through 2030 for generation, transmission, and distribution | roughly $42 billion | Through 2030 |
| State-regulated average annual rate-based growth | approximately 9% | Long-term |
| Adjusted earnings per share growth | 8%–9% | 2026–2028 |
| Long-term adjusted earnings growth | approximately 7%–8% | From 2028 onwards |
Generated solely from the company's own reports listed below — not from third-party data. Hallucination risk is low. · Sources: 10-K, Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q3 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q2 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q1 FY2025 Earnings Call
| Metric | TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 30.2B | 29.6B | 26.7B | 25.3B | 29.3B | 23.1B |
| Net Income | 4.4B | 4.3B | 4.4B | 4.0B | 3.5B | 2.4B |
| EPS | $3.93 | $3.92 | $3.99 | $3.62 | $3.26 | $2.24 |
| Free Cash Flow | -3.5B | -2.9B | 833M | -1.5B | -1.6B | -1.4B |
| ROIC | 8.4% | 5.9% | 6.0% | 5.7% | 5.2% | 4.2% |
| Gross Margin | - | 35.7% | 36.8% | 32.9% | 25.4% | 24.1% |
| Debt/Equity | 24,840.67 | 2.06 | 2.00 | 2.02 | 1.94 | 1.99 |
| Dividends/Share | $2.71 | $2.94 | $2.86 | $2.78 | $2.70 | $2.62 |
| Operating Income | 7.3B | 7.3B | 7.1B | 5.8B | 5.4B | 3.7B |
| Operating Margin | 24.2% | 24.7% | 26.4% | 23.1% | 18.3% | 16.0% |
| ROE | 145433.3% | 12.5% | 13.6% | 12.9% | 12.1% | 8.6% |
| Shares Outstanding | 1,127M | 1,107M | 1,103M | 1,098M | 1,081M | 1,068M |
| Metric | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income Statement | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | 18.5B | 17.5B | 19.9B | 23.0B | 23.5B | 21.4B | 20.4B | 23.1B | 29.3B | 25.3B | 26.7B | 29.6B | 30.2B |
| Gross Margin | 24.3% | 29.3% | 29.4% | 18.0% | 26.1% | 44.5% | 33.2% | 24.1% | 25.4% | 32.9% | 36.8% | 35.7% | N/A |
| R&D | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SG&A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| EBIT | 3.6B | 4.3B | 4.5B | 2.3B | 4.2B | 7.7B | 4.9B | 3.7B | 5.4B | 5.8B | 7.1B | 7.3B | 7.3B |
| Op. Margin | 19.7% | 24.5% | 22.5% | 10.1% | 17.8% | 36.1% | 24.0% | 16.0% | 18.3% | 23.1% | 26.4% | 24.7% | 24.2% |
| Net Income | 2.0B | 2.4B | 2.4B | 842M | 2.2B | 4.7B | 3.1B | 2.4B | 3.5B | 4.0B | 4.4B | 4.3B | 4.4B |
| Net Margin | 10.6% | 13.5% | 12.3% | 3.7% | 9.5% | 22.1% | 15.3% | 10.4% | 12.0% | 15.7% | 16.5% | 14.7% | 14.5% |
| Non-Recurring | 0 | 0 | 2.0M | 42M | 333M | 2.7B | 65M | 188M | 308M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Returns on Capital | |||||||||||||
| ROIC | 5.8% | 6.4% | 5.6% | 2.9% | 5.0% | 7.8% | 5.8% | 4.2% | 5.2% | 5.7% | 6.0% | 5.9% | 8.4% |
