Sifting through countless of stocks in the Electric Utilities industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in The Southern Company or Edison International because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how The Southern Company and Edison International compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About The Southern Company and Edison International

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the sale of electricity. The company offers electric service to retail customers and wholesale customers; and energy-related products and services to natural gas choice markets. It also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, operates, and manages power generation assets, as well as battery energy storage projects; sells electricity at market-based rates in the wholesale market; and deploys microgrids for commercial, industrial, governmental, and utility customers. In addition, the company is involved in the distribution of natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee; distributes energy and resilience solutions; and invests in telecommunications. The Southern Company was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Edison International, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and distribution of electric power. The company supplies and delivers through its electrical infrastructure to an approximately 50,000 square-mile area of southern, central, and coastal California. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, public authorities, agricultural, street lighting, and other sectors. The company’s distribution network consists of approximately 13,000 circuit-miles of lines ranging from 55 kV to 500 kV and approximately 80 transmission substations; and approximately 38,000 circuit-miles of overhead lines, approximately 32,000 circuit-miles of underground lines, and approximately 730 distribution substations. Edison International was founded in 1886 and is based in Rosemead, California.

Latest Electric Utilities and The Southern Company, Edison International Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, The Southern Company had a $101.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Electric Utilities median of $17.6 million. The Southern Company’s stock is up 0.8% in 2026, down 2.1% in the previous five trading days and down 4.56% in the past year.

Currently, The Southern Company’s price-earnings ratio is 21.2. The Southern Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $30.2 billion with a 15.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.588 per share for the current fiscal year. The Southern Company currently has a 3.5% dividend yield.

As of September 1, 2026, Edison International had a $22.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 87th percentile of all stocks. Edison International’s stock is down 8.4% in 2026, down 26.2% in the previous five trading days and up 4.76% in the past year.

Currently, Edison International’s price-earnings ratio is 6.1. Edison International’s trailing 12-month revenue is $19.4 billion with a 19.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -4.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.124 per share for the current fiscal year. Edison International currently has a 6.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare The Southern Company and Edison International Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at The Southern Company and Edison International’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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The Southern Company and Edison International Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
The Southern Company	SO	D
Edison International	EIX	A

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

The Southern Company has a Value Score of 39, which is Expensive. Edison International has a Value Score of 94, which is Deep Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Edison International

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Edison International is considered to have better value than The Southern Company. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Edison International could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

The Southern Company and Edison International Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
The Southern Company	SO	A
Edison International	EIX	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

The Southern Company has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Edison International has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both The Southern Company and Edison International have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

The Southern Company and Edison International’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
The Southern Company	SO	B
Edison International	EIX	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

The Southern Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 73, which is Positive. Edison International has a Earnings Estimate Score of 56, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: The Southern Company

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, The Southern Company has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Edison International. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, The Southern Company could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other The Southern Company and Edison International Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether The Southern Company and Edison International pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, The Southern Company or Edison International Stock?

Overall, The Southern Company stock has a Value Score of 39, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 73.

Edison International stock has a Value Score of 94, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 56.

Comparing The Southern Company and Edison International’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.