ETN vs. NEE: Eaton vs. NextEra Energy Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE) 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

Eaton (ETN) is classified in the Industrials sector (Capital Goods), whereas NextEra Energy (NEE) belongs to Utilities (Utilities) — their GICS classifications point to very different parts of the market.

Company profile comparison for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Profile Item	ETN	NEE
Name	Eaton Corporation plc	NextEra Energy Inc.
Country/Region	Ireland	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Utilities
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Utilities
GICS Industry	Electrical Equipment	Electric Utilities
GICS Sub-Industry	Electrical Components & Equipment	Electric Utilities
Market Capitalization	132.76 billion USD	182.36 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 1, 1972	February 21, 1973
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ETN

NEE

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE), 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 Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
Total Return (1Y)	-2.33%	7.27%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	19.68%	20.47%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	17.50%	3.34%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ETN

NEE

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE), 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 Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.57%	21.60%
Beta (5Y)	1.14	0.59
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.46%	-44.97%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.32M	11.90M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ETN and NEE are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. Each dashed Capital Allocation Line uses that stock's own industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.15	0.14
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.21	0.21

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 19.55% and NextEra Energy (NEE) at 14.06% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

19.55%

Max: 40.55%
ETN: 19.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

NEE

Utilities industry group

14.06%

Max: 17.99%
NEE: 14.06%
Q3: 12.01%
Median: 9.44%
Q1: 7.56%
Min: 2.17%

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their ROE against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Net Margin (TTM)

NextEra Energy (NEE) at 40.37% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and Eaton (ETN) at 12.18% also retains a top-quartile share.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

12.18%

Max: 27.47%
ETN: 12.18%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

NEE

Utilities industry group

40.37%

NEE: 40.37%
Max: 28.78%
Q3: 17.30%
Median: 12.73%
Q1: 9.18%
Min: -0.20%

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their net margin against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Operating Margin (TTM)

NextEra Energy (NEE) at 33.00% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Eaton (ETN) at 17.85%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

17.85%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
ETN: 17.85%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

NEE

Utilities industry group

33.00%

Max: 53.83%
NEE: 33.00%
Q3: 31.12%
Median: 23.62%
Q1: 15.45%
Min: -4.90%

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their operating margin against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
ROE (TTM)	19.55%	14.06%
ROA (TTM)	7.22%	2.41%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.18%	40.37%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.85%	33.00%
Gross Margin (TTM)	35.16%	60.17%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.33% and NextEra Energy (NEE) at 10.74% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.00% and NextEra Energy (NEE) at -2.63% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.33%	10.74%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.77%	9.36%
EPS Growth (YoY)	10.00%	-2.63%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.39%	16.28%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.23 and NextEra Energy (NEE) at 0.53 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
ETN: 1.23
Min: 0.36

NEE

Utilities industry group

0.53

Max: 1.90
Q3: 1.17
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.66
NEE: 0.53
Min: 0.29

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their current ratio against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.00 and NextEra Energy (NEE) at 1.53 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.00

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
ETN: 1.00
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

NEE

Utilities industry group

1.53

Max: 2.63
Q3: 1.77
NEE: 1.53
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.84
Min: 0.00

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.23	0.53
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.00	1.53
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.85	8.09

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Eaton (ETN) at 1.33% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while NextEra Energy (NEE) at 2.76% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, ETN the richer one.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.33%

Max: 2.66%
ETN: 1.33%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NEE

Utilities industry group

2.76%

Max: 6.66%
Q3: 3.58%
Median: 2.85%
NEE: 2.76%
Q1: 0.66%
Min: 0.00%

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their dividend yield against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

NextEra Energy (NEE) at 43.89% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Eaton (ETN) at 43.36% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

43.36%

Max: 67.39%
ETN: 43.36%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NEE

Utilities industry group

43.89%

Max: 113.04%
Q3: 68.72%
Median: 56.38%
NEE: 43.89%
Q1: 32.38%
Min: 0.00%

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their payout ratio against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.33%	2.76%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	43.36%	43.89%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 34.14 and NextEra Energy (NEE) at 15.67 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

34.14

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
ETN: 34.14
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

NEE

Utilities industry group

15.67

Max: 31.22
Q3: 23.30
Median: 19.64
NEE: 15.67
Q1: 15.17
Min: 3.34

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their P/E ratio against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 4.15 and NextEra Energy (NEE) at 6.33 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

4.15

Max: 7.54
ETN: 4.15
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

NEE

Utilities industry group

6.33

Max: 6.35
NEE: 6.33
Q3: 3.63
Median: 2.63
Q1: 1.52
Min: 0.00

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their P/S ratio against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 6.33 and NextEra Energy (NEE) at 2.97 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

6.33

Max: 9.66
ETN: 6.33
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

NEE

Utilities industry group

2.97

Max: 3.12
NEE: 2.97
Q3: 2.21
Median: 1.83
Q1: 1.46
Min: 0.34

Eaton (ETN) vs. NextEra Energy (NEE): A comparison of their P/B ratio against their respective Capital Goods and Utilities industry group benchmarks.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Eaton (ETN) and NextEra Energy (NEE)
Metric	ETN	NEE
P/E Ratio (TTM)	34.14	15.67
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.15	6.33
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.33	2.97
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.29%	-11.63%