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 MGE Energy, Inc. or The AES Corporation 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 MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation

MGE Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility Operations; Regulated Gas Utility Operations; Nonregulated Energy Operations; Transmission Investments; and All Other segments. The company generates, purchases, and distributes electricity; purchases and distributes natural gas; owns and leases electric generating capacity; and plans, constructs, operates, maintains, and expands transmission facilities to provide transmission power services. It also generates electricity from coal-fired, gas-fired, and renewable energy sources and provides solar and wind generation, and battery storage services. As of December 31, 2025, the company owned and operated 811 miles of overhead electric distribution lines; 1,386 miles of underground electric distribution cables; 47 substations with an installed capacity of 1.2 million kVA; and gas facilities, including 3,117 miles of distribution mains, as well as supplied electric service to approximately 170,000 customers. MGE Energy, Inc. has a strategic partnership with Realta Fusion Inc. and Madison Gas and Electric Company. MGE Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

The AES Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a power generation and utility company. It operates through four segments: Renewables, Utilities, Energy Infrastructure, and New Energy Technologies. The company owns and/or operates power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries; owns and/or operates utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit, and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors; and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market, as well as investments in technologies to support leading-edge greener energy solutions. It uses various fuels and technologies to generate electricity, such as solar, hydro, wind, coal, and gas, as well as renewables comprising energy storage and landfill gas. The company owns and/or operates a generation portfolio of approximately 34,740 megawatts and distributes power to 2.7 million customers. The company operates in the United States, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Bulgaria, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Vietnam, Jordan, Puerto Rico, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Applied Energy Services, Inc. and changed its name to The AES Corporation in April 2000. The AES Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.

Latest Electric Utilities and MGE Energy, Inc., The AES Corporation Stock News

As of September 10, 2026, MGE Energy, Inc. had a $2.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Electric Utilities median of $18.1 million. MGE Energy, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and down 8.39% in the past year.

Currently, MGE Energy, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 18.8. MGE Energy, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $752.1 million with a 19.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.967 per share for the current fiscal year. MGE Energy, Inc. currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

Currently, The AES Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 5.6. The AES Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $13.1 billion with a 14.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 19.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.020 per share for the current fiscal year. The AES Corporation currently has a 4.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation 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 MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
MGE Energy, Inc.	MGEE	D
The AES Corporation	AES	C

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks 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 the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

MGE Energy, Inc. has a Quality Score of 37, which is Weak. The AES Corporation has a Quality Score of 44, which is Average.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither MGE Energy, Inc. or The AES Corporation has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if MGE Energy, Inc. or The AES Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.

MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
MGE Energy, Inc.	MGEE	D
The AES Corporation	AES	C

Momentum grades help to 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. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

MGE Energy, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 36, which is Weak. The AES Corporation has a Momentum Score of 54, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither MGE Energy, Inc. or The AES Corporation has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if MGE Energy, Inc. or The AES Corporation is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
MGE Energy, Inc.	MGEE	B
The AES Corporation	AES	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.

MGE Energy, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 65, which is Positive. The AES Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 45, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: MGE Energy, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, MGE Energy, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than The AES Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, MGE Energy, Inc. 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 MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation Grades

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

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

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.

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 MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, MGE Energy, Inc. or The AES Corporation Stock?

Overall, MGE Energy, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 36, Estimate Revisions Score of 65 and Quality Score of 37.

The AES Corporation stock has a Momentum Score of 54, Estimate Revisions Score of 45 and Quality Score of 44.

Comparing MGE Energy, Inc. and The AES Corporation’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.