The Southern Company
- Open
- 87.92
- Day high
- 88.21
- Day low
- 87.20
- Prev close
- 88.25
- Volume
- 6.6M
- Mkt cap
- $101.2B
- P/E (TTM)
- 21.1
- EPS (TTM)
- $4.17
- P/B
- 2.6
- P/S
- 3.4
- Yield
- 2.57%
- Per share
- $2.26
- ▼Insiders net selling -$341K over the last 3 months (0 open-market buys, 4 sales)
- 🏛Institutions accumulating (13F)
The Southern Company (SO) is a Utilities company listed on NYSE. The stock is down 4% over the past year. Over the trailing 3 months, insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 4 sales (SEC Form 4). Drillr has 2 published research articles covering SO.
The Southern Company (SO) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 6 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
SO earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2026 | $1.01 | $1.13 | +12.0% | $7.0B | -3.7% |
| Apr 30, 2026 | $1.21 | $1.32 | +8.9% | $8.4B | +3.7% |
| Feb 19, 2026 | $0.56 | $0.55 | -1.3% | $7.0B | +13.7% |
| Oct 30, 2025 | $1.51 | $1.60 | +6.1% | $7.8B | +2.5% |
| Jul 31, 2025 | $0.88 | $0.91 | +3.2% | $7.0B | +9.0% |
| May 1, 2025 | $1.20 | $1.23 | +2.6% | $7.8B | +8.8% |
| Feb 20, 2025 | $0.51 | $0.50 | -2.3% | $6.3B | +7.3% |
| Oct 31, 2024 | $1.35 | $1.43 | +5.8% | $7.3B | +2.2% |
| Aug 1, 2024 | $0.92 | $1.10 | +19.7% | $6.5B | +6.9% |
| May 2, 2024 | $0.91 | $1.03 | +13.4% | $6.6B | +1.6% |
| Feb 15, 2024 | $0.59 | $0.64 | +7.9% | $6.0B | -12.2% |
| Nov 2, 2023 | $1.32 | $1.42 | +7.9% | $7.0B | -16.5% |
SO insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 2026 | Spainhour Sterling A Jr.officer: EVP & CLO | Sell | 3,333 | $94.02 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Kim Matthew M.officer: Comptroller | Sell | 100 | $94.28 |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Kim Matthew M.officer: Comptroller | Sell | 100 | $95.77 |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Thomas Lizannedirector | Grant | 473 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | JOHNS JOHN Ddirector | Grant | 473 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Etheredge James Odirector | Grant | 473 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Akella Janakidirector | Grant | 473 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | EARLEY ANTHONY F JRdirector | Grant | 230 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Turner John M JRdirector | Grant | 802 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | SMITH WILLIAM G JRdirector | Grant | 867 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Svinicki Kristine Ldirector | Grant | 473 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | MEADOR DAVID Edirector | Grant | 802 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | EARLEY ANTHONY F JRdirector | Grant | 473 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | GRAIN DAVID Jdirector | Grant | 854 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Cooper Shantella E.director | Grant | 473 | — |
Source: SO SEC Form 4 filings, latest Aug 7, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full SO insider & 13F page →SO research & analysis
Goldman Sachs Natural Gas Warning: EQT Up 73%, But SO Faces Margin Squeeze
Goldman Sachs' supply crunch warning spotlights natgas winners like EQT and COP for production gains, midstream KMI/WMB for volumes, versus utility loser SO facing fuel cost pain. Backed by FY2025 financials showing EQT's 73% revenue surge and strong FCF across winners.
CVXCOPEQTCan Century's Mt. Holly restart reach full capacity on schedule given US power cost volatility?
Century Aluminum's Mt. Holly restart to full 230,000-tonne capacity targets end of June 2026, backed by an extended Santee Cooper power contract through 2031 at cost-of-service rates that insulates against the worst of US power volatility. With $135.6M in cash and Q1 FY2026 EBITDA guided at $215–235M, the $50M project appears well-funded, though operational execution and aluminum price risk remain the key variables to watch.
