EMA vs. SO: Emera vs. Southern Company Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Emera (EMA) 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

Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO) are both classified in the Electric Utilities sub-industry within the broader Electric Utilities industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Profile Item	EMA	SO
Name	Emera Inc.	The Southern Company
Country/Region	Canada	United States
GICS Sector	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry Group	Utilities	Utilities
GICS Industry	Electric Utilities	Electric Utilities
GICS Sub-Industry	Electric Utilities	Electric Utilities
Market Capitalization	15.62 billion USD	107.51 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 5, 2010	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

EMA

GSPC

Emera (EMA) 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 Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
Total Return (1Y)	9.07%	6.21%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	18.64%	15.28%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	6.45%	12.24%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

EMA

GSPC

Emera (EMA) 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 Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	16.26%	17.95%
Beta (5Y)	0.40	0.30
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.61%	-23.28%
Avg. Volume (3M)	713.97K	6.19M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

EMA 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 Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.29	0.11
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.43	0.16

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Emera (EMA) at 7.56% 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.

EMA

Utilities industry group

7.56%

Max: 17.99%
Q3: 12.01%
Median: 9.44%
EMA: 7.56%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Emera (EMA) at 11.64% and Southern Company (SO) at 16.00% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

EMA

Utilities industry group

11.64%

Max: 28.78%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
EMA: 11.64%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Southern Company (SO) at 36.92% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Emera (EMA) at 17.85%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

EMA

Utilities industry group

17.85%

Max: 53.83%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
EMA: 17.85%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
ROE (TTM)	7.56%	11.90%
ROA (TTM)	2.91%	3.36%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.64%	16.00%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.85%	36.92%
Gross Margin (TTM)	43.76%	48.55%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Emera (EMA) at 21.89% 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 EMA.

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

EPS Growth

Emera (EMA) at 97.66% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than Southern Company (SO) at -1.75%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
Revenue Growth (YoY)	21.89%	10.59%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.97%	0.31%
EPS Growth (YoY)	97.66%	-1.75%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.62%	6.34%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Emera (EMA) at 0.73 and Southern Company (SO) at 0.84 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

EMA

Utilities industry group

0.73

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
EMA: 0.73
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Emera (EMA) at 1.54 and Southern Company (SO) at 1.68 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

EMA

Utilities industry group

1.54

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
EMA: 1.54
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

Emera (EMA) 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 Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.73	0.84
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.54	1.68
Net Debt / EBITDA	6.38	5.01

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Emera (EMA) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Southern Company (SO) reports a yield of 3.21%, ranking against industry peers normally.

EMA

Utilities industry group

0.00%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
Q1: 0.66%
EMA: 0.00%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Southern Company (SO) at 68.49% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Emera (EMA) at 92.48% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

EMA

Utilities industry group

92.48%

Max: 113.04%
EMA: 92.48%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	3.21%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	92.48%	68.49%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Southern Company (SO) at 21.08 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Emera (EMA) at 23.58 sits in the richer quartile — EMA needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

EMA

Utilities industry group

23.58

Max: 31.22
EMA: 23.58
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Emera (EMA) at 1.75 and Southern Company (SO) at 3.45 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

EMA

Utilities industry group

1.75

Max: 6.35
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
EMA: 1.75
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Emera (EMA) at 1.80 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.

EMA

Utilities industry group

1.80

Max: 3.12
Q3: 2.21
Median: 1.83
EMA: 1.80
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Emera (EMA) and Southern Company (SO)
Metric	EMA	SO
P/E Ratio (TTM)	23.58	21.08
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.75	3.45
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.80	2.56
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-9.18%	-4.73%