CIG vs ORA: How Cemig and Ormat Technologies Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
CIG and ORA are similarly sized, but CIG trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (14.00x vs 38.72x): the market is paying up for ORA's profile and pricing CIG more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
CIG vs ORA: the tie-breaker metrics
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.
| Metric | CIG | ORA | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $6.01B | $6.00B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 14.00 | 38.72 | 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 | 6.36 | 47.14 | 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 | 0.06 | 0.88 | 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 | 25% 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 | 1.07 | 2.33 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: CIG 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 CIG and ORA 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. CIG and ORA 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 CIG and ORA 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 Cemig (CIG) do?
Cemig, incorporated in 1952 and headquartered in Belo Horizonte, is one of Brazil's largest integrated electric utilities and reports across six segments: Generation, Transmission, Trading, Distribution, Gas and Investees. As of December 31, 2025 it operated ~32 hydroelectric plants totaling ~4,434 MW, ~2 wind farms at ~71 MW and ~12 photovoltaic stations at ~169 MW, alongside ~365,577 miles of distribution lines and ~4,865 miles of transmission lines. Cemig D, the distribution arm, is the earnings anchor and serves the great majority of municipalities in Minas Gerais, Brazil's fourth-largest state economy. Gas distribution runs through Gasmig, and the trading arm sells into Brazil's expanding free market (mercado livre), where large and now mid-sized consumers choose their own supplier.
What does Ormat Technologies (ORA) do?
Ormat Technologies is a vertically integrated geothermal and energy-storage company. Its core business is generating baseload renewable electricity from geothermal energy: tapping underground heat to drive turbines that produce around-the-clock power, unlike intermittent solar and wind. Ormat operates its own fleet of geothermal and recovered-energy power plants and sells the electricity under long-term contracts to utilities and other offtakers, which it calls its Electricity segment. It also designs, builds, and supplies geothermal power-plant equipment and engineering services to third parties (its Product segment), and it has grown a fast-expanding Energy Storage segment that builds and operates battery storage assets providing grid services. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Reno, Nevada, Ormat is one of the few pure-play geothermal companies of scale and is positioned as a provider of firm, dispatchable clean power, an increasingly valued attribute as grids add intermittent renewables and face rising demand.
CIG vs ORA: 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.
- CIG drivers: A ~R$44 billion capex plan through 2028 that grows the regulated asset base; Distribution tariffs and loss control.
- ORA drivers: Baseload renewable power; Long-term contracted cash flows.
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: Currency is the first-order risk: every real of earnings converts to fewer dollars when the real weakens, and the ADS price and dividend both absorb that directly. For ORA, geothermal projects are capital-intensive, geologically risky, and slow to develop, with long lead times and the chance that resource performance disappoints.
CIG or ORA: which should you pick?
CIG vs ORA: the full fundamentals
CIG. Cemig reports in Brazilian reais, so the dollar figures above are conversions and move with the exchange rate on their own. Full-year 2025 revenue was ~R$42.75 billion, up ~7.4%, and the 52-week ADS range of ~$1.88 to ~$2.76 shows how much the currency and the political narrative swing a stock whose underlying revenue is regulated. The next scheduled report is August 13, 2026.
ORA. Ormat combines a stable, contracted Electricity segment with lumpier Product revenue and a growing Storage business. Its valuation reflects predictable geothermal cash flows and clean-baseload scarcity value, balanced against high capital intensity, leverage, and sensitivity to interest rates and renewable-energy policy.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CIG shows share price (ads) ~$2.10 (August 7, 2026), market cap ~$7.1 billion, revenue (ttm) ~$8.3 billion (~R$44 billion), net income (ttm) ~$927 million, down ~31% year over year; ORA shows revenue (ttm) ~$900 million, operating margin ~20%+, net income (ttm) positive, generating capacity ~1+ GW across geothermal and storage.
The bottom line: CIG vs ORA
CIG and ORA 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 CIG and ORA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how CIG or ORA fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Cemig with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CIG 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 CIG and ORA?
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Cemig, incorporated in 1952 and headquartered in Belo Horizonte, is one of Brazil's largest integrated electric utilities and reports across six segments: Generation, Transmission, Trading, Distribution, Gas and Investees. Ormat Technologies is a vertically integrated geothermal and energy-storage company. 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 CIG or ORA the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. 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, CIG or ORA?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), CIG trades at 14.00x and ORA at 38.72x, so CIG 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 CIG and ORA?
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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 CIG vs ORA?
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CIG: Currency is the first-order risk: every real of earnings converts to fewer dollars when the real weakens, and the ADS price and dividend both absorb that directly. State control means politics reaches into tariffs, capex, executive appointments (a new CEO, Alexandre Ramos Peixoto, was elected on May 7, 2026) and payout, and privatization or share-transfer headlines can move the stock independently of results. Trailing net income is down ~31% year over year and the forward P/E of ~11.8 sits above the trailing ~7.7, implying analysts expect earnings to fall from here; the published consensus rating is Sell with a ~$2.14 twelve-month target. Hydrology matters because the generation fleet is overwhelmingly hydro, and dry years force purchases at spot prices. High Brazilian policy rates raise the discount rate on a long-duration utility and compete directly with its dividend for local capital, and CIG holders own preferred shares with limited voting rights, so they have little say in any of it. ORA: Geothermal projects are capital-intensive, geologically risky, and slow to develop, with long lead times and the chance that resource performance disappoints. Ormat carries meaningful debt to fund its capital-heavy plant fleet, so rising interest rates raise financing costs and pressure returns. Results depend on the stability of renewable-energy incentives and tax credits, and policy changes are a risk. Geographic concentration in specific resource regions and exposure to weather, seismic, and resource-depletion factors add operational variability. The Product segment is lumpy, tied to third-party project timing, and the Storage segment, while growing, competes in a crowded market.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell CIG or ORA; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.