Visão geral da empresa
A The Southern Company operates principally through its subsidiaries as a major provider of electricity sales to both retail and wholesale customers, while also offering energy-related products and services within natural gas choice markets. This entity functions within the Utilities sector, specifically the Regulated Electric industry, which implies a business model characterized by stable cash flows derived from regulated rates and essential public infrastructure. The company manages a substantial workforce of 29.502 employees, reflecting the labor-intensive nature of utility operations across its service territories. Although specific market capitalization data is not available in the current dataset, the reported revenue of $29.55 billion demonstrates a significant economic footprint, positioning the firm as a large-scale player capable of influencing local energy markets and maintaining extensive distribution networks.
Saúde financeira
The company reported revenue of $29.55 billion, net income of $4.34 billion, and EBITDA of $13.93 billion over the trailing twelve months. The substantial gap between the $29.55 billion revenue and the $4.34 billion net income reveals a cost structure where operating expenses, including cost of goods sold and administrative costs, consume a significant portion of top-line income before reaching the bottom line. Free cash flow stands at -$3.46 billion, indicating that capital expenditures and other cash outflows currently exceed operating cash generation, which limits immediate financial flexibility for discretionary spending or aggressive share buybacks. Profitability is analyzed through three key margins: a gross margin of 48.5%, an operating margin of 12.7%, and a profit margin of 14.7%; these figures indicate that while the core business retains nearly half of revenue after direct costs, regulatory or operational pressures constrain the final profit margin relative to the operating margin. The balance sheet shows a cash position of $1.64 billion against total debt of $74.07 billion, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 190.59, which characterizes the entity as highly leveraged with liabilities significantly exceeding equity. Liquidity is assessed via a current ratio of 0.65, suggesting that short-term current liabilities exceed current assets, indicating potential pressure on short-term liquidity management. Return metrics show a Return on Equity of 11.0% and a Return on Assets of 3.3%, revealing that management is generating moderate returns on shareholders' equity, while the low asset return reflects the capital-intensive nature of utility infrastructure where asset bases are large relative to the income generated.
Avaliação de valorização
Valuation metrics include a Price to Book ratio of 1.61, while trailing P/E, forward P/E, and price-to-sales ratios are not available in the provided data. The absence of trailing and forward P/E figures prevents a direct comparison of market expectations regarding earnings trajectory, though the price-to-book ratio of 1.61 indicates that the market values the company at 1.61 times its book value, suggesting a moderate premium over the net asset value inherent in utility stocks. Alternative valuation measures such as the EV/EBITDA of 9.58 and the lack of a price-to-sales ratio provide context for assessing the company's enterprise value relative to its earnings and sales scale, respectively. The stock has traded between a 52-week low of $47.87 and a 52-week high of $53.99; without the specific current share price, the exact percentage deviation from these levels cannot be calculated, but the range defines the volatility envelope for the security. The beta value of 0.41 indicates that the stock's price volatility is significantly lower than the broader market, offering characteristics of a defensive asset that moves less than half as much as the market index during periods of general volatility.
Growth & Income
Growth metrics display a revenue growth rate of 10.1% year-over-year contrasted with an earnings growth rate of -22.1% year-over-year. This divergence implies that while top-line sales are expanding rapidly, likely due to volume increases or regulatory adjustments, profitability is contracting, suggesting that revenue growth is not translating into proportional earnings growth at this moment. Dividend yield and payout ratio data are not available in the current dataset, precluding an assessment of dividend sustainability or the company's current policy on reinvesting earnings versus distributing cash to shareholders. Consequently, the overall growth and income profile presents a scenario of expanding sales volume accompanied by a significant decline in earnings, highlighting a potential temporary disconnect between revenue generation and bottom-line performance that requires close monitoring of cost structures and regulatory environments.