ED vs NGG: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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: NGG 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. ED and NGG 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 ED and NGG 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.

Consolidated Edison, Inc. is a holding company whose main subsidiary, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, delivers regulated electricity, natural gas, and steam to New York City and Westchester County. A second utility, Orange and Rockland, serves nearby areas, and the company also holds FERC-regulated electric transmission investments. Because it operates as a regulated monopoly in its service territory, Con Edison does not compete for customers: instead, state and federal regulators set the rates it can charge and the return it can earn on the capital it invests, which makes its revenue and earnings unusually predictable compared with most companies.

Full ED guide

National Grid plc owns and operates regulated energy networks on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK it runs the high-voltage electricity transmission system in England and Wales and, through National Grid Electricity Distribution (the former Western Power), the local power networks serving roughly 8 million customers in the Midlands, South West England and South Wales. In the US it owns Niagara Mohawk in upstate New York, the KEDNY and KEDLI gas utilities in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, and electric and gas utilities in Massachusetts, plus FERC-regulated transmission in New England. A smaller arm, National Grid Ventures, holds interconnectors to Europe and minority investments. The company has spent three years simplifying: it sold the electricity system operator to the UK government, a majority of its UK gas transmission business, National Grid Renewables and Grain LNG. The NYSE-listed NGG is an American Depositary Receipt, and one ADR represents five ordinary shares listed in London as NG.

Full NGG guide

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

• ED drivers: Large approved rate-base investment plan; Electrification and clean-energy transition in New York.
• NGG drivers: RIIO-T3 and the UK transmission build; New York rate base growth.

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 biggest risks are regulatory and interest-rate driven. For NGG, regulation is the core risk.

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 ED if you believe its drivers more; NGG 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 ED and NGG guides.

ED. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Utilities like Con Edison are usually valued on dividend yield and price-to-earnings relative to peers rather than on rapid growth, so the key questions are whether regulators keep approving investment, where interest rates head, and how the ~3.2% yield compares with bonds. At ~18x trailing earnings and above the average analyst target, the November 5 third-quarter report (consensus ~$1.99) and any update to the $6.00 to $6.20 guidance are the next checkpoints.

NGG. Utilities are usually valued on earnings, dividends and the premium paid over regulated asset value. National Grid's regulated assets plus other businesses totaled ~£72 billion at March 2026 against ~£44 billion of net debt, so the ~£61 billion equity value implies a premium to book asset value, consistent with investor confidence in growth. The trailing P/E of ~15.7x on underlying EPS falls toward ~14x if 2026/27 EPS grows 13-15% as guided. Statutory EPS was lower at 65.5p, putting the statutory P/E near ~19x. The ADR has traded between ~$73 and ~$95 over the past year.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): ED shows revenue (ttm) ~$17.7 billion, up ~13% year over year in the latest quarter; regulator-driven growth rather than fast expansion, profitability TTM net income ~$2.2 billion (net margin ~12.5%); Q2 2026 adjusted EPS ~$0.83 vs ~$0.77 consensus, after a Q1 miss (~$2.18 vs ~$2.27), full-year guidance 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of ~$6.00 to $6.20; consensus ~$6.11, and ~$6.50 for 2027, p/e (trailing / forward) ~18.4x / ~17.2x; NGG shows adr price (ngg) ~$82 (1 ADR = 5 ordinary shares), market cap ~$82 billion (~£61 billion), revenue (fy to mar 2026) ~£17.7 billion (~$23.6 billion), underlying eps (fy to mar 2026) ~78.0p (~$5.20 per ADR).

ED and NGG 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 ED and NGG exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.