Is the business good?
How good a business is SO?
Southern Company earns 5.1% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so growth costs more than it returns.
5.1%
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 3.9 points below what the capital costs: growth destroys value
- Operating margin
- 24%
Operating margin · Utilities - Regulated Electric median 22% · 12 months to Q1 2026
- Cash conversion
- −0.82×
Cash conversion · 0.02× a year ago · some of the reported profit has not turned into cash yet
- Share count, year on year
- +2.1%
Share count, year on year · shareholders own a smaller slice than a year ago
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 24% |
| FY2021 | 16% |
| FY2022 | 18% |
| FY2023 | 23% |
| FY2024 | 26% |
| FY2025 | 25% |
Details›
- Operating margin12 months to Q1 2026
- 24%
- Net margin12 months to Q1 2026
- 14%
- Free cash flow margin
- −11%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $30.2B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- −$3.47B
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $4.24B
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 5.1%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion from the cash flow statement.
Utilities - Regulated Electric
Ranks #26 of 37 by Smart Score