At a glance
Southern Company is worth $108.84B, about 24 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 10.6% to $29.55B in fiscal 2025, with 14.7% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 7.7% a year. It pays a 4.53% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $14.69B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +5.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +13.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 38.1% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 23.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 17 months and 19 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Southern Company is a holding company, meaning it owns other companies that do the actual work. Its core businesses are three regulated electric utilities: Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Each is "vertically integrated," owning the power plants, transmission lines and local wires that serve homes and businesses in its state, and also supplies wholesale customers in the Southeast. State regulators approve their retail rates, designed to cover costs plus a reasonable return on investment. Another unit, Southern Nuclear, runs the Farley, Hatch and Vogtle nuclear plants.
Southern Company Gas distributes natural gas through local utilities in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee. Southern Power owns power plants, including battery storage, and supplies electricity to other utilities, cooperatives, cities and large businesses, often under long-term contracts called power purchase agreements. Its fleet, partly owned with partners, totaled 12,648 megawatts of capacity at December 31, 2025. Smaller units include PowerSecure, which builds microgrids, and Southern Linc, a wireless communications provider.
Of $29.6 billion in 2025 revenue, commercial customers provided about 24%, natural gas distribution about 15% and industrial customers about 14%. The utilities expect demand to rise sharply, largely because of data centers. Since 2023, they have signed contracts with data centers and other large users covering about 9 gigawatts of demand, with service starting through 2028.
Price history
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SO +5.3% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Commercial | $7.00B | 23.7% |
| Natural gas distribution revenues | $4.45B | 15.1% |
| Industrial | $4.04B | 13.7% |
| Wholesale electric revenues | $2.94B | 10% |
| Wholesale electric revenues | $2.37B | 8% |
| Residential | $2.16B | 7.3% |
| Other revenues | $1.78B | 6% |
| PPA energy revenues | $1.43B | 4.8% |
| Transportation | $1.42B | 4.8% |
| Other revenues | $1.28B | 4.3% |
| PPA capacity revenues | $637.0M | 2.2% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $6.98B, up 0.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $1.17B (+33.4%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $29.55B (+10.6% year over year; +7.7% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 14.7% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +7.7% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 24.7% good |
| Free cash flow margin | -9.9% weak |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 12.1% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 2.8% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-72.60B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $20.38B | $3.12B | $-826.0M |
| FY2021 | $23.11B | $2.39B | $-1.42B |
| FY2022 | $29.28B | $3.52B | $-1.62B |
| FY2023 | $25.25B | $3.98B | $-1.54B |
| FY2024 | $26.72B | $4.40B | $833.0M |
| FY2025 | $29.55B | $4.34B | $-2.94B |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $108.84B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 24.1 |
| Dividend yield | 4.53% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Southern’s market value went from $48.21B at the end of 2016 to $108.84B on Nov 2, 2026, about 2.3 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 13%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2026 | $108.84B | +13.4% |
| 2025 | $96.02B | +6.5% |
| 2024 | $90.20B | +17.9% |
| 2023 | $76.47B | -1.6% |
| 2022 | $77.74B | +7.0% |
| 2021 | $72.68B | +12.0% |
| 2020 | $64.88B | -2.9% |
| 2019 | $66.80B | +47.8% |
| 2018 | $45.19B | -6.4% |
| 2017 | $48.26B | +0.1% |
| 2016 | $48.21B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SO price data to Nov 2, 2026 | +12.7% | +5.3% | +14.9% | +13.0% | +11.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +12.7% |
| 2025 | +9.4% |
| 2024 | +21.7% |
| 2023 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | +8.2% |
| 2021 | +16.4% |
| 2020 | +0.7% |
| 2019 | +51.6% |
| 2018 | -3.8% |
| 2017 | +2.4% |
| 2016 | +9.9% |
| 2015 | -0.1% |
| 2014 | +25.3% |
| 2013 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | -3.5% |
| 2011 | +26.9% |
| 2010 | +20.8% |
| 2009 | -4.9% |
| 2008 | -0.0% |
| 2007 | +9.9% |
| 2006 | +11.7% |
| 2005 | +7.6% |
| 2004 | +16.2% |
| 2003 | +11.8% |
| 2002 | +17.6% |
| 2001 | +31.4% |
| 2000 | +45.9% |
| 1999 | -16.6% |
| 1998 | +15.9% |
| 1997 | +18.6% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 22.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30.4%, back to its old high 16.6 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 37% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 38.1%, back to its old high 16.7 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 7.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 23.3%, back to its old high 18.7 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-27 to 2026-10-27 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 7 sales ($852K), 6 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 2026 | Peter P III Sena Chairman,President & CEO, SNC | sell (plan) | $378K |
| Aug 6, 2026 | Sterling A Jr. Spainhour EVP & CLO | sell (plan) | $313K |
| Sep 3, 2026 | Matthew M. Kim Comptroller | sell | $124K |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Matthew M. Kim Comptroller | sell (plan) | $10K |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Matthew M. Kim Comptroller | sell (plan) | $9K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Capital Management | 7.42% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Capital World Investors | 5.6% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 3.7% | Feb 27, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in SO
| XLU Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund | 8.23% |
| FUTY Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF | 7.65% |
| VPU Vanguard Utilities ETF | 7.41% |
| ELCV Eventide High Dividend ETF | 7.29% |
| IDU iShares U.S. Utilities ETF | 7.25% |
| JXI iShares Global Utilities ETF | 5.54% |
| ZAP Global X U.S. Electrification ETF | 4.17% |
| PUI Invesco Dorsey Wright Utilities Momentum ETF | 4.17% |
What could go wrong
- Big construction program may cost more. Georgia Power has $19.5 billion of approved new generation and battery projects due through 2030. Inflation, tariffs, supply problems or delays could raise costs, and regulators may not allow full recovery.
