AES vs ENPH: How The AES Corporation and Enphase Energy Compare (2026)
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
AES is the larger of the two ($10.57B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (6.23x forward earnings, beta 0.94). ENPH is the smaller challenger ($4.81B), actually pricier on forward earnings (15.15x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
AES vs ENPH: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 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.
| Metric | AES | ENPH | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $10.57B | $4.81B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 6.23 | 15.15 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 7.72 | 36.15 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.94 | 1.62 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 47% of range | 22% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.39 | 4.36 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: AES is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how AES and ENPH affect your concentration
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. AES and ENPH 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 AES and ENPH 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.
What does The AES Corporation (AES) do?
The AES Corporation is a global electricity company that operates across four segments: Renewables, Utilities, Energy Infrastructure, and New Energy Technologies. It owns or operates a generation fleet of roughly 34,740 megawatts spanning solar, wind, hydro, energy storage, gas, and legacy coal, and it distributes power to about 2.7 million utility customers. A key growth engine has been its renewables development pipeline, with a signed power purchase agreement backlog of about 12.6 gigawatts (around 5.6 GW under construction) as of March 2026, much of it tied to surging electricity demand from AI and cloud data centers. The company has been executing a coal exit while leaning into contracted clean generation and its regulated US utilities.
What does Enphase Energy (ENPH) do?
Enphase Energy is a leading provider of solar microinverters and home-energy systems. Its core product is the microinverter, a small device attached to each individual solar panel that converts the panel's direct current into the alternating current used in homes and on the grid. This panel-level approach differs from traditional string inverters that handle many panels at once, offering advantages in reliability, safety, monitoring, and performance when panels are shaded or fail. Enphase has expanded from microinverters into a broader home-energy platform, including its IQ Battery storage systems, EV chargers, and software that lets homeowners monitor and manage solar production, battery storage, and consumption through an app. The company sells primarily to installers and distributors who deploy its products in residential rooftop solar projects, mostly in the United States and Europe. Enphase earns revenue from hardware sales of microinverters and batteries, with a growing contribution from storage and software. It is headquartered in Fremont, California, and has been one of the most recognizable names in residential solar technology.
AES vs ENPH: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- AES drivers: Pending $15.00 cash acquisition; Renewables backlog and data-center demand.
- ENPH drivers: Microinverter leadership; Battery storage expansion.
Which fits which kind of investor
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 largest risk is deal-specific: a delay, regulatory block, or renegotiation of the $15.00 cash acquisition would remove the price support the stock currently enjoys. For ENPH, enphase's business is highly sensitive to interest rates, since most residential solar is financed; higher rates raise monthly costs and depress demand, as recent demand weakness showed.
AES or ENPH: which should you pick?
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 AES if you believe its drivers more; ENPH 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 AES and ENPH guides.
AES vs ENPH: the full fundamentals
AES. AES trades around the $15.00 cash offer, so headline multiples (a trailing P/E near the low teens and a forward P/E that looks low on 2026 estimates) matter less than the fixed deal price and the odds and timing of a close. The high debt load, roughly $31 billion, is typical of a capital-intensive utility but is a key reason the enterprise value (around $33 billion) is far larger than the equity value. Figures are approximate and drawn from mid-2026 filings and market data.
ENPH. Enphase is a growth-and-cycle solar stock whose valuation swings sharply with interest rates, solar demand, and policy. The market values it on long-term residential-solar and storage growth and high gross margins, but earnings and the multiple are highly cyclical. It has traded at premium valuations in upcycles and compressed materially during demand downturns.
Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): AES shows revenue (ttm) ~$12.6B, q1 2026 revenue ~$3.18B (+9% YoY), market cap ~$10.7B, acquisition price $15.00/share cash; ENPH shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.3-1.5 billion, recovering from a downturn, gross margin ~40%+, supported by US manufacturing credits, operating margin Recovering, historically strong in upcycles, revenue growth Cyclical, tied to rates and solar demand.
The bottom line: AES vs ENPH
AES and ENPH 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 AES and ENPH exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Investing in The AES Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how AES fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between AES and ENPH?
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The AES Corporation is a global electricity company that operates across four segments: Renewables, Utilities, Energy Infrastructure, and New Energy Technologies. Enphase Energy is a leading provider of solar microinverters and home-energy systems. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is AES or ENPH the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. AES is the larger incumbent; ENPH is the smaller challenger and looks pricier on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, AES or ENPH?
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On forward P/E (as of July 2026), AES trades at 6.23x and ENPH at 15.15x, so AES is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both AES and ENPH?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of AES vs ENPH?
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AES: The largest risk is deal-specific: a delay, regulatory block, or renegotiation of the $15.00 cash acquisition would remove the price support the stock currently enjoys. Even with shareholder approval, closing depends on numerous regulatory and antitrust clearances across the many countries AES operates in. AES also carries substantial leverage, roughly $31 billion of debt against a market capitalization near $11 billion, which makes it sensitive to interest rates and refinancing conditions. International operations expose it to currency, political, and regulatory risk, and the ongoing coal exit and construction pipeline carry execution risk. If the deal broke, the shares could re-rate to a standalone value that may sit below the offer price. ENPH: Enphase's business is highly sensitive to interest rates, since most residential solar is financed; higher rates raise monthly costs and depress demand, as recent demand weakness showed. Policy changes are a major swing factor, including net-metering reforms like California's NEM 3.0, federal tax-credit shifts, and tariffs. The company faces intense competition from string-inverter makers like SolarEdge and from new entrants, including battery and module makers integrating their own electronics. Solar demand is cyclical and inventory swings can whipsaw revenue. Margins can compress on pricing pressure, and the stock has been very volatile, reacting sharply to rates, policy headlines, and demand trends.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell AES or ENPH; figures are approximate and dated (as of July 2026). Verify current data before investing.