| ROE | 10.1% | 11.7% | 10.8% | 3.4% | 9.1% | 18.1% | 11.2% | 8.6% | 12.1% | 12.9% | 13.6% | 12.5% | 145433.3% |
| ROA | 2.9% | 3.2% | 2.6% | 0.8% | 2.0% | 4.0% | 2.6% | 1.9% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| Cash Flow | |||||||||||||
| Op. Cash Flow | 5.8B | 6.3B | 4.9B | 6.4B | 6.9B | 5.8B | 6.7B | 6.2B | 6.3B | 7.6B | 9.8B | 9.8B | 9.8B |
| Free Cash Flow | 569M | 600M | -2.4B | -1.0B | -1.1B | -1.8B | -826M | -1.4B | -1.6B | -1.5B | 833M | -2.9B | -3.5B |
| Owner Earnings | 5.7B | 6.2B | 4.7B | 6.2B | 6.8B | 5.7B | 6.6B | 6.1B | 6.2B | 7.4B | 9.7B | 9.7B | -38.0B |
| CapEx | 5.2B | 5.7B | 7.3B | 7.4B | 8.0B | 7.6B | 7.5B | 7.6B | 7.9B | 9.1B | 9.0B | 12.7B | 13.2B |
| Maint. CapEx | 3.0M | 3.0M | 50M | 124M | 89M | 61M | 49M | 44M | 39M | 38M | 35M | 32M | 47.8B |
| Growth CapEx | 5.2B | 5.7B | 7.3B | 7.3B | 7.9B | 7.5B | 7.5B | 7.5B | 7.9B | 9.1B | 8.9B | 12.7B | 0 |
| D&A | 3.0M | 3.0M | 50M | 124M | 89M | 61M | 49M | 44M | 39M | 38M | 35M | 32M | 47.8B |
| CapEx/OCF | 90.2% | 90.4% | 149.4% | 116.1% | 115.2% | 130.7% | 111.1% | 123.0% | 125.7% | 120.4% | 91.5% | 129.9% | 135.4% |
| Capital Allocation | |||||||||||||
| Dividends Paid | 1.9B | 2.0B | 2.1B | 2.3B | 2.4B | 2.6B | 2.7B | 2.8B | 2.9B | 3.0B | 3.0B | 3.0B | 3.1B |
| Dividend Yield | 7.7% | 7.5% | 6.5% | 6.6% | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.4% | 4.9% | 4.3% | 4.4% | 3.6% | 3.1% | 2.8% |
| Share Buybacks | 5.0M | 115M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buyback Yield | 0.0% | 0.4% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0.0% |
| Stock-Based Comp | 86M | 100M | 120M | 105M | 84M | 66M | 44M | 62M | 44M | 73M | 56M | 48M | 52M |
| Debt Repayment | 816M | 3.6B | 3.1B | 2.9B | 5.5B | 4.3B | 4.5B | 4.3B | 2.2B | 4.3B | 2.2B | 5.5B | 5.5B |
| Balance Sheet | |||||||||||||
| Net Debt | 24.1B | 27.3B | 45.5B | 46.2B | 45.5B | 46.7B | 50.0B | 53.7B | 57.2B | 62.7B | 65.2B | 72.4B | 73.5B |
| Cash & Equiv. | 710M | 1.4B | 2.0B | 2.1B | 1.4B | 2.0B | 1.1B | 1.8B | 1.9B | 748M | 1.1B | 1.6B | 981M |
| Long-Term Debt | 20.6B | 24.7B | 42.6B | 44.5B | 40.7B | 41.8B | 45.1B | 50.1B | 50.7B | 57.2B | 58.8B | 65.6B | 67.1B |
| Debt/Equity | 1.24 | 1.40 | 1.92 | 2.00 | 1.89 | 1.77 | 1.82 | 1.99 | 1.94 | 2.02 | 2.00 | 2.06 | 24840.67 |
| Interest Coverage | 4.4 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 97.2 |
| Equity | 19.9B | 20.6B | 24.8B | 24.2B | 24.7B | 27.5B | 28.0B | 27.9B | 30.4B | 31.4B | 33.2B | 36.0B | 3.0M |
