Sector · Electric Services

What electric utilities are worth

15 listed electric utilities, compared on the measures that survive a look at the balance sheet. Every figure is built from filed accounts.

01

Where the sector trades

The median electric utilitie trades on 13.9× EBITDA, across the 15 of 15 companies where EBITDA could be computed from filings. Median operating margin is 22.6%.

Median valuation measures for Electric utilities
MeasureSector medianCompanies measured
EV / EBITDA*13.9×15 of 15
EV / Sales*4.9×15 of 15
Net debt / EBITDA5.6×15 of 15
Return on capital6.1%15 of 15
Operating margin22.6%15 of 15
Free cash flow margin−3.7%13 of 15
02

All electric utilities we cover

15 electric utilities compared on valuation measures
CompanyEV / EBITDAEV / SalesOperating marginFree cash flow marginReturn on capital
AEPAMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC13.9×5.5×24.5%16.1%6.3%
CEGConstellation Energy Corp21.7×5.4×13.6%5.7%6.0%
CNPCENTERPOINT ENERGY INC13.9×5.4×22.6%−25.5%5.8%
DDOMINION ENERGY, INC15.7×6.5×26.7%2.3%5.7%
DTEDTE ENERGY CO13.1×4.4×18.8%—6.1%
EIXEDISON INTERNATIONAL6.4×3.4×36.7%−3.7%11.7%
ESEVERSOURCE ENERGY10.0×4.0×22.1%−0.3%6.6%
ETRENTERGY CORP /DE/14.6×6.2×24.7%−19.6%6.2%
FEFIRSTENERGY CORP13.9×3.6×14.6%−6.7%5.6%
NEENEXTERA ENERGY INC18.2×10.5×32.1%—5.4%
NRGNRG ENERGY, INC.14.8×1.6×6.1%2.5%6.5%
PNWPINNACLE WEST CAPITAL CORP11.0×4.2×20.0%−15.3%6.1%
PPLPPL Corp13.1×4.9×23.2%−15.3%6.1%
SOSOUTHERN CO12.9×5.8×24.7%−9.9%6.5%
VSTVistra Corp.17.8×4.0×10.8%7.5%7.6%

* EV/EBITDA and EV/Sales move with share prices; these are a snapshot taken 2026-09-09. Margins and return on capital come from filed accounts and hold until the next reporting season. A dash means the measure could not be computed — most often because EBITDA was negative, or because enterprise value is not a meaningful concept for the company. Each company page says which.

03

Head to head

33 pairs from this sector compared side by side, with the sector median beside them.

CEG vs NEENEE vs SOAEP vs NEED vs NEECEG vs SOAEP vs CEGCEG vs DAEP vs SOD vs SOAEP vs DAEP vs VSTD vs VSTD vs ETRETR vs VSTDTE vs VSTDTE vs ETRETR vs FEDTE vs FEDTE vs ESES vs FEFE vs PPLES vs PPLCNP vs ESCNP vs PPLNRG vs PPLCNP vs NRGCNP vs EIXEIX vs NRGNRG vs PNWEIX vs PNWEIX vs PPLCNP vs PNWPNW vs PPL
04

How to read these

EV/EBITDA compares the whole cost of the business — equity plus debt, less cash — to its operating cash earnings. It is the multiple an acquirer thinks in, and unlike a P/E it is not distorted by how much debt a company carries.

Operating and free cash flow margins need no share price at all, so they are the fairest way to compare companies within a sector on the same day. A wide gap between the two usually means heavy capital spending.

Return on capital is operating income over debt plus equity. It says how much the business earns on the money tied up in it, which is a different question from whether the shares are cheap.

None of these is a recommendation, and a low multiple is not the same thing as a bargain — see the disclaimer. The company pages show the arithmetic and link to the filing behind every term.