Southern Co SO

UtilitiesElectric Utilities & IPPsUnited States of America

Last close 93.71 USD on Nov 1, 2026, +10.1% year to date

Quant rating

Quant rating B Rank 29 of 90 in Utilities

Growth C 50 of 90
Valuation C 61 of 90
Quality B 17 of 90
Revisions B 32 of 90
Momentum B 33 of 90

Wall Street consensus Hold (2.68)Average target 96.02 USD +2.5%

Historical valuation

Multiples use consensus estimates for the next twelve months. The dashed line is the 5-year average.

Key data

Market cap: 107.8B
Enterprise value: 183.2B
52-week range: 81.72 – 99.58
3-year range: 66.25 – 99.72
Dividend yield: 3.24%
Beta (5 years): 0.31
Shares outstanding: 1,150M
Next earnings: Nov 5, 2026

About the company

The Southern Company is an energy provider. The Company owns three traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power Company and Southern Company Gas. The traditional electric operating companies-Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power-are operating public utility companies providing electric service to retail customers in three Southeastern states in addition to wholesale customers in the Southeast. The Southern Power Company develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including battery energy storage projects, and sells electricity at market-based rates in the wholesale market. The Southern Company Gas is an energy services holding company whose primary business is the distribution of natural gas in four states - Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, through the natural gas distribution utilities. Southern Company Gas is also involved in several other businesses that are complementary to the distribution of natural gas.

Growth and profitability fiscal year ends December 31

Growth and profitability by fiscal year
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	5Y avg
Revenue (mil)	29,553	26,724	25,253	29,279	23,113	–
Revenue growth	10.6%	5.8%	−13.8%	26.7%	13.4%	7.7%
EPS (basic, normalized)	4.30	4.05	3.65	3.60	3.41	–
EPS growth	6.2%	11.0%	1.4%	5.6%	–	–
Gross margin	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net margin	14.7%	16.5%	15.7%	12.0%	10.4%	13.9%
ROE	12.5%	13.6%	12.9%	12.1%	8.5%	11.9%

Balance sheet, last quarter
Cash & short-term investments (mil)	2,984
Current ratio	0.79x
Long-term debt (mil)	68,756
Net debt (mil)	75,370
Total equity (mil)	39,570
Net debt / equity	1.90x
Net debt / EBITDA	5.56x

Estimates and valuation

Consensus estimates and implied multiples
	Sales (mil)			EBITDA (mil)			EPS
Fiscal year	Mean est.	Growth	EV/Sales	Mean est.	Growth	EV/EBITDA	Mean est.	Growth	P/E
2025 actual	29,553	+10.6%	6.2x	13,553	+14.9%	13.5x	4.30	+6.2%	21.8x
2026	30,627	+3.6%	6.0x	14,039	+3.6%	13.0x	4.59	+6.8%	20.4x
2027	32,467	+6.0%	5.6x	15,293	+8.9%	12.0x	4.92	+7.1%	19.0x
2028	34,498	+6.3%	5.3x	16,886	+10.4%	10.8x	5.36	+9.0%	17.5x

Estimate revisions

Change in consensus estimates over 1, 3 and 6 months
	Sales				EPS
Fiscal year	Estimate (mil)	1M	3M	6M	Estimate	1M	3M	6M
2026	30,627	−0.1%	−0.6%	−0.8%	4.59	+0.1%	+0.3%	+0.5%
2027	32,467	0.0%	−0.5%	−0.3%	4.92	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
2028	34,498	+0.1%	−0.7%	−0.5%	5.36	0.0%	0.0%	+0.1%

