SO · rate-regulated utility · book-value and yield view
The Southern Company (SO): Valuation Snapshot
The Southern Company (SO) is a rate-regulated utility, and a discounted-cash-flow model is the wrong lens for one, so TickerWorth does not publish a DCF fair value for it. What its filings and market data do show is below. Snapshot as of Oct 19, 2026.
Model by Miraaj Patel · generated from public market data · Updated Oct 19, 2026 · How these pages are made
Why is there no fair value for SO?
This is a rate-regulated utility. Its returns are set by a regulator on an approved rate base rather than won in a market, so a free-cash-flow DCF is the wrong lens — heavy ongoing capex is the business model, not a cash-flow problem. We show the regulated-asset lenses — book value, earnings and dividend — instead.
What is SO's TickerWorth Score?
Middle of the pack — real strengths and real weaknesses
Compared with Utilities companies in US
Its strongest point: a profitable, high-quality business. Its weakest: trades above our estimate of what it's worth.
- Value · 40 of 100
Cheaper than 40% of Utilities companies in US
- Price vs worth · 21 of 100
- Quality · 73 of 100
More profitable than 73% of Utilities companies in US
- Financial health · 55 of 100
Financially stronger than 55% of Utilities companies in US
- Growth · 51 of 100
Growing faster than 51% of Utilities companies in US
- Momentum · 56 of 100
Outperformed 56% of Utilities companies in US over the past year
Confidence: High confidence · Scored
Get the Undervalued Company of the Week.
- Price
- $91.18
- Market cap
- $104,
890, 097, 664 - 52-week high
- $99.58
- 52-week low
- $81.69
- Currency
- USD
- Exchange
- NYSE
Snapshot of Oct 19, 2026, quote time not published · Prices are delayed.
What we can say
The Southern Company (SO) is a rate-regulated utility, and a free-cash-flow discounted-cash-flow (DCF) model is structurally the wrong lens for one. Its returns are not won in a market — a regulator sets them on an approved rate base — and the heavy, permanent capital spending that depresses its free cash flow is the business model rather than a problem with it. We have the data to print a DCF number for SO; we don't publish one because the model's assumptions don't describe how this company actually earns. What follows is the lenses that do — descriptive, not a valuation, and not investment advice.
Read the full reasoning
On the numbers we do have, SO trades at a recent price of $91.18, a market capitalisation of about $104,890,097,664, sitting 53% of the way up its 52-week range ($81.69–$99.58), on the NYSE.
The standard alternative to a DCF is relative valuation — comparing SO's trading multiples against a sector benchmark. Here that gives P/E of 22.0× (in line with the peer median of 20.1×); Fwd P/E of 18.5× (in line with the peer median of 17.6×); P/B of 2.7× (richer than the peer median of 2.1×); P/S of 3.5× (richer than the peer median of 3.1×); EV/EBITDA of 12.7× (in line with the peer median of 13.7×); Dividend yield of 3.3% (in line with the peer median of 3.3%). A cheaper multiple than peers can flag a discount or a market that expects weaker growth; it is a comparison, not a recommendation.
The asset, or book-value, lens is the classic tool for asset-heavy businesses and financials. SO shows a price-to-book (P/B) of 2.65 and book value of $34.40 per share. Price-to-book compares the market price to the accounting net-asset value per share; below 1.0 can mean a discount to net assets or that the market is pricing in trouble — descriptive either way, never a buy signal on its own.
Finally, a price-based read — explicitly not a valuation. SO is in a mixed trend, trading -8.4% from its 52-week high. Over the past year the stock is -6.7%. Moving-average trend and 52-week position describe where the stock has traded; they say nothing about what it is worth.
To be exact about what this page is not: we are not saying the numbers for SO are unavailable. They are, and they are above. We are saying a discounted-cash-flow model is the wrong instrument for this kind of business, and publishing one anyway — because the inputs happen to exist — would be a precise answer to the wrong question. Refusing is the more useful answer, and it is the same rule we apply to every name in this category.
SO vs peers
Sector benchmark (bellwethers, not direct competitors).
| Multiple | SO | Peer median | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 22.0× | 20.1× | in line with |
| Fwd P/E | 18.5× | 17.6× | in line with |
| P/B | 2.7× | 2.1× | richer than |
| P/S | 3.5× | 3.1× | richer than |
| EV/EBITDA | 12.7× | 13.7× | in line with |
| Dividend yield | 3.3% | 3.3% | in line with |
What does The Southern Company do?
What does it do?
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the sale of electricity. The company offers electric service to retail customers and wholesale customers; and energy-related products and services to natural gas choice markets. It operates in the Utilities - Regulated Electric industry (Utilities sector), headquartered in United States. The company employs roughly 29,502 people.
How does it make money?
The business turns $29.6B in annual revenue into profit. Out of every $100 of sales, about $30 is left as operating profit (operating margin of 29.6%), after a 48% gross margin on the products/services it sells. After all costs, taxes and interest, 15.4% of revenue becomes bottom-line net profit.
Is it financially healthy?
Financially it looks stretched: carries moderate debt (1.8× equity), may struggle to cover its short-term bills (0.8× current ratio), and is currently profitable.
Who at SO filed insider trades?
| Date | Insider | Relationship | What happened | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kim Matthew M. | Comptroller | Open-market sale | $8,273.00 | Form 4 for Kim Matthew M. (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| Sena Peter P III | Chairman,President & CEO, SNC | Open-market sale | $377,924.94 | Form 4 for Sena Peter P III (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| Kim Matthew M. | Comptroller | Open-market sale | $124,418.00 | Form 4 for Kim Matthew M. (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| Kim Matthew M. | Comptroller | Open-market sale | $8,845.00 | Form 4 for Kim Matthew M. (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| Spainhour Sterling A Jr. | EVP & CLO | Open-market sale | $313,368.66 | Form 4 for Spainhour Sterling A Jr. (opens sec.gov in a new tab) | |
| Kim Matthew M. | Comptroller | Open-market sale | $9,428.00 | Form 4 for Kim Matthew M. (opens sec.gov in a new tab) |
A disclosure, not a signal to trade. Source: SEC EDGAR (Form 4). Older filings and the 90-day buying-and-selling read are part of Pro. See plans
Companies we do put a number on
Not investment advice. TickerWorth Score is a model output.
A descriptive, available-data snapshot and relative comparison — NOT a DCF, NOT a price target, and NOT investment advice. TickerWorth is not a licensed investment adviser, and these figures are estimates from public market data that can be wrong, stale or incomplete.