AEP vs DUK: How American Electric Power Company and Duke Energy Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AEP and DUK share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AEP and DUK exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

American Electric Power Company is one of the largest regulated electric utilities in the United States, serving more than 5 million customers across 11 states and operating roughly 40,000 miles of transmission lines, among the most extensive networks in the country. Its business is built on regulated generation, transmission, and distribution, meaning state and federal regulators set the rates it can charge and approve the returns it earns on invested capital. That structure makes AEP's earnings relatively predictable compared with cyclical companies, but it also caps how fast profits can grow and ties results to regulatory decisions.

Full AEP guide

Duke Energy is a holding company for a group of regulated electric and gas utilities serving roughly eight and a half million electric customers across six states, including the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, plus natural gas distribution to over a million customers. As a regulated utility, Duke earns an authorized return on the capital it invests in power plants, poles, wires, and pipes, so its profit grows largely as it grows its regulated asset base, or rate base, subject to approval from state utility commissions. This regulated model produces relatively stable, predictable cash flows that fund a long-running dividend, which is the core of the income case for the stock.

Full DUK guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AEP drivers: Data center and large-load demand; The $78 billion capital plan.
• DUK drivers: Rate-base growth from a $103B capital plan; Data-center and large-load demand.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The main risk for a regulated utility is regulatory: AEP operates across 11 state jurisdictions, and unfavorable rate-case outcomes or disallowed costs can limit the returns it earns on its large capital plan. For DUK, duke is highly capital-intensive and carries substantial debt to fund its build-out, which makes it sensitive to interest rates: higher rates raise its borrowing costs and tend to compress the valuations investors assign to regulated utilities, while also making bond yields more competitive with its dividend.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AEP if you believe its drivers more; DUK if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AEP and DUK guides.

AEP. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. AEP typically trades on a premium-to-market utility multiple that reflects its rate-base growth and data center pipeline, so the stock can look richly valued relative to slower-growing utility peers. For a regulated utility, the key inputs are the size of the capital plan, allowed returns from regulators, interest rates, and whether the large-load demand converts to firm contracts, more than any single quarter's earnings.

DUK. As of late June 2026, DUK traded near the high-$120s per share with a market cap around ~$100 billion. The trailing P/E of roughly ~19x to ~20x is broadly in line with large regulated-utility peers, reflecting steady but moderate earnings growth rather than the higher multiples of faster-growing sectors. Revenue for full-year 2025 was about ~$31.8 billion, and Q1 2026 adjusted EPS was ~$1.93, up from ~$1.76 a year earlier. Figures are approximate, drawn from the Q1 2026 release and public market data, and move with the share price.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): AEP shows q1 2026 revenue ~$6.0 billion (up roughly 10% year over year), q1 2026 operating eps ~$1.64 (above the ~$1.55 consensus), 2026 operating eps guidance ~$6.15 to $6.45 (reaffirmed), five-year capital plan ~$78 billion; DUK shows revenue (ttm) ~$31.8B, adjusted eps guidance (fy2026) ~$6.55 to ~$6.80, adjusted eps growth target ~5% to ~7% per year through 2030, dividend yield ~3.4%.

AEP and DUK are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AEP and DUK exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.