Earnings surprises EPS beat in 3 of the last 4 quarters

Reported results versus consensus, last 10 fiscal quarters
Quarter ended	Mar 2024	Jun 2024	Sep 2024	Dec 2024	Mar 2025	Jun 2025	Sep 2025	Dec 2025	Mar 2026	Jun 2026
Sales reported (mil)	6,646	6,463	7,274	6,341	7,775	6,973	7,823	6,981	8,397	6,977
Sales mean (mil)	6,558	6,099	7,287	5,880	7,169	6,281	7,607	6,487	8,021	7,234
Surprise	+1.3%	+6.0%	−0.2%	+7.8%	+8.5%	+11.0%	+2.8%	+7.6%	+4.7%	−3.6%
EPS reported	1.03	1.10	1.43	0.50	1.23	0.92	1.60	0.55	1.32	1.13
EPS mean	0.91	0.92	1.34	0.51	1.20	0.90	1.51	0.57	1.21	1.00
Surprise	+13.4%	+19.5%	+6.8%	−1.5%	+2.9%	+2.7%	+6.2%	−4.1%	+9.1%	+12.9%

Peer comparison Electric Utilities & IPPs

Peers in the same industry group, by market capitalization
Company	Market cap	Net debt/EBITDA	Net margin	P/B	FY1 P/E	FY2 P/E	FY1 EV/EBITDA	FY2 EV/EBITDA
SO Southern Co	107.8B	5.56x	14.7%	2.72x	20.4x	19.0x	13.0x	12.0x
NEE NextEra Energy, Inc.	175.6B	8.16x	24.9%	2.85x	20.8x	19.1x	17.2x	14.4x
DUK Duke Energy Corp	99.3B	6.28x	15.2%	1.81x	18.9x	17.8x	11.8x	10.7x
CEG Constellation Energy Corp	93.0B	4.28x	9.1%	2.91x	21.6x	19.6x	13.6x	12.6x
AEP American Electric Power Company Inc	70.9B	6.40x	16.4%	2.16x	20.4x	18.9x	13.1x	11.7x
D Dominion Energy, Inc.	58.6B	8.69x	18.0%	2.02x	18.5x	17.5x	14.1x	12.3x
Mean		6.56x	16.4%	2.41x	20.1x	18.6x	13.8x	12.3x
Median		6.34x	15.8%	2.44x	20.4x	18.9x	13.3x	12.2x

Technical analysis

1M+13.8%
3M−2.4%
1Y+3.1%
3Y+56.1%

Financial statements in millions of USD

Income statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Income statement, Southern Co, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Total revenue	29,553	26,724	25,253	29,279	23,113	20,375
Cost of revenue	3,266	2,747	3,087	4,993	2,954	2,098
Gross profit	26,287	23,977	22,166	24,286	20,159	18,277
Selling, general & administrative expenses	–	–	–	–	–	–
Research & development	–	–	–	–	–	–
Depreciation/amortization	5,501	4,755	4,525	3,663	3,565	3,518
Interest expense (income), operating	–	–	–	–	–	–
Unusual expense (income)	–	−21.0	−68.0	377	1,515	466
Other operating expenses	13,501	12,175	11,883	14,876	11,388	9,614
Operating income	7,285	7,068	5,826	5,370	3,691	4,679
Net interest income (expense)	−3,126	−2,604	−2,302	−1,871	−1,761	−1,668
Gain (loss) on sale of assets	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other non-operating income (expense)	840	765	821	724	646	485
Net income before taxes	4,999	5,229	4,345	4,223	2,576	3,496
Provision for taxes	828	969	496	795	267	393
Minority interest	170	141	127	107	99.0	31.0
Equity in affiliates	–	–	–	–	–	–
U.S. GAAP adjustment	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income before extraordinary items	4,341	4,401	3,976	3,535	2,408	3,134
Extraordinary items	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income	4,341	4,401	3,976	3,535	2,408	3,134
EBIT, normalized	7,285	7,047	5,758	5,747	5,206	5,145
EBITDA, normalized	13,315	12,313	10,744	9,811	9,179	9,050
Basic EPS, normalized	4.30	4.05	3.65	3.60	3.41	–