CENXDUK
The Southern Company company profile
Overview
The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, serving approximately 8.7 million electric and gas customers across the Southeast. Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become a dominant regional utility provider. Southern Company operates through regulated electric and gas utilities in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and the Carolinas, while also maintaining wholesale power generation assets and natural gas pipeline operations. The company has been at the forefront of nuclear power development, recently completing the first new nuclear units built in the United States in over 30 years with its Vogtle Units 3 and 4 project.
Business
The Southern Company operates as a regulated electric utility serving the southeastern United States, with additional natural gas distribution and wholesale power generation businesses. The utility industry is characterized by government regulation of rates and service territories, providing stable but regulated returns on invested capital. The company's business is organized into several key segments: 1. **Electric Utilities (Primary Business - approximately 85-90% of revenue)**: Southern Company's regulated electric utilities generate, transmit, and distribute electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company operates an extensive generation fleet including 30 hydroelectric stations, 24 fossil fuel plants, 3 nuclear stations, 13 combined cycle facilities, 45 solar installations, 15 wind facilities, and battery storage systems. These utilities serve defined geographic territories under state regulatory oversight, with rates set by public service commissions. 2. **Gas Distribution Operations (approximately 5-8% of revenue)**: The company distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee through local distribution networks. This involves purchasing natural gas from suppliers and delivering it through pipeline systems to end customers. 3. **Gas Pipeline and Wholesale Services (approximately 3-5% of revenue)**: Southern Company owns and operates 76,289 miles of natural gas pipelines and 14 storage facilities with 157 billion cubic feet of capacity. These assets transport and store natural gas for wholesale customers and support the company's gas distribution operations. 4. **Wholesale Power Generation (approximately 2-3% of revenue)**: Through Southern Power, the company develops, owns, and operates power generation facilities that sell electricity in wholesale markets to utilities, municipalities, and other power purchasers under long-term contracts. The company also provides digital wireless communications and fiber optic services as ancillary businesses. Southern Company's service territory covers much of the southeastern United States, a region experiencing significant economic growth and population expansion.
Revenue model
Southern Company generates revenue primarily through regulated utility rate structures approved by state public service commissions. For its electric utilities, the company earns returns on invested capital through rate base mechanisms, where regulators allow recovery of prudently incurred costs plus a reasonable return on equity (typically 9-11%). Customers pay monthly bills based on kilowatt-hour consumption and demand charges, with rates varying by customer class (residential, commercial, industrial). The company's revenue streams include: 1. **Electric Service Revenue**: Monthly customer bills for electricity consumption, comprising base rates for generation, transmission, and distribution services, plus various regulatory cost recovery mechanisms for fuel, environmental compliance, and infrastructure investments. 2. **Natural Gas Distribution Revenue**: Monthly bills for gas consumption and distribution services, regulated similarly to electric operations with cost-of-service rate structures. 3. **Wholesale Power Sales**: Long-term contracts with utilities and other buyers for electricity from Southern Power's generation fleet, typically structured as power purchase agreements with fixed capacity payments and variable energy payments. 4. **Pipeline and Storage Services**: Transportation and storage fees from natural gas pipeline operations, including both regulated and market-based rate structures. Factors that increase profitability include load growth from economic development (particularly data centers, which have driven significant recent growth), regulatory approval for infrastructure investments that expand rate base, favorable weather increasing electricity demand, and efficient operations that keep costs below regulatory benchmarks. Conversely, factors that pressure margins include rising interest rates increasing financing costs for capital-intensive operations, environmental regulations requiring costly compliance investments, fuel price volatility (though largely passed through to customers), and economic downturns reducing industrial and commercial demand. The company's regulated utility model provides relatively stable cash flows but limits pricing flexibility compared to competitive markets.
