DUK vs SO: How Duke Energy and The Southern Company 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. DUK and SO 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 SO 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

The Southern Company is one of the largest regulated utility holding companies in the United States, delivering electricity and natural gas to millions of customers primarily across the Southeast. Its core electric subsidiaries are Georgia Power, Alabama Power, and Mississippi Power, which operate as regulated monopolies with rates set by state public service commissions, plus Southern Company Gas for natural-gas distribution. Because most of its profit comes from rate-regulated operations, Southern earns a state-approved return on the capital it invests in poles, wires, pipes, and power plants, its rate base. That regulated model makes revenue and earnings relatively predictable compared with unregulated businesses, and it is the foundation of Southern's long track record of dividend payments.

Full SO 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.
• SO drivers: Data-center demand and rate-base growth; Regulated model and dividend track record.

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 SO, the main risks are the classic ones for a capital-intensive regulated utility.

Pick DUK if you believe its drivers more; SO 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 SO 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.

SO. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Regulated utilities like Southern are usually judged on the reliability and growth of the dividend, the pace of rate-base growth, and the allowed return in their states, more than on quarter-to-quarter earnings surprises. Because the stock behaves partly like an interest-rate-sensitive income vehicle, its valuation and yield should be weighed against prevailing bond yields and against faster-growing utility peers.

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%; SO shows business model Regulated electric and gas utility; most earnings from rate-regulated operations with state-set returns, recent results (q1 2026) Reported net income around $1.4 billion with adjusted EPS near $1.32, ahead of estimates; revenue up roughly 8% year over year, demand trend Data-center electricity use up about 42% year over year in Q1 2026; ~10% projected average annual retail sales growth 2026-2030, dividend Raised in 2026 to an annualized rate around $3.04 per share; extends a multi-decade streak of annual increases.

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