| Total Assets | 70.2B | 78.3B | 109.7B | 111.0B | 116.9B | 118.7B | 122.9B | 127.5B | 134.9B | 139.3B | 145.2B | 155.7B | 157.0B |
| Total Liabilities | 48.9B | 56.2B | 82.8B | 85.2B | 87.6B | 86.7B | 90.4B | 95.0B | 100.4B | 104.1B | 108.5B | 116.9B | 117.1B |
| Intangibles | N/A | 317M | 970M | 873M | 613M | 536M | 487M | 445M | 406M | 368M | 332M | 300M | 294M |
| Retained Earnings | 9.6B | 10.0B | 10.4B | 8.9B | 8.7B | 10.9B | 11.3B | 10.9B | 11.5B | 12.5B | 13.8B | 14.9B | 14.9B |
| Working Capital | -3.1B | -2.6B | -3.2B | -3.5B | -4.7B | -2.7B | -3.5B | -2.0B | -5.3B | -3.0B | -5.3B | -6.0B | -5.4B |
| Current Assets | 5.9B | 6.5B | 9.7B | 10.1B | 9.6B | 9.8B | 8.6B | 9.0B | 10.4B | 10.4B | 10.7B | 10.9B | 10.0B |
| Current Liabilities | 9.0B | 9.1B | 12.9B | 13.6B | 14.3B | 12.5B | 12.1B | 10.9B | 15.7B | 13.5B | 16.0B | 16.9B | 15.3B |
| Per Share Data | |||||||||||||
| EPS | 2.18 | 2.59 | 2.55 | 0.84 | 2.17 | 4.50 | 2.93 | 2.24 | 3.26 | 3.62 | 3.99 | 3.92 | 3.93 |
| Owner EPS | 6.36 | 6.75 | 4.92 | 6.15 | 6.60 | 5.37 | 6.20 | 5.68 | 5.75 | 6.78 | 8.79 | 8.78 | -33.74 |
| Book Value | 22.15 | 22.53 | 25.79 | 24.11 | 24.10 | 26.12 | 26.28 | 26.09 | 28.13 | 28.63 | 30.11 | 32.52 | 0.00 |
| Cash Flow/Share | 6.46 | 6.87 | 5.10 | 6.38 | 6.77 | 5.49 | 6.29 | 5.77 | 5.83 | 6.88 | 8.87 | 8.85 | 46.24 |
| Dividends/Share | 2.08 | 2.15 | 2.22 | 2.30 | 2.38 | 2.46 | 2.54 | 2.62 | 2.70 | 2.78 | 2.86 | 2.94 | 2.71 |
| Shares Out. | 900.5M | 913.9M | 960.0M | 1.0B | 1.0B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.1B |
| Valuation | |||||||||||||
| P/E Ratio | 14.4 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 41.1 | 15.2 | 11.1 | 16.8 | 25.9 | 19.6 | 17.9 | 20.0 | 22.1 | 24.7 |
| P/FCF | 49.7 | 46.8 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 105.7 | N/A | N/A |
| EV/EBIT | 14.2 | 12.6 | 16.3 | 34.8 | 18.6 | 12.6 | 20.7 | 30.2 | 23.1 | 22.9 | 21.5 | 22.9 | 25.1 |
| Price/Book | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.7 | N/A |
| Price/Sales | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| FCF Yield | 2.0% | 2.1% | -7.5% | -3.0% | -3.1% | -3.4% | -1.6% | -2.4% | -2.4% | -2.2% | 0.9% | -3.1% | -3.2% |
| Market Cap | 28.3B | 28.1B | 32.0B | 34.6B | 33.9B | 52.6B | 52.4B | 59.7B | 68.9B | 71.4B | 88.0B | 95.8B | 109.6B |
| Avg. Price | 26.95 | 28.69 | 33.47 | 34.72 | 33.14 | 42.84 | 46.68 | 52.76 | 61.85 | 62.89 | 75.15 | 88.14 | 97.25 |
| Year-End Price | 31.38 | 30.72 | 33.34 | 34.48 | 33.08 | 49.94 | 49.27 | 57.96 | 63.74 | 64.97 | 79.82 | 86.49 | 97.25 |
SOUTHERN CO passes 4 of 9 quality checks, suggesting mixed fundamentals.