Balance sheet in millions of USD, fiscal years

Balance sheet, Southern Co, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Assets
Cash & short-term investments	1,639	1,070	748	1,917	1,798	1,065
Receivables	3,138	3,464	3,177	2,704	2,251	2,663
Total inventory	3,333	3,369	3,352	2,785	2,621	2,488
Prepaid expenses	327	294	406	347	330	276
Other current assets	2,480	2,497	2,749	2,663	1,965	2,125
Total current assets	10,917	10,694	10,432	10,416	8,965	8,617
Property, plant & equipment	115,727	106,075	101,276	96,101	92,809	89,436
Goodwill	5,161	5,161	5,161	5,161	5,280	5,280
Intangibles	300	332	368	406	445	487
Long-term investments	1,318	1,416	1,368	1,443	1,282	1,362
Note receivable	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other long-term assets	22,297	21,502	20,726	21,364	18,753	17,753
Total assets	155,720	145,180	139,331	134,891	127,534	122,935
Liabilities
Accounts payable	3,710	3,701	2,898	3,525	2,169	2,806
Payable/accrued	–	–	–	–	–	–
Accrued expenses	3,404	3,140	2,846	2,702	2,494	2,478
Short-term debt	722	1,338	2,314	2,609	1,440	609
Current portion of long-term debt	6,220	4,718	2,476	4,285	2,157	3,507
Other current liabilities	2,832	3,096	2,933	2,603	2,661	2,679
Total current liabilities	16,888	15,993	13,467	15,724	10,921	12,079
Long-term debt	65,649	58,768	57,210	50,656	50,120	45,073
Minority interest	2,851	3,466	3,781	4,124	4,402	4,262
Other liabilities	34,316	33,745	33,429	33,979	33,926	33,258
Total liabilities	119,704	111,972	107,887	104,483	99,369	94,672
Shareholders' equity
Preferred stock	–	–	–	–	–	–
Common stock	5,554	5,446	5,423	5,417	5,279	5,268
Additional paid-in capital	15,740	14,149	13,775	13,673	11,950	11,834
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	14,856	13,750	12,482	11,538	10,929	11,311
Treasury stock	−59.0	−59.0	−59.0	−53.0	−47.0	−46.0
Other equity	−75.0	−78.0	−177	−167	54.0	−104
Total equity	36,016	33,208	31,444	30,408	28,165	28,263
Total liabilities & shareholders' equity	155,720	145,180	139,331	134,891	127,534	122,935

Cash flow statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Cash flow statement, Southern Co, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Operating activities
Net income	4,171	4,260	3,849	3,428	2,309	3,103
Depreciation, depletion & amortization	6,030	5,266	4,986	4,064	3,973	3,905
Deferred taxes	618	536	63.0	670	−49.0	−241
Non-cash items	−1,416	−1,695	−1,210	−2,020	719	318
Changes in working capital	399	1,421	−135	160	−783	−389
Cash from operations	9,802	9,788	7,553	6,302	6,169	6,696
Investing activities
Capital expenditures	−12,737	−8,955	−9,095	−7,923	−7,240	−7,441
Other investing cash flows	−1,222	−445	−573	−507	−113	411
Cash from investing	−13,959	−9,400	−9,668	−8,430	−7,353	−7,030
Financing activities
Financing cash flow items	−704	−366	−373	−404	−116	−233
Cash dividends paid	−3,015	−2,954	−3,035	−2,907	−2,777	−2,685
Issuance (retirement) of debt, net	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other financing cash flows	8,415	3,112	4,407	5,647	4,838	2,342
Cash from financing	4,696	−208	999	2,336	1,945	−576
Foreign exchange effects	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net change in cash	539	180	−1,116	208	761	−910
Free cash flow	−2,935	833	−1,542	−1,621	−1,071	−745

Disclaimer

The financial data presented in this report is delayed and obtained from sources QDD Research believes to be reliable, including stock exchanges, SEDAR, and EDGAR. However, no representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. QDD Research accepts no liability for any errors, omissions, or financial losses arising from the use of this data.

This report is generated using a fully systematic and quantitative approach. All factor scores and the overall quant rating (ranging from D to A+) are derived from algorithmic models and are based solely on objective financial metrics. These scores are intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any securities.

QDD Research is not a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer and does not provide personalized financial advice. The content is not tailored to the specific investment goals, financial situation, or risk profile of any individual investor. We strongly encourage readers to consult with a licensed broker or investment advisor before making any investment decisions based on the information contained in this report.

Live quote provided by TradingView. Report data updated Nov 1, 2026 after market close.