American Electric Power vs Southern
Southern reported revenue of $29.6 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.4 times American Electric Power's $21.9 billion in fiscal 2025. American Electric Power's revenue grew 10.9% in its latest year, and Southern's grew 10.6%. American Electric Power had an operating margin of 24.3%, against 24.6% at Southern. Free cash flow was −$1.5 billion at American Electric Power and −$2.9 billion at Southern.
Side by side
| American Electric Power | Southern | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $21.9B | $29.6B |
| Revenue growth | 10.9% | 10.6% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 8.0% | 7.7% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 24.3% | 24.6% |
| Net margin | 16.9% | 14.7% |
| Free cash flow | −$1.5B | −$2.9B |
| Free cash flow margin | −6.9% | −9.9% |
| Return on capital | 6.7% | 5.8% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 5.6x | 5.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.0B | $3.0B |
| Change in diluted share count | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Last close | $129.22 | $92.57 |
| P/E at the last close | 19.1× | 23.7× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $2.2 million | sold $5.6 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 8 | 4 of 8 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
American Electric PowerSouthern
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
American Electric PowerSouthern
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
American Electric PowerSouthern
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the American Electric Power and Southern pages.