AES vs. SBS: AES vs. Sabesp Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS) 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

AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS) both fall under the Utilities industry group, but AES is classified in Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers while SBS is classified in Water Utilities.

AES (AES) trades as ordinary local shares, while Sabesp (SBS) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Profile Item	AES	SBS
Name	The AES Corporation	Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP ADR
Country/Region	United States	Brazil
GICS Sector	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry Group	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry	Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers	Water Utilities
GICS Sub-Industry	Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders	Water Utilities
Market Capitalization	10.61 billion USD	16.96 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 26, 1991	May 10, 2002
Security Type	Common Stock	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AES

SBS

GSPC

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS), 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 AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
Total Return (1Y)	10.79%	-3.72%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	3.44%	28.33%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-5.12%	32.85%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AES

SBS

GSPC

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS), 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 AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.19%	46.80%
Beta (5Y)	0.93	0.76
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-63.43%	-37.59%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.50M	11.85M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AES and SBS 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 AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.26	-0.17
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.33	-0.22

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Sabesp (SBS) at 16.27% sits in the top ROE quartile, while AES (AES) at 8.68% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for SBS.

AES

Utilities industry group

8.68%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
Median: 9.44%
AES: 8.68%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

SBS

Utilities industry group

16.27%

Max: 17.99%
SBS: 16.27%
Q3: 12.01%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their ROE against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Sabesp (SBS) at 17.52% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of AES (AES) at 13.16%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AES

Utilities industry group

13.16%

Max: 28.78%
Q3: 17.30%
AES: 13.16%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

SBS

Utilities industry group

17.52%

Max: 28.78%
SBS: 17.52%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their net margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both AES (AES) at 23.89% and Sabesp (SBS) at 29.28% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

AES

Utilities industry group

23.89%

Max: 53.83%
Q3: 31.12%
AES: 23.89%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

SBS

Utilities industry group

29.28%

Max: 53.83%
Q3: 31.12%
SBS: 29.28%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
ROE (TTM)	8.68%	16.27%
ROA (TTM)	3.13%	8.08%
Net Margin (TTM)	13.16%	17.52%
Operating Margin (TTM)	23.89%	29.28%
Gross Margin (TTM)	21.34%	36.96%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Sabesp (SBS) at 5.39% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while AES (AES) at -0.37% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both AES (AES) at -46.61% and Sabesp (SBS) at -11.79% post bottom-quartile EPS growth versus peers, pointing to weaker earnings momentum than typical rivals.

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-0.37%	5.39%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.03%	19.98%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-46.61%	-11.79%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	40.65%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

AES (AES) at 0.86 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Sabesp (SBS) at 1.22 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

AES

Utilities industry group

0.86

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
AES: 0.86
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.29

SBS

Utilities industry group

1.22

Max: 1.90
SBS: 1.22
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.29

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their current ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Sabesp (SBS) at 0.99 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while AES (AES) at 2.43 uses more debt funding than most peers.

AES

Utilities industry group

2.43

Max: 2.63
AES: 2.43
Q3: 1.77
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

SBS

Utilities industry group

0.99

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
Median: 1.35
SBS: 0.99
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.86	1.22
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.43	0.99
Net Debt / EBITDA	7.28	2.30

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Sabesp (SBS) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile AES (AES) reports a yield of 4.73%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AES

Utilities industry group

4.73%

Max: 6.66%
AES: 4.73%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

SBS

Utilities industry group

0.00%

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

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Sabesp (SBS) at 35.95% keeps its payout within the industry’s typical band; AES (AES) at 28.27% pays out less than peers usually do, retaining more of its earnings — a policy difference more than a quality gap.

AES

Utilities industry group

28.27%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
Q1: 32.38%
AES: 28.27%
Min: 0.00%

SBS

Utilities industry group

35.95%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
SBS: 35.95%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	4.73%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	28.27%	35.95%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both AES (AES) at 5.97 and Sabesp (SBS) at 11.73 sit in the cheaper earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, with the market paying less for a dollar of trailing earnings than it pays for typical peers.

AES

Utilities industry group

5.97

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
AES: 5.97
Min: 3.34

SBS

Utilities industry group

11.73

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
Q1: 15.17
SBS: 11.73
Min: 3.34

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both AES (AES) at 0.78 and Sabesp (SBS) at 0.41 fetch a relatively low price per dollar of sales, landing in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

AES

Utilities industry group

0.78

Max: 6.35
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
AES: 0.78
Min: 0.00

SBS

Utilities industry group

0.41

Max: 6.35
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
SBS: 0.41
Min: 0.00

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both AES (AES) at 1.86 and Sabesp (SBS) at 1.84 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

AES

Utilities industry group

1.86

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
AES: 1.86
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

SBS

Utilities industry group

1.84

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
SBS: 1.84
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

AES (AES) vs. Sabesp (SBS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Utilities industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for AES (AES) and Sabesp (SBS)
Metric	AES	SBS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	5.97	11.73
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.78	0.41
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.86	1.84
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-30.54%	-62.11%