Fundamental analysis · SEC EDGAR · TTM through 31/03/2026
SO · NYSE · Utilities
Fundamental quality
53
out of 100
Southern Co earns a fundamental-quality score of 53 out of 100, profiling it as a company with demanding fundamentals. Its score rests mainly on its profitability (net margin 14.5%). Its weakest area is its financial strength (net debt 5.03× EBITDA). Whether it's cheap or expensive depends on the current price, which you can compute in the tool.
Southern Company is the big utility of the U.S. South (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi). It operates under state regulation and made news building the first new U.S. nuclear reactors in decades (Vogtle) — hugely expensive, but now running.
EPS growth: 5.7% · Revenue growth: 7.8%
Net margin: 14.5% · ROE: 10.9% · ROIC: 5.7%
Net debt/EBITDA: 5.03x · FCF: -11.5%
Source: SEC EDGAR · TTM through 31/03/2026
The score includes +4 for dividend strength: 18 consecutive years of increases. Keeping that streak demands growing cash generation and balance-sheet discipline.
The score combines growth, profitability and financial strength. Here its profitability weighs in its favor, while its financial strength drags it down the most.
Percentile against the other 24 Utilities companies in our coverage: how far it beats them on each metric (100 = best in sector).
Computed from the daily dataset scores. A high percentile places the company among the best in its sector on that metric; it is not a buy recommendation.
Key concepts
What do these metrics mean? Fundamental analysis · What is the P/E · What is EPS · What is ROE · Net & gross margin · Free cash flow
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow | Net debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 20,375 | 3,103 | -826 | 44,617 |
| 2021 | 23,113 | 2,309 | -1,417 | 49,762 |
| 2022 | 29,279 | 3,428 | -1,621 | 51,348 |
| 2023 | 25,253 | 3,976 | -1,542 | 58,776 |
| 2024 | 26,724 | 4,401 | 833 | 59,036 |
| 2025 | 29,553 | 4,341 | -2,935 | 64,732 |
Between 2020 and 2025, revenue went from $20,375M to $29,553M (+45%) and net income went from $3,103M to $4,341M (+40%).
Annual figures in millions of U.S. dollars ($M) per SEC filings. Net debt is total debt minus cash.
Latest results
Figures for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, versus the quarter ended March 31, 2025 (SEC filings):
Automatic comparison between the two most recent periods filed with the SEC. One quarter doesn't make a trend: read it alongside the historical evolution above.
$2.94
per share, yearly
69.5% of earnings
Payout
at least 18 straight years raising it
Growth
That is what we can verify in the SEC filings, whose structured data only starts in 2008 and which many companies begin tagging later. The real streak may be considerably longer.
The dividend yield depends on today's price. Compute it in the analyzer → · See all dividend-paying stocks →
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Is Southern Co cheap or expensive?
That depends on the current price. Look it up, enter it in the tool and get the full valuation verdict (P/E against its sector).
Compute the valuation →Is Southern Co a good company to invest in?
In terms of business quality, Southern Co scores 53 out of 100 in our analysis, placing it as a company with demanding fundamentals. That said, this isn't a recommendation: whether it's a good investment also depends on its current price and your goals.
Is Southern Co a profitable company?
Yes. Southern Co shows a net margin of 14.5% and an ROE of 10.9%, a sign of a profitable business.
Does Southern Co have a lot of debt?
Yes, its leverage is high: net debt is 5.03 times its EBITDA, and it has been rising.
Is Southern Co growing?
Its revenue has grown 7.8% annualized in recent years and its earnings per share 5.7%.
Does Southern Co generate cash?
Over the last twelve months its free cash flow was negative.
The thresholds are general and the system doesn't judge qualitative factors. See the full methodology and use this analysis as a first filter, never as a final decision.
More Utilities companies
Vistra (VST) · NRG Energy (NRG) · PG & E (PCG) · Wesco International (WCC) · Edison International (EIX) · Emcor Group (EME) · see more →
Who's behind the methodology and model · how the score is computed
Data: see Southern Co's filings on EDGAR
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