Looking up the ticker with the regulator···
0s · usually 20–30 seconds for a cold read
Looking up the ticker with the regulator···
0s · usually 20–30 seconds for a cold read
The Southern Company
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
Signals scattered
Get notified when we ship meaningful updates. No spam, no daily noise.
2 of 5 met · composite in line with peers
Business quality, valuation against the sector, and position in the 52-week range — whether they line up or not.
Mixed signals
1 signal unavailable
Profitability
3/4
Debt & liquidity
0/3
Efficiency
1/2
Debt tells the clearest story here: Debt/EBITDA at 6.7× runs +26% above the sector median 5.3×, placing The Southern Company in the bottom quartile on balance-sheet health, and the F-Score of 4/9 reflects that strain — the Leverage & Liquidity sub-score contributes nothing. FCF yield at -3.4% trails the sector median 3.0% by -212%, a gap that matters when a capital-heavy utility must keep funding grid investment. Against that, ROE at 12.5% sits +17% above the sector median 10.7%, and operating margin at 24.7% exceeds the median 23.0% — profitability holds even as cash generation lags. Consensus models earnings growth ahead of the realized trend, though the beat rate over recent quarters has been strong; the composite of 41/100 against the sector median captures the tension between solid margins and a balance sheet under structural pressure.
| Ticker | Name | F-Score | ROE | Revenue YoY | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEE | Ameren | 6/9 | 11% | +15% |
The market prices in earnings growth; analyst sentiment is steady; has mostly beaten consensus.
Price against next year's expected earnings. The forward P/E already carries analyst optimism — read it alongside the “Versus consensus” line.
A forward P/E below the current one means the market expects earnings to grow; above it, to fall. The historical growth is realized figures from SEC filings, not a forecast.
The three-month change in the share of positive analyst ratings. This is sentiment, not an earnings-estimate revision, and not a call to act.
When SO reports on October 28, 2026, focus on whether Debt/EBITDA is moving toward the sector median of 5.33× from its current elevated level, and whether FCF yield is recovering toward the 3.00% sector median. The F-Score's 0/3 on leverage and liquidity makes these the most consequential figures to track.
SO's FCF yield sitting 212% below the sector median points to heavy capital deployment. In the 10-K, read management's discussion of planned capex, rate case outcomes, and long-term debt maturities to understand whether the cash drain is structural or tied to a defined investment cycle.
From the alphabetical table in section 06, pick two or three utilities yourself and line up one metric — Debt/EBITDA or operating margin are the most relevant given SO's 26% debt premium and 7% operating margin advantage over the sector median. No single company in the table is ranked; the comparison is yours to draw.
Steps you can check yourself, based on the figures in this brief.
Piotroski F-Score: nine binary tests of financial strength from the annual report. A ✓ marks a test passed, a dot (·) a test failed.
Over 4 years: +154%-452%
Over 4 years: 7.576.006.70
Over 4 years: +6%+11%
The context on the right shows how each figure compares with the sector median. The trend below tracks the change over recent fiscal years.
Beat consensus in 6 of 8 recent quarters — the company clears estimates regularly (consensus is often set conservatively).
Last quarter's EPS against consensus, plus the estimated date of the next report.
| 23% |
| D | Dominion Energy | 6/9 | 11% | +14% | 27% |
| DTE | DTE Energy | 7/9 | 11% | +19% | 14% |
| DUK | Duke Energy | 6/9 | 10% | +6% | 27% |
| ED | Consolidated Edison | 6/9 | 9% | +11% | 17% |
| ES | Eversource Energy | 6/9 | 11% | +14% | 22% |
| EXC | Exelon | 5/9 | 10% | +5% | 21% |
| NEE | NextEra Energy | 4/9 | 13% | +10% | 32% |
| PEG | Public Service Enterprise | 7/9 | 14% | +18% | 24% |
| PPL | PPL Corporation | 5/9 | 8% | +7% | 24% |
| SO | The Southern Company | 4/9 | 13% | +11% | 25% |
| SRE | Sempra | 5/9 | 6% | +4% | — |
| WEC | WEC Energy | 5/9 | 14% | +14% | 23% |
| XEL | Xcel Energy | 6/9 | 8% | +1% | 17% |
A sample of 14 companies in the sector including the target, alphabetical, unranked. Data from the latest SEC annual reports.
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
The last few quarters are recent context, not a fixed rate. Consensus for near quarters is set low, so companies clear it routinely; over long horizons the forecasts run the other way, too high.
A description of what the market and analysts expect. Not a price forecast and not investment advice. Analyst forecasts run systematically optimistic over long horizons — read them with that discount.