Competitive moat
Southern Company possesses a strong regulatory moat through its monopoly electric and gas utility franchises in the southeastern United States. The company operates under state-granted exclusive service territories, meaning customers cannot choose alternative providers for basic electric and gas distribution services. This creates a natural monopoly due to the enormous capital requirements and impracticality of duplicating transmission and distribution infrastructure. The moat is reinforced by several factors: regulatory barriers to entry make it virtually impossible for competitors to obtain competing franchises; massive sunk costs in generation, transmission, and distribution assets create high switching costs; essential service provision means demand is relatively inelastic; and established regulatory relationships with state commissions provide predictable, if regulated, returns on investment. However, the moat faces some erosion from distributed energy resources like rooftop solar and battery storage, which allow customers to reduce grid dependence; regulatory pressure for lower rates and faster clean energy transitions; and potential federal energy policy changes that could alter the competitive landscape. The wholesale power generation business (Southern Power) operates in competitive markets with weaker moats, facing direct competition from other generators and exposure to commodity price volatility. The company's moat remains formidable in its core regulated utility operations, particularly given the Southeast's continued economic growth and increasing electricity demand from data centers and industrial development. The completion of new nuclear capacity at Vogtle also provides a significant competitive advantage in clean baseload generation. Overall, Southern Company maintains a strong defensive position with predictable cash flows, though returns are limited by regulatory oversight.
Risks & safety
Southern Company presents a **moderate margin of safety** with stable cash flows but high leverage typical of regulated utilities. **Financial Strength:** - Debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07x reflects high but industry-typical leverage - Current ratio of 0.86x indicates tight short-term liquidity - Strong operating cash flow of $9.8 billion annually provides debt service coverage - Free cash flow of $833 million in 2024, though historically negative due to heavy capital investment **Valuation Metrics:** - P/E ratio of 20.5x appears reasonable for a regulated utility - EV/EBITDA of 11.9x in line with utility sector averages - Price-to-book ratio of 2.7x reflects premium to tangible assets - Dividend yield around 3.2% with 24 consecutive years of increases **Other Considerations:** - Regulated utility model provides predictable cash flows and rate recovery mechanisms - Significant capital investment requirements ($63 billion over 5 years) create financing needs - Strong credit ratings (investment grade) support access to capital markets - Growing data center and industrial load provides earnings growth potential - Interest rate sensitivity given capital-intensive business model
Recent development
Southern Company has undergone significant strategic transformation over the past few years, centered around completing the Vogtle nuclear project and positioning for unprecedented load growth in the Southeast. The company successfully brought Vogtle Units 3 and 4 online in 2023-2024, representing the first new nuclear units in the United States in over 30 years and adding substantial clean baseload generation capacity. The most significant recent development is the company's response to explosive data center demand, with the economic development pipeline growing from approximately 30 gigawatts of potential load in 2023 to over 50 gigawatts by 2024, with data centers representing about 80% of this demand. The company has committed to over 10 gigawatts of new load and is in advanced discussions for additional capacity. This has prompted a substantial increase in capital investment plans, from $43 billion over five years in 2022 to $63 billion currently, with potential for an additional $10-15 billion depending on regulatory approvals. Resource planning and generation expansion has become a critical focus, with Georgia Power filing integrated resource plans calling for 13 gigawatts of new energy resources through competitive RFPs. The company is evaluating all generation technologies, including natural gas, renewables, and potential nuclear expansion, while also exploring federal loan programs that could provide $15-20 billion in financing for clean energy investments. Southern Company has also enhanced its financial flexibility through strategic financing activities, including issuing $2.2 billion in long-term debt, $2.4 billion in junior subordinated notes, and establishing forward equity contracts. The company has signaled potential for accelerated earnings growth, with management indicating they may rebase their long-term growth trajectory as early as 2027 to reflect the substantial load growth opportunities.
SO company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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