SOUTHERN CO trades at 24.8x trailing earnings, compared to its 15-year median P/E of 18.7x, suggesting it is currently Fair relative to its historical range. The company's 5-year average ROIC is 5.4% with a gross margin of 31.0%. Total shareholder yield (dividends) is 2.8%. At current prices, the estimated annualized return to fair value is +4.5%.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a net profit margin of 14.7%. This is a healthy margin.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) generated $-2.9 billion in free cash flow in its most recent fiscal year. Negative free cash flow may indicate heavy investment or operational challenges.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. This indicates higher leverage, which may increase financial risk.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.92 in its most recent fiscal year.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a return on equity (ROE) of 12.5%. This indicates moderate shareholder returns.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a 5-year average gross margin of 31.0%. This indicates decent pricing power.
The Ledger Terminal provides 19 years of financial data for SOUTHERN CO (SO), sourced directly from SEC EDGAR filings. This includes income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and key financial ratios.
SOUTHERN CO (SO) has a book value per share of $32.52, based on its most recent annual SEC filing.
Based on recent SEC filings and earnings disclosures, Management expects retail electric sales to grow at least 3% in 2026, with average annual growth of 10% from 2026 through 2030, driven by strong momentum from large load customers including hyperscalers and manufacturers, with a prospective pipeline exceeding 75 GW and 26 signed contracts representing 10 GW of fully contracted service. The company is investing approximately $42 billion through 2030 in new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure to reliably serve projected growth, with state-regulated rate-based growth projected at approximately 9% annually, supported by a $81 billion five-year capital plan that represents a 30% increase from the prior year forecast. Management anticipates improved cash flows from large load customers and broad business growth will enhance credit metrics beyond 2027, with expectations to achieve approximately 17% FFO-to-debt by 2029, while maintaining disciplined equity financing of approximately 40% of incremental capital. The company sees potential for upside to its long-term outlook from continued momentum on growth above the base plan and success in repricing portions of Southern Power's capacity contracts through the next decade.
Based on recent SEC filings and earnings calls, SOUTHERN CO (SO) has provided the following forward guidance: Adjusted earnings per share: $4.50–$4.60 (FY2026); Adjusted earnings per share: $4.85–$4.95 (FY2027); Adjusted earnings per share: $5.25–$5.45 (FY2028); Retail electric sales growth: at least 3% (FY2026); Average annual retail electric sales growth: 10% (2026–2030), plus 7 additional metrics.
| FFO to debt target | approximately 17% | By 2029 |
| Equity or equity equivalents need | approximately $2 billion | Through 2030 |
Adjusted earnings per share (FY2026): “Our adjusted earnings per share guidance range for 2026 is $4.50-$4.60 per share.”
Adjusted earnings per share (FY2027): “our initial guidance range for 2027 is adjusted earnings per share of $4.85-$4.95, which represents approximately 8% growth from 2026.”
Adjusted earnings per share (FY2028): “For 2028, we project adjusted earnings per share to grow approximately 9% from 2027, resulting in initial guidance range of $5.25-$5.45.”
Retail electric sales growth (FY2026): “we project retail electric sales to grow at least 3% across our three electric operating companies in 2026.”
Average annual retail electric sales growth (2026–2030): “On average, from 2026 through 2030, we project annual electricity sales growth of 10%, an increase of 2 percentage points from our prior long-term sales projections.”
Five-year base capital investment (2026–2030): “our base capital investment forecast is $81 billion over the next five years, 95% of which is at our state-regulated utilities.”
Capital investment through 2030 for generation, transmission, and distribution (Through 2030): “Through 2030, we expect to invest roughly $42 billion or over half of our total 5-year capital plan to reliably serve projected growth through the combination of new generation, enhancements to existing generation assets, and expansions of our transmission and interstate pipeline systems.”
State-regulated average annual rate-based growth (Long-term): “Our capital investment plan supports projected long-term state-regulated average annual rate-based growth of approximately 9%, a 2% increase from our forecast one year ago.”