AEE vs. SO: Ameren vs. Southern Company Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO) both fall under the Utilities industry group, but AEE is classified in Multi-Utilities while SO is classified in Electric Utilities.

Company profile comparison for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Profile Item	AEE	SO
Name	Ameren Corporation	The Southern Company
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry Group	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry	Multi-Utilities	Electric Utilities
GICS Sub-Industry	Multi-Utilities	Electric Utilities
Market Capitalization	31.24 billion USD	107.51 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1998	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AEE

GSPC

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
Total Return (1Y)	11.92%	6.21%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	17.94%	15.28%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	9.71%	12.24%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AEE

GSPC

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	17.76%	17.95%
Beta (5Y)	0.40	0.30
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-27.46%	-23.28%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.74M	6.19M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AEE and SO are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.43	0.11
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.62	0.16

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Ameren (AEE) at 11.78% and Southern Company (SO) at 11.90% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

AEE

Utilities industry group

11.78%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
AEE: 11.78%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

SO

Utilities industry group

11.90%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
SO: 11.90%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their ROE against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ameren (AEE) at 18.59% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Southern Company (SO) at 16.00%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AEE

Utilities industry group

18.59%

Max: 28.78%
AEE: 18.59%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

SO

Utilities industry group

16.00%

Max: 28.78%
Q3: 17.30%
SO: 16.00%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their net margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Ameren (AEE) at 31.23% and Southern Company (SO) at 36.92% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

AEE

Utilities industry group

31.23%

Max: 53.83%
AEE: 31.23%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

SO

Utilities industry group

36.92%

Max: 53.83%
SO: 36.92%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
ROE (TTM)	11.78%	11.90%
ROA (TTM)	3.12%	3.36%
Net Margin (TTM)	18.59%	16.00%
Operating Margin (TTM)	31.23%	36.92%
Gross Margin (TTM)	52.47%	48.55%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Ameren (AEE) at 15.43% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Southern Company (SO) at 10.59% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for AEE.

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Ameren (AEE) at 21.04% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Southern Company (SO) at -1.75% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for AEE.

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
Revenue Growth (YoY)	15.43%	10.59%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.41%	0.31%
EPS Growth (YoY)	21.04%	-1.75%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.92%	6.34%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Ameren (AEE) at 0.74 and Southern Company (SO) at 0.84 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

AEE

Utilities industry group

0.74

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
AEE: 0.74
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.29

SO

Utilities industry group

0.84

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
SO: 0.84
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.29

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their current ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Ameren (AEE) at 1.57 and Southern Company (SO) at 1.68 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

AEE

Utilities industry group

1.57

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
AEE: 1.57
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

SO

Utilities industry group

1.68

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
SO: 1.68
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.74	0.84
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.57	1.68
Net Debt / EBITDA	5.55	5.01

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Southern Company (SO) at 3.21% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while Ameren (AEE) at 0.63% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

AEE

Utilities industry group

0.63%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
Q1: 0.66%
AEE: 0.63%
Min: 0.00%

SO

Utilities industry group

3.21%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
SO: 3.21%
Median: 2.85%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Ameren (AEE) at 51.48% and Southern Company (SO) at 68.49% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

AEE

Utilities industry group

51.48%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
AEE: 51.48%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

SO

Utilities industry group

68.49%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
SO: 68.49%
Median: 56.38%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.63%	3.21%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	51.48%	68.49%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Ameren (AEE) at 19.63 and Southern Company (SO) at 21.08 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

AEE

Utilities industry group

19.63

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
AEE: 19.63
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

SO

Utilities industry group

21.08

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
SO: 21.08
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Southern Company (SO) at 3.45 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Ameren (AEE) at 3.63 sits in the pricier quartile — AEE costs more per dollar of sales.

AEE

Utilities industry group

3.63

Max: 6.35
AEE: 3.63
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

SO

Utilities industry group

3.45

Max: 6.35
Q3: 3.63
SO: 3.45
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Ameren (AEE) at 2.20 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Southern Company (SO) at 2.56 carries an above-peer premium to book — SO is pricier on assets.

AEE

Utilities industry group

2.20

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
AEE: 2.20
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

SO

Utilities industry group

2.56

Max: 3.12
SO: 2.56
Q3: 2.21
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

Ameren (AEE) vs. Southern Company (SO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ameren (AEE) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	AEE	SO
P/E Ratio (TTM)	19.63	21.08
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.63	3.45
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.20	2.56
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-8.06%	-4.73%