EMA vs FTS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of November 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. EMA and FTS 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 EMA and FTS 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.

Emera Incorporated owns a portfolio of cost-of-service, rate-regulated electric and gas utilities across North America and the Caribbean. Its largest business by far is in Florida: Tampa Electric serves roughly 866,000 electricity customers across a 2,000 square mile territory in west central Florida, and Peoples Gas System serves more than 500,000 gas customers statewide. In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia Power provides the large majority of generation, transmission and distribution in the province to roughly 559,000 customers. Smaller electric utilities in the Bahamas and Barbados round out the group, and a modest energy marketing arm sits alongside them. Roughly 95% of adjusted net income comes from regulated investments, which is the whole point of the structure: revenue is set by regulators against an approved asset base and an allowed return, not by market prices.

Full EMA guide

Fortis Inc. is a St. John's, Newfoundland-based utility holding company that owns 10 regulated electric and gas businesses serving roughly 3.5 million customers across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Its largest platforms include ITC Holdings (U.S. electricity transmission, ~80% owned), UNS Energy (Tucson Electric Power and other Arizona utilities), Central Hudson in New York, and FortisBC in British Columbia. About 99% of assets are regulated, which means earnings come largely from rate-base returns approved by regulators rather than from commodity prices or competition, giving the business unusually predictable cash flows.

Full FTS guide

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

• EMA drivers: Florida rate base growth; The New Mexico Gas sale and balance sheet repair.
• FTS drivers: Rate-base growth engine; Long dividend-growth 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: Leverage is the central risk: total debt sits near C$22 billion against a market capitalization around US$14.6 billion (October 2026), and Moody's negative outlook on a Baa3 rating leaves little cushion if a rate case disappoints or rates back up. For FTS, as a capital-intensive utility, Fortis carries substantial debt (about CAD 36 billion as of mid-2026) and is sensitive to interest rates; higher rates raise financing costs and make its dividend yield less attractive relative to bonds, which can pressure the share price.

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 EMA if you believe its drivers more; FTS 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 EMA and FTS guides.

EMA. Emera closed at US$47.49 on the NYSE on October 16, 2026, down about 3.5% year to date, for a market capitalization near US$14.6 billion. Reported financials are in Canadian dollars, so US dollar figures are conversions. Q2 2026 EPS of about US$0.50 matched consensus after a Q1 beat (US$1.00 vs ~US$0.88); the November 6 report, with consensus near US$0.69, will also bring the 2027-2031 capital plan and the first detail on how the Canadian Utilities combination changes it.

FTS. Fortis trades at about 23 times trailing and 20 times forward earnings, with EV/EBITDA near 12x, still a premium utility multiple that prices in regulated, predictable cash flows and a five-decade dividend-growth record. Reported figures are in Canadian dollars; the NYSE price and market cap are in U.S. dollars. Consensus for the November 3 Q3 report is about $0.64 of EPS, and the valuation leaves limited room for multiple expansion, so returns lean on earnings and dividend growth rather than re-rating.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): EMA shows revenue (ttm) ~C$8.9B; latest quarter up ~1% YoY, net income (ttm) ~C$963M; operating margin ~18%, p/e ~21x trailing, ~18x forward, dividend (annualized) ~C$2.93 (~US$2.08), ~4.4% yield; FTS shows market cap ~$28B USD (NYSE price ~$55.47), revenue (ttm) ~CAD 12.4B (Q2 2026 up ~4% y/y), net income (ttm) ~CAD 1.7B, q2 2026 net earnings ~CAD 396M (EPS $0.56 vs $0.54 est.).

EMA and FTS 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 EMA and FTS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.