DUK vs GE: How Duke Energy and GE Aerospace Compare (2026)

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.

Reading it: DUK 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.

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. DUK and GE 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 DUK and GE 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.

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

GE Aerospace is the aviation business of the former General Electric conglomerate, which split into three independent companies, with GE Aerospace retaining the GE ticker. It is one of the world's largest makers of commercial and military jet engines. GE Aerospace designs, manufactures, and services engines that power a large share of the global airliner fleet, including through CFM International, its long-running joint venture with France's Safran that produces the best-selling engines for narrowbody aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families. The company makes money from selling new engines and, more importantly, from a highly profitable aftermarket of spare parts, maintenance, repair, and long-term service agreements that generate recurring revenue over each engine's decades-long life. GE Aerospace also supplies military engines and avionics. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, it benefits from a massive installed base of engines, strong air-travel demand, and the lucrative razor-and-blades economics of jet engine servicing.

Full GE guide

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

• DUK drivers: Rate-base growth from a $103B capital plan; Data-center and large-load demand.
• GE drivers: Aftermarket services engine; Dominant narrowbody position.

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: 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. For GE, gE Aerospace is exposed to the cyclical aviation industry, where downturns, pandemics, or shocks to air travel can sharply reduce flight hours and aftermarket revenue.

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 DUK if you believe its drivers more; GE 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 DUK and GE guides.

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.

GE. GE Aerospace is valued as a high-quality aviation franchise with durable, recurring aftermarket profits and leadership in narrowbody engines. Investors assign a premium multiple reflecting the predictability of services revenue and strong air-travel demand. The valuation has expanded considerably, leaving it sensitive to the cyclicality of aviation and to engine delivery and supply chain execution.

Headline figures (approximate, 2026-06-27): 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%; GE shows revenue (ttm) ~$35 to 40 billion, operating margin ~high teens to twenties percent, net income (ttm) ~$6 billion or more, aftermarket revenue ~majority of profit.

DUK and GE 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 DUK and GE exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.