SO vs. TLN: Southern Company vs. Talen Energy Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Southern Company (SO) and Talen Energy (TLN) both fall under the Utilities industry group, but SO is classified in Electric Utilities while TLN is classified in Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers.

Southern Company (SO) has more than two decades of public-market history since December 31, 1981, whereas Talen Energy (TLN) listed on June 2, 2023 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Talen Energy (TLN) has an aggressive beta of 1.53, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Southern Company (SO) is defensive at 0.30 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Talen Energy (TLN) reports a negative ROE of -16.54%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile Southern Company (SO) reports 11.90%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Talen Energy (TLN) reports a negative net margin of -5.67%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile Southern Company (SO) reports 16.00%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Southern Company (SO) at 36.92% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Talen Energy (TLN) at 17.35%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Talen Energy (TLN) at 26.68% 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 TLN.

Southern Company (SO) at -1.75% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Talen Energy (TLN) at -127.11% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Southern Company (SO) at 0.84 and Talen Energy (TLN) at 0.89 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

Southern Company (SO) at 1.68 is near its industry mid-range for debt-to-equity ratio, while Talen Energy (TLN) at 5.97 sits above its benchmark range, pointing to a heavier debt load relative to equity.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Talen Energy (TLN) 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.

Talen Energy (TLN) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Southern Company (SO) reports a payout of 68.49%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: Southern Company (SO) trades at 21.08 times trailing earnings, ranked against its peers, while Talen Energy (TLN) has no P/E ratio this period.

On P/S ratio, both Southern Company (SO) at 3.45 and Talen Energy (TLN) at 3.29 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Both look rich against book: Southern Company (SO) at 2.56 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Talen Energy (TLN) at 10.14 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Valuation Metrics