SO
The Southern Company
SO's fundamentals are mixed: revenue grew 7.9%, but free cash flow was negative. At 21x earnings, it's trading right at its usual valuation. Analysts expect earnings growth, though they disagree widely on how much.
SO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak | |
| Weak |
SO's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its cash flow and balance sheet are weak.
SO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 19x | $84.47 | -8.6% |
| Forward | 19x | $92.47 | — |
| Current | 21x | $92.47 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $94.68 | +2.4% |
| Expensive | 25x | $107 | +16% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SO's PE is in its fair range at 21x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
SO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for SO, but weaker profitability. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
SO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.76 | +9% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.37 | +8.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.15 | +7.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.91 | -6.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.92 | -1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.02 | -6.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.87 | -7.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.17 | +8% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.99 | +10% |
SO earned $4.37 per share over the past year, up 8.7% from the year before.
SO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $8.8B | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $7B | +0.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.4B | +8% |
| Q4 2025 | $7B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.8B | +7.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $7B | +7.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.3B | +4.9% |
SO's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $8.8B last quarter, up 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 34% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 25% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 13% | -3.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 25% | -4.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 26% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | -3.3 points |
SO's operating margin was 34% last quarter, up 0.8 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
SO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $39M | -93% |
| Q2 2026 | -$641M | -$22M |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.7B | -$531M |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.7B | -$1.1B |
| Q3 2025 | $559M | -57% |
| Q2 2025 | -$619M | -210% |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.2B | -$728M |
| Q4 2024 | -$576M | +$145M |
SO has burned cash in most quarters: −$4B over the past year, against −$1.8B the year before.
SO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.7% | +19M shares |
| 1 year | +4.5% | +50M shares |
| 3 years | +5.6% | +61M shares |
| 5 years | +8.6% | +92M shares |
| Available history | +10% | +106M shares |
SO has 1.2B diluted shares, up 4.5% from a year ago.
SO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.1x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 5.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 5.5x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 5.3x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 5.2x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 5.3x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 5.2x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 5.2x | High |
SO's net debt is about 5.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
SO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 74.3 | Neutral |
SO's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 74 (neutral).
SO PE vs Utilities Sector
| Metric | SO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 20x | 3.7% above |
| PE % | 40 | 44 | 4 pts below |
SO is trading at 21x earnings, in line with the Utilities sector's median of 20x.
SO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $89.4 | 3.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $91.0 | 1.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $91.8 | 0.7% above |
| 100 week MA | $91.1 | 1.5% above |
| 200 week MA | $82.7 | 12% above |
SO is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 12% above its 200-week average.
SO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $63.5 | $59.8 | -5.8% |
| 2021 | $59.8 | $66.5 | +11% |
| 2022 | $66.5 | $71.7 | +7.8% |
| 2023 | $71.7 | $70.1 | -2.3% |
| 2024 | $70.1 | $83.1 | +19% |
| 2025 | $83.1 | $87.2 | +4.8% |
| 2026 YTD | $87.2 | $92.5 | +6.1% |
SO has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 6.1% so far in 2026.