- Data center demand may fall short. The utilities are adding plants and lines to serve about 9 gigawatts of contracted data center and large-customer demand. If those customers use less or leave, costs could outrun revenue despite minimum-bill protections.
- Nuclear plants carry special risks. Alabama Power and Georgia Power own nuclear units at Plants Farley, Hatch and Vogtle. Safety problems, natural disasters, cyber intrusions or physical attacks could bring fines or closures, and losses could exceed insurance coverage.
- Regulators control prices and cost recovery. Most profit depends on state regulators approving rates that cover costs plus a return. As costs rise, regulators may push back over affordability or order refunds. Georgia Power's base rates are largely fixed through 2028.
- Heavy debt and reliance on borrowing. Total debt was about $75.6 billion as of June 30, 2026, and the company relies on new borrowing. Higher interest rates or a credit downgrade could raise its costs or force it to post collateral.
- Clean-energy tax credits could shrink. A tax law signed July 4, 2025, changed most federal renewable energy incentives. Losing or shrinking those credits, including the ability to transfer them for cash, could reduce demand for renewable projects and hurt results.
Recent events
- Bylaws or fiscal year changed; Other company announcement
- New debt or financial obligation; Unregistered sale of shares
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Southern Company has raised its dividend at least nine years in a row through 2025, and the streak may be longer. Dividends per share grew from $2.54 in 2020 to $2.94 in 2025, about 3% a year, and the yield was 4.69% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends took about 70% of 2025 earnings. Free cash flow (cash from operations minus spending on plants and equipment) was negative every year from 2020 to 2025 except 2024, so borrowing and new shares help fund construction and dividends. It bought back no shares from 2021 to 2025, and its share count rose 8.5% from September 2021 to June 2026.
The shares have fallen in downturns: 30.4% in the 2008 financial crisis, 38.1% in the 2020 COVID crash and 23.3% in the 2022 market slump. Recoveries to prior highs took about 17 to 19 months. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund holding many companies.
Questions investors ask
How does Southern Company make money?
Mostly by supplying electricity, much of it at rates approved by state regulators. Its three electric utilities, Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, generate and deliver power to homes and businesses and also serve wholesale customers. Southern Company Gas distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee, and Southern Power supplies electricity to other utilities and large buyers, often under long-term contracts. Revenue was $29.6 billion in 2025, up 10.6%, and net income was $4.3 billion.
Does Southern Company raise its dividend every year?
Yes. Southern Company's SEC filings show at least nine annual dividend increases in a row through 2025, and the true streak may be longer. The raises have been modest: dividends per share went from $2.54 in 2020 to $2.94 in 2025, about 3% a year. The yield, or yearly dividends as a share of the stock price, was 4.69% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends took about 70% of 2025 earnings. Future increases are up to the board and are not guaranteed.
How has Southern Company stock performed?
Over the 10 years to October 28, 2026, the stock returned about 10.7% a year based on share prices, or 176% in total. The 5-year figure was 12.1% a year, and the 1-year figure was 2%. From 2016 to 2025, calendar-year returns ranged from a 3.75% loss in 2018 to a 51.62% gain in 2019. Its deepest decline in 30 years of price history was 38.4%. Past returns do not predict future results.
How are data centers affecting Southern Company?
They are the main driver of a large expected rise in electricity demand. Since 2023, Southern's electric utilities have signed contracts with data centers and other large users covering about 9 gigawatts of demand, each above 100 megawatts, with service starting through 2028. Georgia regulators have certified about 13 gigawatts of resources, including about 9 gigawatts of new plants and batteries Georgia Power is building at a certified cost of $19.5 billion. Contracts include minimum bills and termination payments, but demand could still fall short of plans.
How much debt does Southern Company have?
Total debt was about $75.6 billion as of June 30, 2026, against about $3.0 billion of cash and investments and $42.3 billion of shareholders' equity. Heavy borrowing is common for utilities, which build costly plants and power lines. Free cash flow was negative $2.9 billion in 2025, so the company relies on raising new money. Higher interest rates or a credit-rating downgrade could raise its borrowing costs and might require it to post collateral.